Which term refers to the number of direct reports a supervisor can effectively oversee?

• A. Direct report count
• B. Span of control
• C. Management ratio
• D. Control boundary

Answer: (B)

Span of control is the number of direct reports a supervisor can effectively oversee. This concept matters because it captures how workload, task complexity, and the manager’s capacity to supervise, coach, and communicate interact. A wider span means more subordinates under one manager, which can increase staff autonomy and reduce the number of managerial layers, but may reduce close supervision and timely feedback. A narrower span provides closer oversight and faster communication, at the cost of more layers and potentially greater overhead. This term is the standard way to describe that supervisory capacity, whereas other options describe counts or use terms that don’t capture the effectiveness aspect.