What factors determine the optimal span of control?

"If hundreds of employees perform the same job, one supervisor may be able to manage a very large number of employees. Such might be the case at a clothing plant, where hundreds of sewing machine operators work from identical patterns. But if employees perform complex and dissimilar tasks, a manager can effectively supervise only a much smaller number. For instance, a supervisor in the research and development area of a pharmaceutical company might oversee just a few research chemists due to the highly complex nature of their jobs. The optimal span of control is determined by the following five factors: 1. Nature of the task. The more complex the task, the narrower the span of control. 2. Location of the workers. The more locations, the narrower the span of control. 3. Ability of the manager to delegate responsibility. The greater the ability to delegate, the wider the span of control. 4. Amount of interaction and feedback between the workers and the manager. The more feedback and interaction required, the narrower the span of control. 5. Level of skill and motivation of the workers. The higher the skill level and motivation, the wider the span of control."