Span of Control

Span of control states that there is a limit to the number of subordinates a manager can control. ‘Span of control refers to the number of people that one person can supervise directly. A related but broader and possible more useful idea is the span of managerial responsibility. It refers to the number of people whom one supervisor can assist, teach and help to reach the objectives of their own job that is, the number who have access to the supervisor. The span of responsibility probably can be larger than the span of control’.