Span of Control

Span of control refers to the number of employees who report to a manager or leader within an organization. For example, let's say nine employees report to a manager in a retail store. That manager has a span of control of nine. This concept is critical in business because it determines the responsibilities of managers and leaders in an organization. The higher the span of control, the more responsibilities a manager or leader has. Span of control is typically part of a wider hierarchical structure within the workplace. For example, a CEO might have a span of control of five managers, and each of those managers might have a span of control of five supervisors.