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Importance Of Span of Control & Organizational StructurePublished On: December 2nd, 2015 Request a Demo of OrgChart Now!Start Your OrgChart Trial Today!The maximum number of employees you will chart: Select the HRIS System you are currently using: Please select your country: Δ What is Span of Control And Organizational Structure?It is very important to understand span of control and organizational structure when describing an organization. Simply, span of control refers to the number of subordinates under a manager’s direct control. As an example, a manager with five direct reports has a span of control of five. Span of control is a good metric to assess the efficiency of an organization, as long as it looked at in the context of the company’s organizational structure. An executive team structure with a ‘narrow’ span of control How many direct reports should a manager have?Is there an optimal number? What needs to be considered is the nature of the work subordinates are performing and how much attention each requires. For example, the span of control can be over 100, while executive functions with high degrees of collaboration and interaction might productively tolerate no more than three or four. So the nature of the work being performed, and how much attention it requires should govern the assignment of personnel to a manager, not some industry ideal goal. Call center organization showing a ‘wide’ span of control Expanding On the Concept of Span of ControlWhile we are addressing span of control, let’s also broaden our understanding to see it in the context of the organizational levels of hierarchy. Width: Organization structures can be described as wide (with a larger span of control) or narrow (with a smaller span of control.) Height: As there are levels of management, or hierarchy, an organization may be tall (with many levels) or flat (with fewer levels.) Flat organizations have a ‘wide’ span of control and Tall organizations have a ‘narrow’ span of control. While there are pros and cons with both tall and flat structures, a company’s structure must be designed to suit the business (the customer and markets) and in a way that fits with the workforce’s capability. A tall vs. flat organizational structure Characteristics of a Flat Organizational Structure (Wide Span of Control)Pros
Cons
Characteristics of a Tall Organizational Structure (Narrow Span of Control)Pros
Cons
ConclusionAs you can see, an organization’s structure dictates the span of control assigned to managers. Whether you choose a ‘tall’ or ‘flat’ structure should depend on the business and how to best serve customers. While each structure has its pros and cons the best way for you to model and visualize the organization is with OrgChart. OrgChart gives you the ability to model and visualize the organization and automate the process.
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What are the benefits of having a large span of control within an Organisation?Advantages of a Large Span of Control
» Faster Decision Making: with fewer layers within the organization decisions can be made more quickly. » Lower Costs: relative to organizations with a small span of control because fewer managers are needed relative to the number of employees.
What does it mean to increase span of control?In simple words, span of control means the manageable number of subordinates of a superior. The bigger the number of the subordinates a manager controls, the broader is her/his span of control.
What is the ideal management span of control within an organization?What is the ideal span of control? Ideally in an organization, according to modern organizational experts is approximately 15 to 20 subordinates per supervisor or manager.
What will happen if the span of management will increase in an Organisation?As the span of management increases in the organisation, the number of levels decreases. Was this answer helpful?
What are the benefits of span of control?Advantages of a narrow span of control. Enhanced communication. Improved communication is a major advantage of a narrow span of control. ... . Improved employee satisfaction. ... . Increased company awareness. ... . Closer teams. ... . More comprehensive training. ... . Inefficient use of resources. ... . Increased costs. ... . Disruptive.. |