Co-ordination in Management

Introduction

Different departments or divisions have been given a variety of duties to complete. According to their areas of expertise, they are allocated.

Each department’s employees carry out their tasks so that everyone may work together to accomplish shared goals. It’s co-ordination, then.

The process of co-ordination guarantees the efficient interaction of managerial activities. Coordination helps accomplish common goals while minimising time, effort, and financial waste.

There are several departments in a contemporary business. The business has divisions including procurement, production, sales, finance, and accounting in the past.

However, the business is currently split into the following divisions: procurement, production, sales, finance, accounting, human resources, research and development, public relations, and so on. Currently, there are a lot of departments classified. As a result, coordination has become more important.

Definition

According to Lundy, coordination is creating a shared purpose and executing strategies in a coordinated manner to attain goals.

According to Henry Fayol, “To coordinate is to synchronise all of a concern’s actions in order to ease its operation and success. Each department or division of a well-coordinated firm cooperates with others and is completely aware of its function within the organisation. Different departments’ work schedules are regularly adjusted to the situation.”

James D. Mooney and Alan C. Reiley, Coordination is the systematic organisation of a group’s attempt to create cohesion in the pursuit of a single goal.

According to Orduray Tead, “Coordination is the attempt to guarantee that the functions and forces of all the components and elements of an organisation will interact smoothly in order that its objective can be realised with the least amount of friction and the greatest amount of cooperative effectiveness.”

“It appears more appropriate to see coordination as the essence of managership for the attainment of harmony of individual efforts toward the fulfilment of collective objectives as the aim of management,” write Koontz and O’Donnel. Each management task involves practising coordination.

Terry, G.R. “The job of combining efforts to guarantee the effective achievement of an aim is coordinated. Through planning, organising, acting, and controlling, it is done.

According to Newman, coordination is a component of each stage of administration and not a separate endeavour.

According to E.F.L. Brech, “Coordination involves balancing and maintaining the teams by guaranteeing an appropriate distribution of working duties to the different members and seeing to it that they are accomplished with due harmony among the members themselves.”

Features / Characteristics of Co-Ordination

1. Not a distinct management function: Coordination is required for all management functions. Therefore, coordination is not a unique management task.
2. Managerial responsibility: It is the duty of each department head to coordinate the activities of his staff. The management position and responsibilities come with it.
3. Promotes unity of action: To achieve shared goals, there must be unity of action. Therefore, it is believed that unity of action is the key to effective coordination.
4. Coordination is essential at all organisational levels: Coordination cannot be forced or left to chance. The senior executives should thus make conscious efforts to create coordination.
5. The value of group efforts: Bringing coordination requires group efforts rather than individual efforts. No one can do work without influencing how others perform. It highlights the teamwork.
6. Continous and dynamic process: Coordination is a continuous, dynamic process that begins with planning and concludes with controlling. There is a certain level of coordination present in every organisation. The management should make special efforts to create a high level of cooperation.
7. The idea of a system: An organisation is a network of collaborative activities. The organisational framework places an interdependence on each department’s various duties. Coordination makes the organisation work efficiently. Coordination is a system idea as a result.

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Need and Importance of Co-ordination

Coordination is needed for management tasks to be performed effectively.

1)Unity in diversity: The foundation of excellent management is effective coordination. In a huge organisation, there are many workers, and everyone has unique ideas, viewpoints, activities, and backgrounds.

As a result, there are numerous operations in huge organisations that would be ineffective in the absence of coordination. So, the key component of unity in variety is coordination.

2) Term work or unity of direction: In order to accomplish the goals of the organisation, the efforts, talents, and abilities of many people should be combined. Without coordination, the group’s efforts may be dispersed and fall short of its goals.

Additionally, coordination prevents work from being done twice, which results in management that is economical and effective.

3) Differentiating functions: The organisational functions are broken down into departments, sections, or divisions. The tasks carried out by each department vary. They are essential to achieving the overall goals.

Objectives are definitely achieved when there is coordination. Each division makes an effort to carry out its duties independently of the others.

It could lead to an issue. As a result, coordination is required to combine the linked departments’ operations.

4) Specialization: The current industrial world exhibits a high degree of specialisation. Experts are well-versed in their respective disciplines. They are able to evaluate the size, character, and kind of job they do.

However, they are oblivious to other people’s tasks and the significance of their performances. The experts often disagree on this. Coordination may be used to resolve conflicts.

5) Goals alignment: Each department or division has its own objectives to fulfil within the allotted period. Regarding an organisation, there are broad objectives.

The people that work for the company have their own objectives as well. Individuals or workers prioritise their own interests above departmental and organisational objectives.

Members of the department prioritise their own departmental aims above organisational goals.

6) Major workforce: Large workforces are employed by large organisations. They each have various routines, behaviours, and strategies depending on the circumstance.

They sometimes behave irrationally. Their actions are neither always easy to comprehend nor entirely foreseeable.

Therefore, it is always possible for issues to arise in a complex organisation. All of this increases the need of coordination.

7) Congruency of flows: Also known as congruent flows, is the continuous transfer of comparable information from one direction to another.

In an organisation, information is made to flow about the use of resources, activities, the use of authority, and output. The smooth and continuous flow of information is ensured via coordination.

8) Empire building: The highest level of an organisation is referred to as the empire. Staff officers are always expected to cooperate with line officers.

However, the line officers are not yet prepared to offer staff officers their cooperation. Line officers and staff officers go at odds with one another as a result. In order to prevent disputes between line police and staff officers, coordination is required.

9) Differentiation and integration: Every organization’s whole activity is divided into two categories. They are uniform, specialised groups. The different organisational levels are given authority. For collective efforts to succeed, this is required. This procedure is facilitated by coordination.

Principles of Co-ordination or Essentials of Effective Co-ordination

1)Early start: Coordination should begin even with management’s planning role. The strategy should be created by the management after contacting the relevant authorities.

This will make it extremely simple for management to prepare plans and put them into action. There won’t be any opposition from the concerned authorities after that.

2) Employment contract: Two people get extremely close via spoken communication. There is a chance of face-to-face interaction.

Through human interaction, a consensus on approaches, activities, and goal-achievement may be reached.

Through human contact, ideas, thoughts, opinions, suggestions, sentiments, etc. are successfully communicated to the recipients. Personal interactions help to prevent conflict and misunderstanding.

Therefore, cooperation and mutual understanding, rather than force, order, or coercion, are the means by which coordination is established.

3)Continuity: As long as the organisation is in operation, coordination is a must. The foundational element of the organisational structure is coordination. Planning for coordination begins with controlling, so to speak.

4) Reciprocal relationship: According to this tenet, all elements of a situation are mutually dependent on one another. Each component has an impact on the other factors as well as being affected by them.

The integration of all efforts, actions, and interests is necessary since the acts of one employee affect the actions of other workers, and vice versa.

5) Dynamism: The business’s external environment has an impact on its internal operations. Additionally, internal choices and actions are modified in accordance with the situation.

As a result, coordination changes in response to internal activities and choices as well as the external environment. Coordination need to be dynamic.

6) Simplified organisation: Effective coordination is made possible by simplified organisation.

To improve cooperation between the departmental heads, management might structure the departments in certain ways.

Two divisions or departments are placed under one executive in charge if their respective tasks are most comparable.

This helps to achieve greater coordination. Someone suggested that if two sections or departments have different duties, these two departments should be assigned to a single executive.

Additionally, improved coordination between the two departments will result from this.

Even if certain operations are distinct from one another, management may group them under a single executive since they need tight coordination, claim Keith and Gabelin.

7) Self-coordination: In accordance with this concept, one department’s operation has an impact on other departments’ operations, which in turn have an impact on the operations of other departments.

The same department changes its operations in a way that could benefit other departments.

Coordination is done in this manner. To achieve self-coordination, excellent communication is required.

A department’s ability to evaluate the duties of another department is facilitated by effective communication.

8) Clearly defined goals: The department leaders should be aware of the organization’s goals. Therefore, the management must take the appropriate actions to inform the departmental heads of the goals.

This is particularly helpful in attaining the organization’s shared goals as a whole. Unanimity in action is a given when there are defined aims and a clear explanation of those objectives.

9) Clearly defined authority and responsibility: The management should clarify each person’s and each department’s authority and responsibilities. This will make organisational coordination more efficient.

Additionally, it will lessen interpersonal disputes. The department manager has sufficient power to discipline employees who have broken rules or engaged in other irregularities.

10) Effective communication: Proper cooperation requires effective communication. Coordination may be used to address issues at the individual and departmental levels.

Additionally, a staff member’s efforts are efficiently used to further the organization’s goals. Leadership

11) Good management: Good management also aids in good coordination. Subordinates’ morale is raised and their confidence is increased through effective leadership.

12) Effective supervision: Effective supervision is essential for ensuring that subordinates carry out their tasks as intended. The supervisors may be given this kind of task by the top executives.

When senior executives notice any irregularity, they may act quickly to make corrections with the assistance of supervisors.

Therefore, coordination between the top executives and the supervisors is necessary. As a result, supervisors are crucial to coordination.

Techniques of Co-ordination

Supervisors may recruit coordination through a variety of strategies. The following is a discussion of certain coordination techniques:

1)Clearly Defined Objectives: Every organisation has distinct goals in mind. These goals would be made very clear.

The organization’s personnel then need to have a solid understanding of its goals. To achieve appropriate coordination, there must be unity of goal.

2) A strong chain of command: In any organisation, the chain of command establishes who is accountable to whom.

The superior has adequate control over his subordinates if the line of power and duty is clearly established.

The superior or manager may then use his power to direct his subordinates’ efforts. If the chain of command is clearly established, the superior may be able to reduce disagreements and obtain coordination.

3) Coordination via group meetings: In group meetings, authorities address the shared set of issues facing the organisation.

These group gatherings aid with coordination. Convening the group meetings is simple. The rationale is that each group member has a responsibility to expand their coordination.

4) Harmonious policies and practises: Programs, processes, and rules all serve as a framework for making decisions in a consistent way. It guarantees consistency in behaviour at all levels of management.

5) Effective communication: In an organisation, effective communication fosters cooperation and understanding between the many authorities. As far as possible, the communication should be straightforward.

All misconceptions and misinterpretations are avoided by the straightforward communication alone.

Quick communication may help ensure that tasks are completed on schedule. The execution of additional tasks that need to be coordinated is thus a possibility.

6)A sound organisational structure: A sound organisational structure unifies the operations of various organisational units and sub-units.

Additionally, a strong organisational structure aids in the achievement of horizontal coordination.

7) Coordination via a liaison officer: A liaison officer is a person who serves as a bridge between two people.

Through him, external coordination is attained. To maintain good ties with the government and outsiders, many huge organisations rely on this person.

8) Cooperation: Better relationships inside the organisation lead to cooperation. A solid foundation for stronger interactions is provided by the policies and processes.

In order to guarantee coordination via cooperation, informal connections are also encouraged.

9) Self-coordination: Within an organisation, there are several interconnected functions.

Therefore, the duties of the several departments are set up such that each department benefits from the operation of the others. It is possible to develop self-coordination using this method.

10) Coordination via leadership: A manager utilises his abilities as a leader to get employees to cooperate voluntarily. A leader can recognise people’s interests and inspire their followers.

These help with coordination. With the aid of effective leadership, many disagreements and unpleasant circumstances may be avoided.

11) Incentive: The phrase “incentives” refers solely to financial rewards. They are increases in the pay scale, bonuses, profit sharing, and other things of the kind.

These incentive programmes encourage stronger teamwork, which in turn promotes greater coordination.

Types of Co-ordination

Typically, there are two categories of coordination. Here is an explanation of them: 1. Internal Coordination: In order to coordinate the actions of all managers, executives, divisions, sub-divisions, branches, and more, relationships must be established.

The following two categories further split internal coordination:

(i) Vertical co-ordination: This kind of coordination occurs when an upper-level official coordinates their work with that of their lower-level colleagues, and vice versa.

The activity of the sales manager is coordinated with that of the sales supervisor. Similar requirements apply to the sales supervisor, who must coordinate with and get along with his superiors.

(ii) Horizontal co-ordination: Establishing a connection between those who have the same status is referred to as horizontal co-ordination.

For instance, coordination between departmental leaders, managers, employees, etc.

2)External co-ordination: Establishing a connection between an organization’s workers and those outside the organisation is known as external co-ordination.

The purpose of establishing this connection is to benefit the organisation as a whole.

The following are the external parties that an organisation needs to build stronger relationships with:

(i) Market agencies

(ii)The general public

(iii)Competitors

(iv) Clients.

(v) The federal, state, municipal, and other governments, as well as other government organisations.

(vi) A variety of organisations offering support services.

(vii) Financial institutions

(viii) Different industrial organisations.

(ix) technological agencies

(x) Various business entities.

A person appointed as the public relations officer is in charge of establishing a connection between the organization’s workers and the general public.

Problems of Co-ordination

For the management to operate smoothly and effectively, coordination is required. But in actuality, the following issues with coordination exist.

1. Natural obstacles: There are a few natural obstacles that make coordination ineffective. Natural obstacles include things like floods, earthquakes, and fires. These have an impact on both the behaviour of the individual and the group. Ineffective coordination is the outcome.
2. Lack of administrative skill: The selection of ineffective candidates leads to a lack of administrative ability. They don’t fully comprehend the administrative process. As a consequence, coordination is ineffective.
3. A lack of coordination techniques: Management has little interest in learning new strategies for efficient coordination. The rationale is that it is adequate for an organization’s growth. Coordinating issues may be readily solved if management use a variety of coordination approaches.
4. Ideas and goals: Every management has its own goals and devises strategies (ideas) to reach them. However, the managers conflate these goals with concepts. It raises a coordination issue.
5. Misunderstanding: An organisation employs a large number of people. Mutual understanding should exist between them. But coordination issues often arise because of miscommunication among staff.

Steps for Effective Co-ordination

The management should take the following actions in order to resolve the aforementioned coordination issues and achieve effective coordination:

1. Authority and responsibility should be properly delegated at all levels of management.
2. Depending on the organization’s size, the complete or all of its functions should be separated into departments or sections.
3. Establishing and following strict guidelines, rules, laws, policies, etc.
4. Creation of a successful communication system.
5. The creation of a complaints cell for workers.
6. A suitable reporting mechanism has to be in place.
7. Skilled employees must get fair compensation.
8. The management should encourage the staff to actively participate in committee meetings, conferences, seminars, and similar events.
9. The management should promote cordial interactions among the staff.
10. Managers should have access to opportunities for leadership, coordination, planning, staffing, and related training.

Co-ordination vs Co-operation

Co-ordination	Co-operation
1. It is one of management’s duties.	It is not a managerial function.
2. Coordination is the systematic organisation of collective operations.	2.The ability to collaborate with others or provide a helping hand to others.
3. The level of coordination affects an organization’s early success.	3.Coordination is based on cooperation.
4. Official coordination is achieved.	4.Participation is an unpaid service.
5. There is a clear connection between coordination and the accomplishment of goals.	5.There isn’t really a direct link between collaboration and achieving goals.

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