What is defined as the number of individuals one person can effectively supervise?

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The concept referred to as the number of individuals that one person can effectively supervise is known as the span of control. This term is important in organizational management as it directly influences how teams are structured and how efficiently they can operate. A well-defined span of control can lead to better management, as it allows supervisors to maintain effective communication and oversight over their team members, ensuring that tasks are completed efficiently and to a high standard.

The span of control can vary depending on factors such as the complexity of the tasks being managed, the experience and capability of the supervisor, and the nature of the work being done. A narrower span may be beneficial for complex tasks requiring a lot of oversight, while a broader span might work well in environments where tasks are more routine or the team is highly skilled.

The other choices—scope of management, hierarchy level, and workforce capacity—do not specifically relate to the effective number of individuals supervised by a single manager. The scope of management focuses more on the potential responsibilities and areas a manager oversees, hierarchy level pertains to organizational structure, and workforce capacity relates to the total number of employees an organization can support rather than how many a manager can supervise directly.