PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF MANAGEMENT

UNIT 11 CO-ORDINATION IN MANAGEMENT

Objectives
After going through this unit, you will be able to:
• State the basic concept of coordination, delegation as one of the management function.
• Elaborate the importance of coordination within the organization.
• Analyze how delegation and division of work supports the coordinating function of
various activities for better output.

Structure
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Definition
11.3 Characteristics of co-ordination
11.4 Importance of coordination
11.5 Symptoms of poor coordination
11.6 Tools for coordinating the activities
11.7 Co-operation for coordination
11.8 Delegation of work
11.9 Principles of Delegation
11.10 Division of Labor
11.11 Advantages and Disadvantages of Division of Labor
11.12 Keywords
11.13 Summary

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11.1 INTRODUCTION

Co-ordination is a fundamental and primary activity of any organization. Co-ordination is the

process of synchronizing activities of various processes with persons within the organization. It
is undertaken at every level of management. It deals with the task of blending efforts in order
to ensure successful attainment of an objective. It is accomplished by means of planning,
organizing and controlling. It is a part of all phases of administration and that is not a separate
and distinct activity. Balancing, timing and integrating are the three elements of co-ordination.
Balancing is ensuring that enough of one thing is available to support or counterbalance the
other. It implies creating a balance between the resources of different departments and
individuals. Timing means adjusting the time schedules of different activities so that they
support and reinforce each other. Integrating involves unification of the diverse interests under
the common purpose. In every organization, work is to be divided according to its nature and
requirements. But it has to be integrated to obtain qualitative output. The interdependent
activities are to be working out simultaneously. Here co-ordination forms appropriate system
for the integration between two or more departments. Co-ordination is based on positive and
constructive efforts; therefore resistance to accept the system is less. Co-ordination helps to
maintain unity and action throughout the organization’s life.

11.2 DEFINITIONS

According to Henri Fayol,

“To co-ordinate is to harmonies all the activities of a concern so as to facilitate its working
and its success. In a well-coordinated enterprise, each department or division works in
harmony with others and is fully informed of its role in the organization. The working
schedules of the various departments are constantly attuned to circumstances.”
According to George R. Terry,
“Co-ordination is the orderly synchronization of efforts to provide the proper measure,
timing and directing of execution of resulting in harmonious unified action to stated
objectives”.

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In the words of Haimann,

“Co-ordination is the orderly synchronization of efforts of the subordinates to provide the
proper amount, timing and quality of execution so that their unified efforts lead to the
stated objective, namely the common purpose of the enterprise.”

11.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF CO-ORDINATION

1. Co-ordination is very essential function of management. It is inherent in the managerial job.

2. Co-ordination is the basic responsibility of management and it can be achieved through
managerial functions. No manager can evade or avoid this responsibility.
3. Co-ordination does not arise spontaneously or by force. It is the result of conscious and
concerted action by management.
4. The heart of co-ordination is the unity of purpose which involves fixing the time and manner
of performing various activities.
5. Co-ordination is a continuous or on-going process. It is also a dynamic process.
6. Co-ordination is required in group efforts not in individual effort. It involves the orderly
pattern of group efforts. There is no need for co-ordination when an individual works in
isolation without affecting anyone’s functioning.
7. Co-ordination is the responsibility of each and every manager.
8. Co-ordination has a common purpose of getting organizational objectives accomplished.

11.4 IMPORTANCE OF CO-ORDINATION

• Efficiency :
Coordination helps to improve the efficiency of people and operations. Also it helps in
avoiding overlapping efforts and duplication of work. Integration and balancing of individual
efforts provide a smooth and harmonious team work. Coordination is a creative force which
makes possible a total result which is greater than the sum of individual achievements. This
is the synergetic effect coordination. Coordination enables an organization for the optimum
use of its resources.

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• Unity of direction:
Co-ordination helps to ensure unity of action in the face of disruptive forces and by welding
different work groups it facilitates the stability and growth of an organization. It provides
unity of action and helps to avoid conflicts between line and staff elements.

• Human relations:
Co-ordination helps to improve team spirit and morale of employees. In a well-coordinated
organization, organizational goals and personal goals of people are reconciled. This helps to
increase a sense of security and job satisfaction.
• Essential function of management
Coordination is an inclusive concepts or the end result of the management process.
Management is nothing more than coordination of all activities, efforts and forces that
affect the organization from within and without. Coordination serves as a key to all
managerial functions.
• Avoids conflicts –
Subordination of individual interest to general interest is common phenomena in the
organizations. There is need for coordination to avoid conflicts or overlapping in the work of
employees or units or as organization.

11.5 SYMPTOMS OF POOR CO-ORDINATION

Coordination is the process of synchronizing activities of various persons and process in the
organization in order to achieve organizational goals. This is a very essential function of a
management. Absence of this function may lead to –

1. Delay – Without this problem may create about delay in the work process that may lead to
unnecessary waiting period for completing.
2. Duplication – Poor coordination increases the duplication of work. It would be a waste of
efforts. For e.g. If two P. Hd. students are working on the same topic within the same
university only their guides are different. Findings and conclusions are also same. Then it
would be duplication of efforts and wasting of time and other resources if this information is
not gathered, listed and distributed through proper channels.

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3. Confusion – Poor cooperation increases the misunderstandings and increases the in-
commensurate data.
4. Lost data – Gaps between the coordination leads to poor utilisation of resources and missed
opportunities.
5. Inflexibility – The set before need to be modified as and when necessary for quality
production. The lack of proper methods of coordination, problems occurring if are not
communicated properly, it would not be possible to make the changes in work flow.

11.6 TOOLS FOR COORDINATION

Various departments need to be coordinated for smooth functionality. There are basically three
coordinating tools, Mutual adjustment, standardization and supervision.

Coordination

Mutual Direct
Standardisation
Adjustment supervision

Work progress Output Workers skills

Fig 11.1

1. Mutual Adjustment –
Basically this system is carries out for small companies. This is an informal way of
communication. Mutual adjustment is the same mechanism used by furniture movers to
maneuver through a house, or paddlers to take a canoe downriver, or jazz musicians playing
a live engagement.
2. Direct Supervision –

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A leader takes the responsibility of issuing instructions and monitoring subordinates

activities. He monitors to keep the task on the track. If the organization is large enough,
one person cannot handle all the team members, therefore multiple leaders or managers
are used. These managers are coordinated by their immediate bosses or board of directors
or top level management.
3. Standardization –
In any organization different task are carried out but they need to be integrated for final
output. Standardization with proper planning of those efforts will prove to be beneficial.
Standardization is pre planned activity for coordination. It can be achieved with following
three ways –
a. Work progress – It is used for actual manufacturing or production process. After
assembling number of parts final output is obtained. For e.g. a toy making factory,
here machinery in the factory has been standardized for coloring the toys. In the
food processing plant, the process is standardized for uniformity in the product.
b. Outputs – Standardization of output means specifications issued about the product
or work output must meet. For e.g. Stereo equipment designers have a lot of
freedoms in designing their products, but the interface portions of the product (the
connections to other stereo devices like CD's, speakers, tape-recorders, etc.) must
be the same as everyone else's, or else it would be hard to put together a complete
system.
c. Worker skills –The knowledge workers can put up their efforts at their best level.
For this it is necessary to give them freedom with rules and policies to be specified.
Even the maturity of manager/leader and his/her subordinates leads to his/her
relationship.

11.7 COOPERATION FOR COORDINATION

Cooperation means working together with understanding. It is a collective efforts of persons

working in an enterprise voluntarily for the achievement of a particular purpose. Here person
willing help each other. Whereas coordination is a planned activity ensures effectiveness of pre-
arranged goals or objectives. Co-operation is emotional in nature because it depends on the
willingness of people working together, which establishes informal relationship also, whereas

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various sections and people are expected to work in coordination irrespective of their job. This
may develop more formal and even informal relationship. Actually cooperation is not one of the
management functions but it is necessary for the success of co-ordination. Cooperation is a
more of a personal attitude rather than organizational formalities. Cooperation does not arise
out of any limitations of organizational structure. Every individual learns to be co-operative with
one another even though their activities are not related. In the organization same nature of
work is grouped together while divides as per their requirements. These various departments
need to be integrated as they are interdependent on each other. Here existence of co-operation
may prove to be effective condition or requisite for co-ordination. But it does not mean that co-
ordination originates automatically from the voluntary efforts of the group of members. It has to
be achieved through conscious & deliberate efforts of managers. Cooperation is a part of
coordination. Coordination is a broader in scope. It includes both cooperation and deliberate
effort to maintain unity of action and objectives.

Activity 1
Constructing a building is a form of coordination of different activities and human resources.
Try to find out how these activities are coordinated and by whom each job is performed.

11.8 DELEGATION OF WORK

It is not possible for any individual to perform all the duties alone. He need some support to
complete the given task. Person/ manager will distribute his/her duty along with authority and
responsibility to his/her subordinates. This process of transferring duties is termed as delegation

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of authority and responsibility. Delegation of authority is one vital organizational process.

Delegation means assigning of certain responsibilities along with the necessary authority by a
superior to his subordinate managers. Delegation does not mean surrender of authority by the
higher level manager. It only means transfer of certain responsibilities to subordinates and
giving them the necessary authority, which is necessary to discharge the responsibility properly.
Delegation is a common function everywhere; even school principal hands over some of the
administrative work to the supervisor.

• Definition:
1. According to Louis Allen

“Delegation is the dynamics of management, it is the process a manager follows in

dividing the work assigned to him so that he performs that part which only he, because
of his unique organizational placement, can perform effectively and so that he can get
others to help him with what remains.”

2. F. C. Moore defined delegation as -

“Delegation means assigning work to others and giving them authority to do so”.

11.9 PRINCIPLES OF DELEGATION

Delegation is one of the most important functions of a leadership. Proper delegation saves time
and resources as well saved efforts could be diverted for another task. Delegation process helps
to built up the subordinate’s knowledge and other skills. Following are some elements that
direct the process of delegation.

1. Person for a delegation – It is important to have trust and confidence on the subordinate’s
abilities to which a leader is delegating the work. The subordinates skills and maturity of
understanding the nature of job and duration for completing the given target is important.
2. Attitude of commitment – Loyalty and commitment towards the leader and given task is
important. Subordinates attitude towards the job can makes him fully committed and
devoted for the given task.

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3. Describe the task - It is necessary to explain and describe the task fully. Subordinate can
concentrate on the work when he is completely aware about outline, policies, technical
knowhow and other related aspects. While delegating superior is supposed to discuss all
these matters with subordinates.
4. Co-ordinal relationship – Mutual understanding and coordinal relation between a person
who is delegating and a subordinate to whom the responsibility is to be delegated affects
the process. Poor relationship makes it difficult while good relation supports all the
activities of delegation.
5. Feedback mechanism – A person delegating has to build a regular feedback mechanism into
the delegation of the role. This can assure to avoid miss-communications if any. Also it
avoids to a person from taking any undue advantage of powers allotted to precede the task.
This can also act as a powerful rein force for the person undertaking task i.e. to know their
progress is right on track and be appreciated.
6. Avoid undue interference – Delegation process is done as leader alone cannot carry out all
activities and complete the target in a given time. But if he wastes his time in interfering the
allotted work and disturb subordinates from time to time would not be of any use. Even
superior would not be able to concentrate on other activities.
7. Leader cannot be the perfectionist – There could be some activities which subordinate
could do better than superior. Leader may lack some skills or knowledge and their therefore
would find difficult to carry those activities.
8. Convert mistakes into opportunities – Mistakes can act as a great learning tool. Feedback
received from the subordinate can helps to make the changes in the original plans. New
policies and plans could be developed for better productivity.
9. Reward Success – Acknowledging successful work is another function of delegation.
Appreciating and rewarding the success encourages self-motivation, innovation,
upgrading skills and better productivity.

11.10 DIVISION OF WORK

Division of labour means workers are more alien to one another and yet more dependent upon
one another. It is a process of separation of work, into number of tasks. The task may be
performed by an individual or a group of persons. It is applied for the mass production system

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and its principles can be used as a basic for assembly line. It breaks down work into simple,
repetitive tasks. The reduction in production time results in lower down production costs and a
less expensive output.

The term Division of Labour was first used by a Scottish economist Adam Smith, to describe the
separation of manufacturing process into distinct and simple operations which are then
delegated to specific hands and machines to perform. For this he studied two groups of people.
One group, that carried out qualitative and quantitative work with the principle division of
labour, and other work done by non-divided labour. The first group proved their superiority in
the job than second group.

• Definition of Division of Labour

Macmillan Dictionary has specified it as “The way that the work that needs to be done is
divided so that different people are responsible for different parts of it.”
Effect of Division of Labour
He identified three reasons for increase in productivity with Division of labour.
• Workers become expert and effective in their work. Workers specialised in a single task
have a lot of time and occasion to practice their allotted operation. This leads to increase
speed and accuracy that affects the quality of work done.
• In this time is saved by eliminating the constant need to move from one operation to next.

• Division of work in general manufacturing and simple task results in automation; this may
speed up individual task. This effect is caused because once the tasks needed for
manufacture are broken down into simplest possible elements it becomes easy to find
methods and invent machinery that will save time and increase quality and accuracy of
work.

11.11 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF DIVIDING VARIOUS JOBS

1. Advantages of Division of Labor

• Specialized workers can speed up the work.
• Minimum production cost leads to increased production level
• Workers can put up their maximum productivity.

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• Specialization ensures improved skills.

• Specialized workers are paid at higher scale.

2. Disadvantages of Division of Labor

1. Increases the cost due to constant training and development activity .

2. Boredom may create among workers.
3. Quality of work may suffer due to boredom.
4. Unskilled workers those are unfit for automation may be replaced with machinery.

Activity 2

You must have watched a movie ‘Lagan’. Write down different situations where principles of
management like co-ordination, delegation and division of work could be pointed out.

11.12 KEYWORDS

1. Attuned to circumstances – Familiar or get adjusted to the situation.

2. Incommensurate data – Inadequate data

3. Maneuver – Strategic or tactical movement

4. Canoe – Light, open, spender boat that has pointed ends and propelled by paddles.

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11.13 SUMMARY

Co-ordination is an orderly pattern of group efforts to ensure unity of direction and action in
pursuit of common objectives. It involves synchronization of the efforts of individuals as well as
group of an enterprise to provide proper timing, amount, and quality of place and sequence of
efforts to achieve stated objectives with the minimum losses. Although many management
thinkers like Fayol, James, Ordway Tead, Urwick, Allen etc, have stated co-ordination as a
separate management function. Other managerial functions like planning, controlling, directing,
leading, are itself exercise basic function, Co-ordination is inherent in all management functions.

Co-ordination is followed along with two more principles of management as division of labour
and delegation. Division of labour increases the productivity with three important elements as
workers, timing and integration. The Division of labour is a system whereby workers
concentrate on performing a few and specialised task those are integrated for collective
operation. By delegation the work load among subordinates along with co-ordination and
integration their task, a leader can focus on more problem areas.

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