Question # 3: What is meant by Span of management and explain the

factor that influence the span of management?

Answer:
Span Of Management
Span of management/ span of control
Span of management means the number of people managed efficiently by a
single officer in an organization. This is also called span of management,
span of authority, span of supervision, span of authority, span of
responsibility or levels of organization. This principle is based on the principle
of relationship.
Span of control refers to the maximum numbers effectively supervised
by a single individual. The number of members may be increased or
decreased according to the nature of work done by the subordinate or the
ability of the supervision. In the administration area, under one executive,
nearly four of five subordinates may work. The span of control enables the
smooth functioning of the organization.
The term span literally means the space the between two supports of
a structure, e.g. the space between two pillars of a bridge. The space
between two pillars should be neither too large nor to small. If it is too large,
the bridge may collapse and if is too small, it will enhance its cost. When this
word is applied to management, it refers to the number of subordinates a
manager or a supervisor can supervise, manage or control effectively and
effectively.
Therefore, span of supervision refer to the optimum number of
subordinates that a manager or supervisor can manage or control effectively.
An organization is characterized by the presence of a number of levels
and departments. But more the levels are created more will be the
administrative cost due to additional staff required and more will be the
difficulty to be encountered in communication and controlling.
This is basically the problem of deciding the number of subordinates to
report directly to each manager. According to this principle there is a limit of
the number of subordinates that each managers can effectively supervise.
Basically there are two types of span of management

1.
Narrow span of management It leads to many level in heresy system
in organization situation. Narrow span also effect employees moral adversely.
2.
Wide span of management Wide spans of management leads to flat
organization in which manager have a developing skill and experience of
knowledge.

Factors influencing Span of Control

Important factors influencing the determination of proper span of
control/supervision management are: 1. nature of work 2. ability of the
supervisor 3. competence of the subordinates 4. ability of staff services 5.
availability of time and energy with the supervisor 6. delegation of authority
7. degree of decentralization 8. planning required by the supervisor 9. use of
objective standards and 10. territorial contiguity of functions supervised!
1. Nature of work:
The span of control greatly depends upon the nature of activities and
problems faced by the supervisor, which in turn will depend on nature and
size of production. In case the supervisor carries routine type of job under set
guidelines, he need not devote much time on the workers under him.
As the job is repetitive in nature, span of supervision or control can be larger.
In other words, a supervisor can control more workers under him. On the
other hand, in case of complex and complicated jobs it would be difficult for
the supervisor to control large number of workers effectively. The span of
control will be narrow in such cases.
2. Ability of the supervisor:
The ability and skill of the supervisor greatly affects determination of span. A
highly qualified and experienced supervisor with specialised knowledge and
technical skill will be able to undertake effectively a larger span than a
supervisor who is not well qualified and experienced.
3. Competence of the subordinates:
The span of control supervision is also greatly affected by the quality of the
subordinates to be supervised by the supervisor. If subordinates are by and
large experienced, hard working and well versed in their jobs, the supervisor
can manage large number of workers and span can be more. The supervisor
can rely on the performance of the workers and he need not guide them time
and again once instructions are issued to them.

If the staff under the control of supervisor is inexperienced and inefficient

(say comprising of new comers), the subordinates would refer to the
supervisor every now and then for clarifications and guidance. The span of
control in such a case will be narrow.
4. Ability of staff services:
The term staff means the appointment of experts in the line organisation for
guiding, advising, and expert opinion to the line officers. The supervisor or
line superior is greatly benefited and relieved by the staff advice. He can
manage large number of subordinates and the span will be large. If staff
services are not available, lesser number of subordinates should be put
under the control of one supervisor which will lead to narrow span
5. Availability of time and energy with the supervisor:
The availability of time with the supervisor will depend upon the type of the
problems, simple or complex, tackled by him and he has to do many other
things like preparation of reports and planning. If he is busy in these
complexities, he will not be able to manage large number of subordinates.
Here the span of control will be narrow.
6. Delegation of authority:
In an enterprise which is effectively organised and structured, management
is able to influence and minimise the frequency and severity of superiorsubordinate relationships and thus increase its span. An organisation poorly
conceived consumes disproportionate time of the manager in counselling
and guidance of the subordinates
An important symptom of inefficient organisation influencing span of control
is to be found in ambiguous or inadequate authority delegation. If
subordinate is not clear about what he is expected to do or is called upon to
do something beyond the scope of his authority, he will make more demand
on the senior manager and hence operate to reduce his span.
Where subordinates are delegated authority sufficient to carry out the
assigned duties and their authorities are clearly defined, properly trained
subordinates will considerably reduce the time and attention of the senior
and thus help to increase his span.
7. Degree of decentralization:

If a manager is to make many decisions himself, he will have less time to

spare from supervising the work of his subordinate and thus must operate
with a narrow span. On the other hand, an executive operating under
decentralized set-up is relieved of much of the burden of making
programmed decisions and hence can afford to supervise relatively a larger
number of subordinates.
8. Planning required by the supervisor:
This factor refers to the importance, complexity and time to be spent by the
executive in reviewing the objectives, programming the actions and deciding
about a number of policy matters. As the importance, complexity and time
required of the manager in performing his planning function increases, it will
be more prudent to reduce the number of subordinates reporting to him.
9. Use of objective standards
Supervising the subordinates requires that management must know how far
plans are being followed and to what extent their performance tends to
deviate from plans. He can know the deviations either by personal
observation or through use of objective standards. In the latter case,
manager is saved of many time-consuming relationships and can
concentrate on points of strategic importance thus widening his span of
control.