Span of management is the number of subordinates who will report to each manager

The main difference between chain of command and span of control is that chain of command indicates how each member of a company or organization reports to one another, whereas span of control indicates how many subordinates each manager or supervisor is responsible for in an organization.

Every successful company has an excellent organizational structure behind it. An organizational structure is a structure designed to match a company’s goals and describe how job tasks are formally divided, grouped, and coordinated. Furthermore, organizational structures have six components: chain of command, the span of control, specialization, departmentalization, centralization/decentralization, and formalization.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is Chain of Command  
      – Definition, Features
2. What is Span of Control
     – Definition, Features
3. Difference Between Chain of Command and Span of Control
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Chain of Command, Span of Control

What is a Chain of Command

A chain of command refers to an organizational structure that indicates how each member of a company or organization reports to one another. In other words, it documents the hierarchy of reporting relationships in a company – who must answer to whom. A chain of command establishes accountability, company’s lines of authority, and decision-making power.

Most organizations, including companies, nonprofit organizations, and the military, use a chain of command. A good chain of command can make sure that every task and job position has one person taking care of the responsibility for performance. It also eliminates the need for an employee to report to several bosses. Therefore, when the employee faces an issue, he or she can directly report to the appropriate manager. If the manager is also unable to solve the issue, he can take the issue to the next level in the chain of command. Moreover, under a chain of command, assigning tasks for employees, communicating job requirements and deadlines, and providing motivation happen on a one-to-many basis. In addition, a chain of command can simplify operations and communications within a business and make that business more efficient and productive.

What is a Span of Control

The span of control defines how many subordinates each manager or supervisor is responsible for in an organization. In other words, it indicates the number of employees each manager can effectively manage. However, there is no single form of span of control that is ideal for all types of companies. In a narrow span of control, each manager supervises a small number of employees, whereas, in a wide span of control, each manager supervises a greater number of employees. In a narrow span of control, it is necessary to have more managers and more layers of management to supervise the same number of employees than would be necessary for an organization with a wider span of control.

Moreover, the span of control ideal for a company would depend on a number of factors – the size of a workforce, the goals and strategies of the company, division of departments in the company, etc.

Difference Between Chain of Command and Span of Control

Definition

Chain of command refers to an organizational structure that indicates how each member of a company or organization reports to one another, whereas span of control defines how many subordinates each manager or supervisor is responsible for in an organization.

Nature

While the chain of command indicates the reporting order in an organization, the span of control indicates the number of employees each manager can effectively manage.

Conclusion

In brief, chain of command and span of control are two components of organizational structures. The main difference between chain of command and span of control is that the chain of command indicates how each member of a company or organization reports to one another, whereas the span of control indicates how many subordinates each manager or supervisor is responsible for in an organization.

The position of employees within a hierarchy indicates their status and authority. Those at the top are the most important and are paid a larger salary as they have more responsibility.

Level of hierarchy

Each layer of authority from the top to the bottom of the organisation is called a level of hierarchy or authority.

Each person in a level of hierarchy has the same equivalent status and authority. Tall organisation structures have many levels of hierarchy, whereas flatter structures have relatively few. As the number of levels of hierarchy increases, the organisation will face potentially negative consequences:

• Inflexibility - it will take a long time for information to move from the top management to those lower down the hierarchy.
• A 'them and us' mentality may be create as the people at the bottom of the hierarchy become increasingly remote from those at the top.

Span of Control

The span of control is the number of people directly accountable, and reporting, to one manager.

The span of control refers to the number of people that each manager is directly responsible for. A large span of control means that a manager has a large number of staff under their direct control, while a small span of control means that each manager looks after a small group of staff. This is an important topic as it is normally agreed that the wider the span of control the fewer levels of hierarchy the business needs. We can see this in figures 3 and 4.

Figure 3 A flat hierarchy - span of control

Figure 4 A tall hierarchy - span of control

A flat hierarchy, as in figure 3, will have a high span of control, whereas a tall hierarchy, as in figure 4, will have a much lower span of control.

Beware of making a statement that the CEO has the widest span because he or she is responsible for the entire organisation. The span of control refers to those reporting directly to a manager. In Figure 3, the head of the hierarchy only has a span of two people - it is the next tier down that has the very wide span

Early management writers argued that any span in excess of six would result in ineffective supervision, but later this was modified to a span of 4 to 8 for managerial functions and 8 to 15 at the lower levels of the organisation.

So why do some management theorists support wide spans of control?

• Delegation can be a more important part of how the organisation is managed.
• Those at the top of the hierarchy have less obvious control over subordinates.
• The distance between layers of management is less and those applying the decisions feel closer to those who originally made them.
• The need to be writing/communicating information is reduced as those lower down the hierarchy have the authority to carry out responsibilities.
• Costs can be reduced, as certain management functions are no longer needed. De-layering can take place.
• The subordinates may be very experienced and require less supervision

However, some theorists argue against this trend, pointing to the following as factors that need to be considered when considering a narrow span of control:

• There is less opportunity for delegation and the ultimate empowerment of employees.
• Those at the top can keep a tight control over employees.
• A distance can become apparent between those at the top and bottom of the organisation.
• A narrow span may encourage greater communication between layers of the management structure and clearer lines of communication.
• Training opportunities and personnel development can be more easily managed and attached to promotional opportunities

Whichever style is adopted, and probably most organisations develop combinations, the success of a span of control will rest largely on whether management has the ability to manage the situations that arise, motivate and direct employees to maximise their performance and whether the task lends itself to either a tight or relaxed supervision. For example, a small span of control is more likely to be effective in a production situation where close scrutiny of work is required to maintain quality.

What is meant by the span of management?

What is span of span of management?

What is span of management in an organization?

Is the number of subordinates reporting directly to a manager?