<P> The sum of these three types of interactions is the number of potential relationships of a supervisor . Graicunas showed with these formulas , that each additional subordinate increases the number of potential interactions significantly . It appears natural , that no organization can afford to maintain a control structure of a dimension being required for implementing a scalar chain under the unity of command condition . Therefore , other mechanisms had to be found for dealing with the dilemma of maintaining managerial control , while keeping cost and time at a reasonable level , thus making the span of control a critical figure for the organization . Consequently , for a long time , finding the optimum span of control has been a major challenge to organization design . As Mackenzie ( 1978 , p 121 ) describes it : </P>
<P> The sum of these three types of interactions is the number of potential relationships of a supervisor . Graicunas showed with these formulas , that each additional subordinate increases the number of potential interactions significantly . It appears natural , that no organization can afford to maintain a control structure of a dimension being required for implementing a scalar chain under the unity of command condition . Therefore , other mechanisms had to be found for dealing with the dilemma of maintaining managerial control , while keeping cost and time at a reasonable level , thus making the span of control a critical figure for the organization . Consequently , for a long time , finding the optimum span of control has been a major challenge to organization design . As Mackenzie ( 1978 , p 121 ) describes it : </P>
the optimum number of subordinates a manager can supervise is referred to as the
the optimum number of subordinates a manager can supervise is referred to as the
the optimum span of control
the optimum span of control