Define span of control and explain its implications for a mid-sized sport club's organizational design?

• A. Span of control is the number of volunteers only involved in events; it has no effect on decisions.
• B. Span of control is the geographic area a club operates in; larger spans reduce overhead.
• C. Span of control is the number of direct reports a manager supervises; a wide span can reduce supervision quality and communication efficiency, while a narrow span can increase costs and slow decision-making.
• D. Span of control is the total number of departments in an organization and does not affect supervision.

Answer: (C)

Span of control is the number of direct reports a manager supervises. This shape of supervision directly affects how well a supervisor can guide, coach, and monitor people, as well as how quickly decisions are made and how efficiently communication flows. In a mid-sized sport club, managers may oversee coaches, coordinators, and volunteers. A wide span means many people reporting to one manager, which can dilute supervision quality, hinder timely feedback, and create communication bottlenecks, making it harder to maintain consistent standards across programs. A narrow span means few direct reports, which strengthens supervision and clarity but requires more managerial layers, increasing costs and potentially slowing decision-making due to extra approvals. The optimal setup balances these forces to keep coaching quality high, decisions reasonably fast, and overhead under control.