Division of Labour/ Span of Control/Chain of Command

What is division of labour?

Glossary Division – to separate or split up Expert – a specialist or very skilled person in a particular area eg a heart surgeon

Division of labour involves breaking down the tasks performed to the simplest level and then designing jobs and employing people to do these jobs.

This helps people become experts in a particular area. There are advantages and disadvantages to division of labour

Advantages ______

Disadvantages ______

What is span of control?

Glossary Span – distance, width, depth Subordinates – employees that managers have control over or are in charge of, like a boss eg head teacher

Span of control refers to the amount of subordinates that a manager can co-ordinate and look after.

A smaller span on control (eg 6-9 subordinates) means a lot of supervision of activities. However a larger span of control means less supervision of subordinates activities but a quicker communication system. (Diagram 1)

TASK: Circle the correct word:

With a smaller span of control the manager would have to be capable/incapable and the subordinates highly/poorly skilled. The technology would be modern/out-of-date and the tasks would be complicated/simple. Diagram 1: Structure of a limited and broad span of control

Limited span of control

What is the chain of command?

Glossary Accountability - responsibility of an action taken. This means that each worker will have their performance judged by someone who has authority (power) over them.

The chain of command refers to the way a business structures its power, responsibility, authority and accountability. Usually the chain of command starts at the top position and moves down. Eg the CEO (Chief Executive Officer)  manager  Supervisor  worker.

TASKS: 1. Define span of control in your own words. 2. Draw up a span of control for a high school principal and a football coach 3. Define chain of command in your own words 4. Draw a chain of command for your school