Summer 2014 Exam Oct/Nov 2014
Q1 What do you mean by Span of Control? Differentiate between narrow span of control and wide span of control. Describe the factors that influence the span of control.
Answer.
Span of control
The number of subordinates that a manager or supervisor can directly control is called as span of control.
This number varies with the type of work: complex, variable work reduces it to six, whereas routine, fixed work increases it to twenty or more.
Difference between narrow span of control and wide span of control:
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Figure: Narrow Span and Wide Span of Control

A department may have several homogenous sections of managers, junior managers, and employees. This leads us to the questions of how many employees should work under a manager, how many managers should work under a senior manager, then a division head, etc.
The term span of control indicates the number of employees or managers who work under one head. When a very few people report to a head and a chain is made that way upward, then it is called narrow span. Thus in a narrow span, a department may have three or four sections, under each section head, there could be another two or three sub section and under each sub section there could be nine or ten employees. In a wide span there may be 20, 30, or more subordinates under one head.
Table 1: Advantages and Disadvantages of Narrow Span and Wide Span
There is some optimal limit to the number of subordinate a manager can have. But considering the communication and control in mind, usually we say that the number should be within a range of seven to ten. This however depends on the nature of the industry and technology level. In a computerized environment, it is possible to have even 40 to 50 people under one head. More the number of subordinates
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under one head, flatter then organization becomes. But keeping the factors that influence the span of control, a balance has to be struck.
Factors that influence the span of control:
The time that a manager gets to spend with the subordinate is the fundamental factor. Based on this, several sub factors emerge and are discussed below.

Training
–
Wide span demands high level of training while in narrow span, one can manage with less.

Task definition and delegation
–
Wide span demands clear task definition and delegation while this can be much less in a narrow span.

Well defined plans and repetitive process
–
If the business has these, a wide span is viable, if not a narrow span is preferred.

Verifiable objectives
–
Wide span demands verifiable objectives and this is much less in narrow span.

Speed of change
–
When the speed of change is high, a wide span may not be practical from a communication perspective but may not be practical if such changes need close control.

Organization structure, written and oral communication
–
When this is of a higher order, wide span can work well.

Effective interaction and meeting
–
Wide span demands both more than narrow span.

Task simplicity
–
If the task is simple, a wide span is viable.

Competency of managers
–
With highly competent managers, a wide span works well.

Subordinate readiness
–
If the subordinates are mature and are willing to assume responsibility, a wide span works well.

Need for balance
–
Ideally keeping these factors in mind, one has to balance between narrow and wide span of control.
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Q 2 Define the term controlling. What are the pre-requisites of effective control?
Answer.
Definition of controlling :
Controlling can be defined as measuring and correcting of performance to achieve the organizational goals.
Accordi g to Brech, “Co trolli g is a s ste atic e ercise hich is called as a process of checki g actual performance against the standards or plans with a view to ensure adequate progress and also recording such experience as is gained as a contribution to possible future needs.
Pre-requisites of effective control :
All managers like to have controls because without them their plans would go awry.
There are following pre-requisites to have an effective control system.

Tailoring controls to plans and positions
–
A control is exercised on an activity or a group of activities. It follows that what control is good for a position may not be relevant for another .

Tailoring controls to individual manager
–
Controls have to be adjusted to the i di idual a ager s capability also. If someone does not understand a control, he/she will not trust it or use it as a result of which it will become dysfunctional.
 Desig i g poi t to the e eptio s at riti al poi t –
If a control has to be effective, it must control the exception and that too at the critical point. For example, the critical point in home delivery of a birthday cake is the time and accuracy of writing the name.

Objectivity of controls
–
Many management actions are subjective, but when controls are created, they must be objective, accurate, and must suit a standard. While this may be relatively easy in machine related systems and financial related indicator, we have to be careful when we have to relate it to the intangible areas.
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
Flexibility
–
Controls must be flexible to include the changed plans, unforeseen circumstances, or outright failure. For example, Sambhavi may use budget control to say the inventory level but if the sales are significantly higher or lower, there should be flexibility in the control

Fitting to the organizational culture
–
Imagine putting tight control over Sambhavi whose culture is family-like and open with the freedom to experiment.

Economy of controls
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Controls must be worth their costs. Creating controls which are excessively expensive is counter-productive. For example, we cannot have the same controls in an aircraft and a car.
 Ability to lead to corrective acti on
–
The control should lead to corrective action. Only then it closes the loop and leads to better performance.
Q3 Defi e the ter perso alit . Des ri e Cattell s Perso alit Fa tor Model.
Answer.
Definition of Personality :
The term 'personality' means different things to different people. To the common man, it means external appearances and behaviour, to the psychologists it means the inner awareness of self as a permanent organizing force, and to the manager, it denotes the measurable traits, both inner and outer which can predict the performance in an organisation.
Cattell s Perso alit Fa tor Model
:
Working on earlier models, Cattell reduced the traits to 16 primary factors . Each of these has high and low ranges. These 16 are described below. Both the high and low ranges are given against the first one i.e.,
War th to
illustrate the point. For others only the high range is given. Catell had given each a name but we will confine to understanding the meaning of these:
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1.
Warmth. Warm, outgoing, attentive to others, kind, easy going, participating, likes people on the high range as against impersonal, distant, cool, reserved, impersonal, detached, formal or aloof.
2.
Reasoning. Abstract-thinking, more intelligent, bright, higher general mental capacity, fast learner
(Higher Scholastic Mental Capacity).
3.
Emotional stability. Emotionally stable, adaptive, mature, faces reality, calm (Higher Ego Strength)
4.
Dominance. Dominant, forceful, assertive, aggressive, competitive, stubborn, bossy.
5.
Liveliness. Lively, animated, spontaneous, enthusiastic, happy go lucky, cheerful, expressive, impulsive.
6.
Rule-consciousness. Rule-conscious, dutiful, conscientious, conforming, moralistic, staid, rule bound.
7.
Social boldness. Socially bold, venturesome, thick skinned, uninhibited.
8.
Sensitivity. Sensitive, aesthetic, sentimental, tender minded, intuitive, refined.
9.
Vigilance. Vigilant, suspicious, skeptical, distrustful, oppositional.
10.
Abstractedness. Abstract, imaginative, absent minded, impractical, absorbed in ideas.
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