Effects of Expansion - Communication

Question 1

What is a “Chain of Communication”?

Answer 1

The chain of people messages travel through to get from one layer of the hierarchy to another.

Question 2

Why is a long chain of communication a problem?

Answer 2

• Messages take a long time to travel up and down the hierarchy
• This can leave people feeling isolated & demoralised
• There is a danger the messages may not reach the intended destination
  Chinese whispers may be a problem - messages can get distorted along the way

Question 3

How does this problem occur?

Answer 3

As businesses grow they tend to become more hierarchical with many layers of management

Question 4

What is one solution?

Answer 4

De-layering - removing tiers of management, usually in the middle

Question 5

What is a “Span of Control”?

Answer 5

A Span of Control is the number of workers who report to one manager in their hierarchy

Question 6

What are the Cons of a Wide Span of Control?

Answer 6

-Wide Span leads to managers having to communicate with a lot of employees
- It can therefore take a long time to get messages to all people under their control and to get messages back.
It can also be difficult to manage a lot of employees effectively

Question 7

Firms need to find a balance

Answer 7

Between Short chain of communication & Narrow span of control