Citation
A History of the Span of Management
TL;DR
Span of control concepts date to classical management theory
This historical review traced the evolution of span of control concepts in management theory, from early prescriptive rules (5-6 subordinates maximum) to contingency approaches recognizing that optimal span varies by context.
The work shows that organizational theorists have long grappled with the same optimization problem that Murray's Law solves for biology - finding the right branching ratio to balance competing constraints.
Key Findings from Fleet & Bedeian (1977)
- Span of control concepts date to classical management theory
- Early prescriptive rules gave way to contingency approaches
- Optimal span depends on task complexity, subordinate capability, and manager skill