Span of control means a no.of employees or sub ordinates that report to a supervisor. This is usually used in Business Management and more predominantly in Human Resources Management. Availability of the supervisors, nature of work, ability of the sub ordinates and the time the supervisor can allot for his/her sub ordinates are few factors that affect span of control. This is management crucial information because it is important to know who reports to whom and who is managing whom. Or else there might be confusion and employees might have 2 or more bosses. With Span of control, a Manager can delegate his work based on the subordinate's skills and knowledge on various topics.