Explain the terms span of control and control loss. Are these concepts Essay

Explain the terms span of control and control loss. Are these concepts useful in understanding the design of organizations - Essay Example There are frequent opportunities, so they tend to make the best selection. This has caused the people to raise their expectations manifolds. Today, companies have to be very skillful and knowledgeable in order to make the same benefits that they did in the past with much lesser skill and technical knowledge. In the contemporary market scenario, a businessman can not afford to be uneducated on such technical aspects of business as â€Å"span of control† and â€Å"control loss†. This paper explains the concept of the two terms; span of control and control loss and analyzes their usability in the design of organizations. The concept of span of control was first introduced by by Sir Ian Hamilton in 1922 in the UK (â€Å"Reference for Business†, 2011). Hamilton developed the concept after having studied the British military leaders’ capacity to control a maximum of 3 to 6 people. Since then, this number has been recognized as the standard average number of peop le to be managed by one individual. According to Col. Urwick, an optimal span of control should not exceed 6 (Hattrup, 1993). Hamilton believed in the fact that managers come with limited time and energy to devote to their work. Hence, there has to be a maximum limit on the number of people one individual can effectively manage on the average. Span of control is also called as the span of management. It is essentially a term pertaining to human resources management (HRM). It tells the exact number of workers that a supervisor may adequately manage. Fig: Span of control example (tutor2u, n.d.). The term is of huge significance particularly to the small business runners. Span of control is largely taught in business and management institutions all over the world in the contemporary age. The concept is frequently employed in such large institutions as military, schools and many agencies of the government. However, not many business entrepreneurs are yet familiar with the concept and us ually have no technical means to judge what maximum number of workers should be given in the charge of one supervisor. As a result of lack of knowledge, many businessmen tend to increase the span of control. This, in turn, limits a company’s capacity to grow. What to talk of inexperienced lot, even the most experienced and competent managers have a hard time solving issues of too many people. This saps their ability to concentrate on long term plans, and they are not able to competitively position their business in the market scenario. A business is susceptible to be affected by a lot of risks in its lifetime. Losses may occur due to a variety of reasons. Whenever a business suffers from a loss, it is not just the owners that are affected. Indeed, the whole business is affected. The loss results not only into direct cost, but also the indirect expenses associated with it often exceed the direct costs. Let’s assume a case where the a construction site owner did not prov ide the workers with sufficient safety equipment on the site. One of the plastermen fell from the scaffolding because there was no bracing to support him. He fell on the ground and received several scars and wounds all over his body. He bled heavily. The whole crew left the work and attended the injured. He was taken to the nearby hospital for treatment after the first aid was given on the site. Many workers took it as an opportunity to indulge in lengthy discussions and gossip with one another, discussing how the accident happened, to what extent the