What Is Wide Span Of Control In Business?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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A manager's span of control refers to how many employees that manager supervises. A manager with a wide span of control

supervises many employees

, while one with a narrow span supervises just a few.

What is the meaning of wide span of control?

Wide span of control: Wide span of control means

a manager can supervise and control effectively a large number of persons at a time

.

What company has a wide span of control?


Google

has a wide span of control where a single supervisor can oversee approximately 10 subordinates because most of the employees in Google are skilled enough to work under very minimal supervision. KFC, on the other hand, has a narrow span of control.

What is wide and narrow span of control?

There are two types of span of controls as Narrow span and wide span. Narrow Span. Wide Span. The

firm with narrow span of control has less number of subordinates reporting directly to the manager

. The firm with wide span of control has more number of subordinates reporting directly to the manager.

What are the advantages of a wide 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 are the main advantages and disadvantages of wide span of control?


Managers may make snap decisions as

they are looking after too many employees. Managers time will be at a premium. Managers will have less time for planning. Subordinates may make decisions they are not trained to make.

Does Apple have a wide span of control?

According to the Apple Incorporated,

the company can be classified as having a wide span of control

. Under the CEO of Apple Inc. Tim Cook, there are 13 departments and each department have their own group of employees.

What is the best span of control?

Optimal span of control.

Three or four levels of reporting

typically are sufficient for most organizations, while four to five are generally sufficient for all organizations but the largest organizations (Hattrup, 1993).

What are the types of span of control?

  • Narrow span of control: Narrow Span of control means a single manager or supervisor oversees few subordinates. This gives rise to a tall organizational structure. …
  • Wide span of control: Wide span of control means a single manager or supervisor oversees a large number of subordinates.

Why is having a wide span of control bad?

Since employees get less supervision, they tend to take on more responsibility and have

higher morale

with a wide span of control. On the other hand, managers with a wide span of control might become overloaded with work, have trouble making decisions, and lose control over their subordinates.

What are the features of wide span of control?

  • Encourages delegation. …
  • Agile. …
  • Reduces costs. …
  • Helps prevent the workforce from disengaging by focusing on empowerment, autonomy and self-direction.

What is the principle of 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 are the disadvantages of a wide span of control?

  • wide span of control means that tasks must be delegated, which can lead to employees feeling stressed and managers feeling overstretched.
  • less promotion opportunities within a flat structure, which may lead to the company losing staff to other organisations.

What is a span of control Example?

The span of control refers to the number of subordinates that can be managed effectively and efficiently by supervisors or managers in an organization. As an example,

a manager with five direct reports has a span of

control of five.

How does span of control affect decisions?

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

What are the limitation of MBO?

Major limitations of management by objectives are: 1.

Failure to Teach the Philosophy

, 2. Problems of Goal Setting, 3. The Short Run Nature of Goals, 4.

Ahmed Ali
Author
Ahmed Ali
Ahmed Ali is a financial analyst with over 15 years of experience in the finance industry. He has worked for major banks and investment firms, and has a wealth of knowledge on investing, real estate, and tax planning. Ahmed is also an advocate for financial literacy and education.