A company has 480 shop‑floor employees. Each manager can effectively supervise a maximum of 12 employees. Determine (a) the minimum number of first‑level managers required, and (b) if the organisation wants a two‑level managerial hierarchy (first‑level and second‑level managers) with the same span of control, how many second‑level managers are needed.
Answer
(a) 40 first‑level managers; (b) 4 second‑level managers.
The correct answer is (a) 40 first‑level managers; (b) 4 second‑level managers. — State the final numbers for both parts as shown in the answer.
Step-by-step solution
- Calculate the number of first‑level managers by dividing total employees by the span of control: 480 ÷ 12 = 40.
- Interpret the result: 40 managers are needed at the first level to supervise all shop‑floor staff.
- For a two‑level hierarchy, the 40 first‑level managers become the subordinates of second‑level managers.
- Apply the same span of control (12) to the first‑level managers: 40 ÷ 12 = 3.33, round up because a manager cannot be fractioned, giving 4 second‑level managers.
- State the final numbers for both parts as shown in the answer.
Common mistake: Forgetting to round up the number of managers, leading to an insufficient count.
Concept tested: Span of control calculation
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