The above considerations of narrow and wide spans of management point to the imperative need for a balance. Meeting and exceeding expectations, a vice president, for instance, usually manages fewer than four people while the lowerranking assembly line supervisor might manage oversee 15. Wide span, on the other hand, may result into organisational inefficiencies. Comparison between wide spans and narrow spans of management are given below. Span of management is the limitation of the number of subordinates who can be effectively supervised by a manager in the discharge of his or her management duties. The problem of span of control has long been recognized as being. The firm with narrow span ten to have wide structures i. It allows less employee autonomy in decision making as compared to. Advantages and disadvantages of wide span of control. Proper balance has to be maintained between the costs and benefits of the span that a manager can effectively supervise. With the wider span, there will be less hierarchical levels, and thus, the organizational structure would be flatter. Organizations size and span of control practical management.
The incapacity of human beings restricts the number of persons who can be managed effectively. Span of management directly affects the number of levels in the organization. But my personal opinion that narrow span of control 46 is the ideal for conducting any organization smoothly. It refers to how many workers a manager is supervising. How to identify the right spans of control for your organization.
The firm with narrow span ten to have narrow structures i. The firm with wide span of control has more number of subordinates reporting directly to the manager. Wide span of control refers to a single manager who oversees a large number of subordinates. Whereas, with the narrow span, the hierarchical levels increases, hence the. Introduction public organizations implement policy goals set by democratically elected politicians and provide a range of services with importance for citizen welfare. Use of efficient communication tools like online wikis, videos, project management and tracking tools, and other decision support systems. Organization structures can be described as wide with larger span of control or narrow with smaller span of control. The span of management is related to the horizontal levels of the organization structure. What is the ideal management span of control within an organization. What are the advantages and disadvantages of narrow span. Span of control affects the efficient utilization of managers and the effective performance of their subordinates. Narrow spans of control leading to taller structure. Span of management is generally categorized under two heads narrow span and wide span. Advantages and disadvantages of these two span of management types should be carefully examined in terms of tangible as well as intangible factors.
Optimum span of control ranges between 3 and 9 depending on the complexity of the work supervised and the need for tight control. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a narrow span. Wider spans of management lead to flat organization, whereas, narrow spans of management result in tall organizational structure. Can enhance longterm relationships with the customer by asking for feedback. Narrow span of control wider span of control alison. Comparison between wide spans and narrow spans of management. A narrow span requires more managers and is, thus, a costly form of structure. Narrow span of management means a single manager or supervisor oversees few subordinates. Advantages and disadvantages of wide span of control ask for details. The difference between a narrow or wide span of control may be determined by a managers rank. Different between narrow span of control and wide span of. Organizational structure and design pearson canada.
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