Question

Ivan Boston is a regional sales manager for Unisys, a large manufacturer of computer systems. As such, Ivan is responsible for salespeople throughout the region, and he must interact with them frequently to solve problems. Which of the following descriptions is most characteristic of Unisys and its sales managers?
A. Wide span of management control and flat organizational height
B. Narrow span of management control and flat organizational height
C. Wide span of management control and tall organizational height
D. Narrow span of management control and tall organizational height
E. Low administrative costs and clear communication

Answer 1

Answer:

A. Wide span of management control and flat organizational height

Explanation:

Span of management is defined as number of subordinates that a manger can control efficiently. In case of George Brown, the regional sales manager which takes care of the sales person throughout the region has wide span of management. Also, the organization is a flatter organization as the numbers of managerial posts are less and the span is large.

Thus, the correct option is (a) wide span of management control and flat organizational height.

Answer 2

Answer:

A) Wide span of management control and flat organizational height

Explanation:

Ivan Boston is a regional sales manager, and that makes him a middle level manager. In a traditional tall organization, he would have one or two layers of lower managers that are responsible for the salespeople throughout the region.

But in this case, he is directly responsible for the salespeople, there are no lower level managers in the middle. This means that the organization is flat with few managerial levels and that Ivan is responsible for a large number of subordinates, i.e. he has a wide span of management control.