By Ted Pollock , Management Columnist Good organization is simply another name for group efficiency.
Some experts maintain that the optimum number of employees per manager is between five and nine.
Rules of thumb are extremely handy, but broader spans of control are being used in today's organizations. For example, trainees or inexperienced employees obviously require more supervision than the same number of experienced and capable employees. When you give an employee an assignment, make sure your instructions are clear. Explain exactly what he or she is to do and how much authority goes with the assignment. This is particularly true when you are giving assignments to a group.