Conclusion

Without disciplined efforts to stay fit, firms often grow to be bloated, bureaucratic and inefficient. Reducing layers of management and increasing manager spans of control is a time-tested method for improving a firm's fitness.

To become fit, an organization conducts a spans and layers project, which consists of the following phases: diagnosis, objectives, design, structuring, and staffing. Afterwards, it should periodically monitor its spans and layers to remain lean and structured optimally.

Organizations that successfully flatten and widen their management hierarchies don't just save money; they also improve decision making, enhance accountability, faster and more reliable communication, are more efficient, and their employees are happier.