A PRESENTATION

ON
SPAN OF MANAGEMENT

INTRODUCTION

It indicates the number of people directly managed

effectively by a single person. It is accepted that the
large number of subordinates cannot be supervised
and their efforts coordinated effectively by a single
executive. Span of management means the number
of people managed efficiently by a single officer in
an organisation.
According to L.Urwick, The ideal number of
subordinates is four in case of higher level
management and eight to twelve in case of bottom
level management.

FACTORS AFFECTING THE SPAN

OF MANAGEMENT
Character of the supervision work
Leadership qualities
Qualities of the subordinate
Time available to supervisor
Nature of work
Level of supervision
Delegation of authority
Fixation of responsibility
Using of standards
Methods of communication

Character of the Supervision work:- The span of control may

be increased whenever the work is performed and
standardised.The reason is that, the supervisor has the prospect
to lay down permanent policies followed in an organisation.
Leadership Qualities:- The personal abilities and capacity of a
supervisor can authority the span of management. If the
supervisor has more skill to control the sub-ordinates.
Qualities of the Subordinate:- If the subordinates have
sufficient talent to perform the work assigned to them, the
manager or the supervisor can control more number of
subordinates.

Time available to Supervisor:- Most of the executives or

supervisors will spend a lot of time for the operating
work and administrative duties like planning and
organising activities.
Nature of work:- Some of the works are recurring in
nature and does not require any extra-ordinary talent to
perform. In such cases, the supervisor or the executive
can control a large number of subordinates.
Level of Supervision:- The subordinates perform the
work manually, the span of control may be increased. It
means that the degree of span of control can be increased
at bottom level management and decreased at the top
level management.

Delegation of Authority:- If the authority delegates

the powers of decision making, planning and
execution to the sub-ordinates, the span of control
may be increased.
Fixation of Responsibility:- In case the
responsibility of the sub-ordinate is clearly, he need
not contact the superior for getting guidance and
instruction.
Using of Standards:- Standard are used in an
organisation to detect the errors or faults in the
performance of work.

Method of communication:- Is also one of the factors

which determine the span of control. The method of
communication may be divided into two i.e., oral and
written.

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