CONTROL SECTION: TYPES, FACTORS THAT DETERMINE IT AND EXAMPLES - DUDAS - 2025

The span of control is a concept that refers to the number of departments and personnel that a manager can manage efficiently and effectively. This mainly establishes the number of managers and levels that a company will have.

When the different sections have been created, the work has been divided and the domain areas have been designated, the managers proceed to choose a line of command. In this way they establish who depends on whom, also indicating the number of employees that a manager can efficiently and effectively supervise.

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This presumption is sometimes called command extension, administrative breadth or control capacity, indicating the number of workers who must respond to a manager and, consequently, the number of subordinates that the manager may supervise.

While the span of control is greater or the administrative extension is broader, then the number of subordinates will be higher for each boss. If the administrative capacity is lower or tighter, the number of employees in charge will be less.

Types

-Wide span of control

The larger the span of control, the more cost-effective the organization is.

However, a span of control that is too broad may be found to affect employee performance in some respects. This happens because supervisors will not have time to offer the help and leadership that is needed.

Advantage

- Supervisors are forced to delegate functions.

- The organizational structure is less obese, flatter.

- Very clear policies for administrative management must be planned and established.

- The subordinates are carefully selected so that they can fulfill the activity commissioned.

Disadvantages

- Decision-making is slower.

- Managers tend to be overworked.

- A loss of supervisory control may temporarily occur.

- Communication problems may arise.

- It requires exceptional administrative management and high quality on the part of managers.

- It requires that the staff be more prepared.

-Tight control section

Tight control spans allow a manager to have tighter control. However, they also carry certain disadvantages.

Advantage

- Strict supervision is shown.

- There is rapid communication between superiors and subordinates, thus affecting decision-making.

- Greater control of operations is carried out.

Disadvantages

- With the increase in managerial levels, decision making decreases. In addition, it generally isolates top management, because there is an excessive distance between the upper and lower levels.

- Due to the increase in management levels, there is a high cost.

- Causes there to be greater supervision, tending that superiors intervene in the work of the workers, thus dampening the freedom and autonomy of the worker.

- Makes the organizational structure more obese and broad.

- It makes vertical communication more complex within the organization.

Factors that determine it

At each level of hierarchy, the number of subordinates or section of control that a boss is directly in charge of varies. However, the number of workers a boss can supervise is a function of different factors, and not the level of hierarchy.

Generally speaking, the span should be small when superiors need to be closely involved with subordinates, and may be larger when supervisors do not require as much contact with subordinates.

Below are the different factors that influence the determination of the control span:

- Accuracy of the representation of authority.

- Training of subordinates.

- Use of objective plans.

- Transparency of projects.

- Communication methods.

- Geographical location of the subordinates.

- Speed ​​of changes or stability of operations.

- Consequences of the meetings.

- Formalization of tasks.

- Necessary personal interaction.

- Technology level.

- Capacity of the manager.

- Amount of helpers used.

- Occupations by levels.

- Difficulty of tasks.

- Experience and training of subordinates.

- Need for close supervision or coordination.

Formalization

It refers to the degree of standardization that the positions or positions of a company may have.

If a position is highly formalized, with an explicit description of the position and clearly established procedures to be carried out, then the person who occupies it has only a narrow margin to exercise power over what he can do and in what way.

This happens because what is sought with formalization is for workers to handle the same input and in the way already determined, in order to always obtain a stable and uniform production.

When in a company there is a low degree of formalization, it is observed that the procedure that is expected in the position is not programmed. Therefore, workers have greater freedom and autonomy to exercise their power at work.

Examples

There is a limit in relation to the number of subordinates that must report to a manager, so that he can carry out his work efficiently and effectively.

For example, catalog sellers can be supervised and targeted in greater numbers, as their activities can be easily controlled. In other words, the span of control is broader at operational levels.

On the other hand, when workers under supervision carry out non-repetitive and more intellectual activities, the span of control is reduced, because the degree of supervisory complication increases.

Investigations carried out

In 1937, the French researcher VA Graicunas showed that possible organizational relationships increase geometrically, with a linear increase in the number of direct subordinates.

Graicunas considered that a manager G will have certain types of organizational relationships with two subordinates A and B. For this example, there would be six relationships between these three people, as indicated below:

- Individual direct: G <–> A and G <–> B

- Group direct: G <–> A <–> B and G <–> B <–> A

- Crossed: A <–> B and B <–> A

Lorsch Jay and Lawrence Paul used an average control span in 1967 to measure the dimension of the organizational structure. They considered as an indicator of low structure the sections of control of ten subordinates, and as an indicator of high structure the sections of three to five subordinates.

Cultural difference

Something that is quite relevant is the cultural difference when the control section is delimited.

A study carried out in Japanese companies located in the United States revealed that base supervisors controlled 15 workers on average. On the other hand, the numbers of American companies was 30.

This difference is interpreted that the Japanese give a relatively greater importance to knowing each employee, which is a process that requires more contact and effort.

References

1. Eduardo Amorós (2019). Organizational behavior. Eumed. Taken from: eumed.net.
2. Definition XYZ (2019). Control Section Concept. Taken from: definition.xyz.
3. UNAM (2019). Section of Control or Amplitude of the Authority. Taken from: programs.cuaed.unam.mx.
4. Web Knowledge (2013). Chain of command and span of control. Taken from: knowledgeweb.net.
5. University World (2013). Control or Administration Section. Taken from: l30rabasm.blogspot.com.