Elements and types of Co-ordination in management

Elements of Co-ordination

From what we have said so far, there are two essential elements of co- ordination. These are the tables that must be performed and the timing of the task through communication. Consequently, tasks and timing constitute the major elements in co-coordinating the efforts of workers. The tasks have already been worked out in the process or organizing. It is then determined how much time it will take for a task to be completed before the next one starts without any wastage. That is to say once a task is completed the next one should being with minimum delay. It is

through the process of communication that the necessary message is passed on the next worker for him to start his job in the next phase, and as soon as he finishes, information is passed to the next worker and so on until the final work is eventually completed.

Types of Co-ordination

There are basically two main types of co-ordination. We have the voluntary co-ordination and the directed co-ordination.

Voluntary Co-ordination

This is when an individual or group of individuals sees a need, find and performs a task as necessary. From the example of the block making we gave, the sand and cement mixer sees the heaps of sand and bags of cement and has been employed to do the job of making blocks. He take his shovel and starts action. And when he finishes the next person continues the next task and so on. But to do each task well, each person must have some knowledge of the goal (i.e. to make blocks), he must understand his position (either as the mixer, or the one to carry the mixed content to the engine or the engine operator or the one to carry the mixed content for drying or the one to line them up for sale and so on.

Directed Co-ordination

This is when the individual or group receives directive as to what to do when to do it. As one employee finishes a job his supervisor tells the next one to pick it up and performs the next operation.

Controlling (Definition)

After planning and organizing, controlling tales place. It is the process that measures current performance and guides it toward the accomplishment of some objective. The essence of control lies in checking existing actions against some desired results which have been determined in the planning process. We can summarize all this by saying that the two major parts of control are: measuring performance against the plan and taking corrective action when needed.

This is why controlling requires plans. And the clearer, more complete and more packaged the plans are the more effective controls are.

 Measuring is the reserve of planning. This is the plans which come out of planning become the standards by which desired results are measured. Let us also one other thing concerning measuring. And that is, it demands an organization structure. You must know who is going to take action in the organization concerning a situation when what is planned is not actually what is being experienced.