Management Course: Discussion Topic 10

PROMPT: Administrative theorists concluded many decades ago that the most effective organizations have a narrow span of control. Yet, today’s top performing manufacturing Firms have a wide span of control. Why is this possible? Under what circumstances, if any, should manufacturing Firms use a narrow span of control?

Support your answer by utilizing research that you have gathered from at least 2 sources other than your text. Finally, be sure to cite your sources in proper APA formatting.

A detailed and thoughtful response to the topic is required (minimum of 500 words). RUBRIC IS ATTACHED BELOW.

 Additionally, emphasis is placed on your ability to conduct and synthesize scholarly research. 

  Your posts should be professional in content and follow the APA standards. Be sure to city your sources in APA formatting.

SAMPLE RESPONSE:

Span of control also known as the span of management is the first element of organization structure determined when developing the best hierarchy to be used in creating management and successful organizational behavior in firms.  The two levels in span of control that can be utilized is a narrow span or a wide span, each is determined by the number of employees that report to a specified supervisor, and then the number of supervisors that will report to a manager and then the same criteria being used all the way to the top of the hierarchy chain.  A narrow span of control will mean that there are only a few employees that report to the next level of specified management while a wide span means that there are many employees that are reporting to the next chain in the hierarchy.  These spans of control and the thought of how they should be incorporated into organizations have changed over time.

Original theorists held to the concept that not more than 20 employees should report to a supervisor and not more than six supervisors to a manager.  Many of these concepts were being based of old age developments in an organization that the employees put into place at the lower levels of the organization contained the least amount of skills and therefore required the most amount of attention and direction in job tasks.  Since the time that these theories were originally developed though there has been a large amount of transition in lower level employees and the skills that they possess.  It is common in many large organizations to take necessary measures to help develop the highest level of skills possible within all areas of their organization and their employees.  In addition to the company assisting in enhancing these skills, most employees themselves will enter job fields that they are skilled in and that they have desire to become more knowledgeable in when offered the opportunity.  The increased skill levels in employees along with the fact that many manufacturing assemblies and even most other areas of operating process have become very routine with daily tasks being repeated and a strict order of process already in place allows the ability for a wide span of control to be implemented.

In an article available online from The Economist, it is explained that the type of work and the type of employees is really what will determine whether an organization can develop a wide span or a narrow span (Hindle, 2009).  The type of employee skill level within the organization is what will in the end define the type of management structure but the employer, company, or any type of organization can directly be involved in determining what level of skilled employees they will have, not just but who they decide to hire in but mostly by what type of programs and opportunities they offer for their staff to continue to enhance and increase where their skill level is currently at.  Due to so many improvements taking place throughout an industry as well as the aid of constantly having more technology available a company needs to always be aware that they have to present the change to long term employees in a manner that makes it possible for those employees to also learn about what is happening outside their direct work environment.  It is the organizations responsibility to continually improve their employment staff but not necessarily replace them.

Through the use of management training programs and employer offered skill training Toyota announced in 2010 plans to reduce their span of control.  Their reasoning was that they believed by implementing front line supervisors they increased performance and accountability while at the same time cutting costs.  The cost cutting would be seen by not paying these front line supervisors the same that they would have to pay a department leader.  By making each employee a leader they offered a better work environment as well as more self-driven and self-motivated employees that were eager to show their skills levels.  These concepts have been the background of many manufacturing firms decisions to incorporate wide span of control throughout their organizations and create leaders within every role of their daily business practices (Miller, 2010).

References

Hindle, T. (2009). Span of control. The Economist, Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/node/14301444   

McShane, S., Glinow, M. (2010). Organizational Behavior; 5th edition. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Miller, J. (2010, June 14). Toyota to reduce span of control in engineering. Gemba Panta Rei, Retrieved from http://www.gembapantarei.com/2010/06/toyota_to_reduce_span_of_control_in_engineering_1.html