Answer to Question #101073 in Management for Vinay

Question

What do you mean by span of control? Discuss the factors affecting span of control.

Answer 1

The span of control is a managerial term used to indicate the number of subordinates reporting to a respective supervisor. In this regard, the higher the number of employees supervised by one supervisor, the lager the span of control. On the other hand, a span of control is considered to be small if a supervisor oversees a few employees. Also, there are various factors that affect the span of control in an organization. Some of these factors include; the level of an organization, the number of employees reporting to a particular supervisor, the degree of authority of that supervisor as well as the responsibility delegated to a respective supervisor.