Finding - The County's organizational structure is inconsistent with current management literature.
Finding - Budget reconciliation is inadequate to ensure accurate budget system reports.
Finding - Lead workers are inappropriately designated and compensated.
Finding - Position classifications are misleading indicators of supervisory responsibilities.

The term "span of control" refers to the number of subordinates who report directly to a single manager, supervisor, or lead. A correlation generally exists between the span of control and the number of layers within an organization. A low span of control (i.e., few subordinates per manager, supervisor, or lead) leads to a "tall" organization (i.e., one with many layers) whereas a high span of control leads to a flat organization.

The study found that King County has an average of 6 organizational layers and the average span of control is 5.6 subordinates per supervisor, both of which are inconsistent with the levels recommended in current management literature.

Current management literature advocates higher spans of control and flatter structures because they increase the efficiency and productivity of organizations by reducing problems such as: the distortion of information as it flows through the organization; slow, ineffective decision-making and action; increased functional walls and "turf games;" greater emphasis on controlling the bureaucracy rather than on customer service; higher costs due to the number of managers and management support staff; and less responsibility assumed by subordinates for the quality of their work.

Some methods which have resulted in increased spans of control and fewer organizational layers include process reengineering (i.e., the radical rethinking and redesign of business processes), self-directed work teams (i.e., highly trained work groups that are fully responsible for providing a product or service), and decentralization. However, implementation of any of these methods requires a fundamental change in the culture of an organization, away from the traditional control-oriented environment to one with an emphasis on customer service where decision-making is pushed down to front-line workers.

Other methods can achieve more immediate increases in span of control without fundamental changes in the organizational culture. These include the elimination of management layers or positions through attrition. Another method is to convert management positions with fewer than 3 subordinates to nonmanagement positions. For example, King County has 291 such positions. Converting them to nonmanagement positions would increase the County's average span of control by 1.7 people.

The study recommended that the County Council determine if the County's current organizational structure is acceptable. If the Council desires a fundamental change in the County's structure, it should establish general organizational guidelines (i.e., target ranges for span of control and number of management layers), or review and approve guidelines proposed by the Executive, Assessor, Prosecuting Attorney, or District or Superior Courts. The Council should request that the agencies develop their own implementation plans, with timeframes, for attaining target ranges.

The Council should also request that the Executive, Assessor, Prosecuting Attorney, and the District and Superior Courts convert all management positions with fewer than 3 subordinates to nonmanagement positions, or provide justification why their supervisory status is necessary.

Finding - Budget reconciliation is inadequate to ensure accurate budget system reports.

The study also addressed several additional organizational issues encountered during the study process. The study found that County budget system reports did not provide accurate information on actual positions and their organizational locations within County agencies.

The study recommended that the Office of Financial Management modify its budget reconciliation procedures to improve the accuracy of information in budget system reports.

Finding - Lead workers are inappropriately designated and compensated.

The study also found that the methods for approving differential pay for lead workers appeared inadequate to prevent the inappropriate designation and compensation of lead workers. The study recommended that the Office of Human Resource Management review all positions receiving lead pay for over 60 days to determine if lead worker designation and pay are appropriate, and review the procedures for approving lead worker status to ensure that they are adequate to prevent misuse of the lead worker system.

Finding - Position classifications are misleading indicators of supervisory responsibilities.

The study found that the terms "manager" and "supervisor" were not always indicative of actual managerial or supervisory responsibilities, due in part to agency attempts to restrict job classifications to make them unique to that agency. This has resulted in a proliferation of classifications throughout the County, which is counter to the current trend to reduce the number of classifications in an organization.

The study recommended that the titles of "manager" and "supervisor" be limited to those positions with actual managerial or supervisory duties.

Updated: 06/24/02