What is Span of

Control in
Management?

Table of Contents
Ÿ What is Span of Control?

Ÿ Implications of the Span of

Control for a Manager

Ÿ Optimal Span of Control in

Management
What is Span of
Control?
Span of control is a concept that
refers to the number staff
members that report to a
manager. If a manager in a
business supervises eight
employees, then the span of
control would ne eight for each of
the direct reports.

Organizations cannot run

operations without having
organized levels of authority to
oversee the workflow. They are
structured with different
hierarchical levels, including
different management levels. In
management, many factors
come into play that can impact
the business's efficiency. Being
short-staffed can delay task
completion; however,
having too many employees to
overlook can also impact the
business. It is important for
managers to consider the
efficiency of their span of control.

Span of Control
Definition
Span of control refers to the
number of staff members that
report to a particular manager.
This means a manager who
supervises five employees would
have a span of control of five.
Businesses work to implement
an ideal span of control which
depends on the work being
completed. One business might
consider a certain span of control
as ideal, while others might find it
impractical. Span of control may
also be referred to as span of
control.

Span of control is simply the

number of staff that report to a
manager. Some
companies also have an ideal
span of control, which is the
number of reports they feel a
manager can effectively manage.
In this case, if a manager has
fewer reports than the ideal, they
may feel he or she is not being
effectively used, while if he or
she is handling more they may
feel that the manager is over-
stretched and the reports will not
receive enough direction.

What are the two types of

span of control?
Span of control may be classified
as either a wide or narrow span
of control. A wide span of control
means a manager has several
employees reporting to them
directly, while a narrow span of
control means the manager has
fewer employees reporting.
Implications of the
Span of Control for a
Manager
Within an organization, the
average span of control
determines the width of the
organization. A span of control
may be considered as either a
wide span of management or a
narrow span of management. A
wide span of control implies that
the structure is a flat structure,
meaning there are fewer layers
of management or authority. A
narrow span of control implies
that the structure is a tall
structure, meaning there many
levels of management within the
organization.

Wide Span of
Management
In management, a wide span of
control means that the manager
has many direct reports.
Supervisors in a wide span of
management are able to
effectively oversee several
employees at once. Having a
wide span or a higher span of
control means fewer managers
are needed overall in the
organization. This is typical of
companies whose employees
can work independently or don't
require a lot of direction from
their manager.

There are several advantages to

having a higher span of
management, including faster
decision-making, reduced cost,
and improved communication
with higher-level managers.
Decisions within a company can
be made at a faster rate when
the span of control is wider. This
is because there are fewer
managers within the organization
overall. With less
management levels, there are
also fewer levels of approvals
when making business
decisions. Having less manager
positions also reduces costs
associated with salaries and
payroll. Since management is
generally the higher paid
employees within the
organization, the salary costs are
cut as management is reduced. A
wide span of control also
promotes communication among
higher-level managers. With this
open communication, the staff is
informed about company goals,
and the higher-level managers
understand issues faced by the
staff.
Optimal Span of
Control in
Management
The optimal span of
control would be what is
considered ideal for the
organization.
Not all companies can operate
efficiently using the same span of
control. Different industries may
require collaborative tasks, while
others may allow employees to
work independently.

Why is span of control

important?

Span of control is important in a

business as it determines the
width of the organization and can
determine the efficiency. Finding
the ideal span of control helps a
business work effectively and
reach its overall goals.
Lesson Summary
Span of control is the number of
staff members that report to a
particular
manager. This may also be
referred to as the span of
management. Businesses
implement an ideal span of
control to improve the efficiency
of the work. The ideal span of
control depends on the work
being completed.

What Are the

Implications of the
Span of Control?
The span of control of the
average manager in an
organization determines the
width of the organization as seen
when viewing the organizational
chart. Fewer reports to the
average manager will result in a
taller organizational chart, with
more management positions
relative to the number of
individual contributors. A higher
number of reports to the average
manager will result in a flatter or
wider chart, with
 fewer management positions
relative to the number of
individual contributors.

The average span of

control will also impact the
company's time to make
decisions and cost structure.

Higher average span of

control means fewer layers of
management within the
organization and a relatively
flatter organizational structure.
This can lead to:

Ÿ Faster decision-making due to

fewer levels of approvals
required for a specific decision,
 which allows the company to
respond more quickly to
business issues.

Ÿ Better and more frequent

communication between higher-
level managers and staffers, so
the staff is
 more knowledgeable about
company goals and the higher-
level managers are more
knowledgeable about daily
operational issues faced by staff.

Ÿ Reduced costs relative to a taller

organization, since there are
fewer management layers
needing compensation.

Lower average span of

control means relatively more
layers of management within the
organization and a relatively
taller organizational structure.
This can lead to:
What Is Span of
Control?
Span of control is simply the
number of staff that report to a
manager. Some
companies also have an ideal
span of control, which is the
number of reports they feel a
manager can effectively manage.
In this case, if a manager has
fewer reports than the ideal, they
may feel he or she is not being
effectively used, while if he or
she is handling more they may
feel that the manager is over-
stretched and the reports will not
receive enough direction.

What Are the

Implications of the
Span of Control?
The span of control of the
average manager in an
organization determines the
width of the organization as seen
when viewing the organizational
chart. Fewer reports to the
average manager will result in a
taller organizational chart, with
more
management positions relative to
the number of individual
contributors. A higher number of
reports to the average manager
will result in a flatter or wider
chart, with fewer management
positions relative to the number
of individual contributors.

The average span of

control will also impact the
company's time to make
decisions and cost structure.

Higher average span of

control means fewer layers of
management within the
organization and a relatively
flatter organizational structure.
 This can lead to:

Ÿ Faster decision-making due to

fewer levels of approvals
required for a specific decision,
which allows the company to
respond more quickly to
business issues.
Ÿ Better and more frequent
communication between higher-
level managers and staffers, so
the staff is more knowledgeable
about company goals and the
higher-level managers are more
knowledgeable about daily
operational issues faced by staff.

Ÿ Reduced costs relative to a taller

organization, since there are
fewer management layers
needing compensation.

Lower average span of

control means relatively more
layers of management within the
organization and a relatively
taller organizational structure.
This can lead to: