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Administration & Society, Vol. 36, No. 6, 648-660 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/0095399704270585

The Many Faces of Span of Control

Organizational Structure Across Multiple Goals

Nick A. Theobald

University of Kansas

Sean Nicholson-Crotty

University of Missouri—Columbia

As an extension of the existing literature on span-of-control relationships, we propose that public bureaucracies are typically faced with multiple goals creating potential conflicts due to structural choices. In other words, optimal span of control for one goal may not be optimal for another. Findings from an analysis of nearly 600 public bureaucracies provide some evidence that structural changes designed to improve performance on one goal may hinder performance on others. The results from our analysis also demonstrate a functional form for the span-of-control relationship that is very different from the one suggested by recent theoretical work.

Key Words: span of control • organization theory • organizational performance • public management


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