Span of Control and the Operational Commander: Is It more than Just a Number

Abstract

This monograph addresses a fundamental problem in operational level command. The operational commander is required by Army and joint publications to organize his forces. In order to do this, the commander must understand the limits of his span of control when making his organizational decisions. The term span of control is neither defined nor explained in the army and joint publications. At the tactical level, the span of control is established in the applicable TO and Es. At the operational level, this is not the case. The variables that affect civilian span of control were examined in a military context. These factors are personality and organizational driven. The factors that have the greatest affect on span of control are similarity of function of subordinates, style of control the commander uses, the type of coordination required between subordinates, and the number of personal contacts the commander uses to control his forces. In addition, changes in structure, tasks and personnel will affect span of control over time.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 1991
Accession Number
ADA240178

Entities

People

  • William G. Pierce

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • C4I
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Defense
  • Artillery
  • Command And Control
  • Department Of Defense
  • Doctrine
  • Lessons Learned
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • Organizational Structure
  • Students
  • Tactical Air Support
  • Task Forces
  • Training
  • United States
  • United States Government
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Organizational Psychology.
  • Team-Based Human-Centered Cognitive Task Decision Making and Information Performance.