Coordination in Management
Coordination is the characteristic feature of management which makes sure that various groups and departments of a firm are in good sync with each other. Nonetheless, there should be a unity of action among different groups, employees and departments.
Coordination also brings harmony and peace while carrying out tasks and activities to achieve the firm’s objectives efficiently. For any group task, coordination is the most crucial aspect. While, if an individual is working independently, there is no need for any coordination. It is that invisible string which runs throughout the company and binds everyone together. It is purely the essence of management which is required at every level and at each step taken by the firm to achieve its ambitions.
Therefore, we can clearly say that coordination is basically an arrangement of efforts for giving unity of action to achieve a specific goal. In a company, every department must work as a cohesive unit while aiming towards a single objective.
Synchronization is really important. Lacking coordination, departments and teams might work in unusual directions or at different timings which might spoil the whole working schedule or work plans.
Example Of Coordination In Management
Example 1: A sales manager will coordinate his work with the sales supervisors. On the contrary, all the sales supervisors would ensure that the work is in synchronization with the sales manager.
Example 2: Coordination is when a gymnast walks without falling from a tightrope.
Requirement for Coordination
Everyone is aware of the fact that there are numerous departments in a company, such as Purchase, Finance, Sales, Production, Human Resources, Marketing etc and the work of all these departments are interdependent and linked to each other. Further, there are some levels like:
● Top-level, which consists of Chief Executives, Board Of Directors, Managing Directors etc.
● Middle-level, comprising departmental managers and heads.
● Lowest-level, consisting of first-line managers, foreman and supervisors.
Types of Coordination In Management
In an organization, the coordination of both internal as well as external components help in minimizing the complexities. The different types of coordination are:
● Internal Coordination
This type of coordination is all about creating a relationship between executives, managers, departments and employees.
These relationships are produced with an understanding to coordinate the activities and tasks of an organization. It has two groups.
1. Vertical Coordination: Here, a senior authority is in charge of coordinating his work with his subordinates and vice versa. For instance, a sales manager will coordinate his work with the supervisors and all the sales supervisors would work in sync with the sales manager.
2. Horizontal Coordination: Here, employees are required to create a healthy relationship among one another for better performance. For instance, a healthy coordination between supervisors, co-workers etc.
● External Coordination
As the name suggests, this type of coordination is primarily about creating a relationship
between the employees of a company and individuals outside it. These relationships are mainly
created with an aim to have a better understanding of outsiders like public, competitors, market,
customers, financial institutions etc.
Usually, firms rely on a Public Relations Officer (PRO) with the responsibility of creating mutual
and coordinated relationships between the organization and outsiders.
Importance of Coordination In Management
Here are a few reasons that inform the essentiality of coordination in management.
● Unity in Diversity
Every big company has a lot of employees, each with dissimilar views or opinions, background and activities. Therefore, there are a lot of tasks to be done in a firm.
All these activities would prove to be ineffective if coordination won’t be there. So, coordination is very crucial for unity in diversity.
● Unity Of Direction
A firm is required to amalgamate the skills and efforts of several employees in order to achieve success. Hence, coordination eliminates the duplication of tasks which further leads to reasonable operations.
● Functional Distinction
A company has a lot of sections and departments who are performing various functions. All these functions are crucial for achieving the goals of an organization.
If every department starts working, independently without communicating with each other, then the work might not be as good as it would have been with proper communication. Therefore, coordination is essential in Management.
● Reduced Disputes
There are several departments that help a company in achieving its goals. They are also efficient enough to assess the type of work they perform.
However, they are not aware of the cruciality of other department’s roles which can lead to disputes. Hence, coordination can very efficiently minimize such disputes.
● Appeasement Of Goals
Every person has their own goals and objectives which are more important to them as compared to the organization’s goals. Coordination helps in reconciling employee’s goals with organizational and departmental goals.
● Enhancement Of Team Spirit
In a firm, there exists many squabbles between departments, employees etc. Coordination motivate the departments and people to work as one team and achieve the mutual goals of the company. It boosts team spirit within the employees of an organization.
● Complete Utilization Of Resources
Mainly, coordination makes sure that the workers do not engage in cross-purpose tasks since it brings together the material as well as the human resources of the firm. Therefore, there is quite less wastage of resources which assists the organization in utilizing them properly.
● Integration & Differentiation
The activities of a company are divided into two parts – homogenous and specialized. To achieve team efforts, the authority is designated to various levels in the firm. Coordination facilitates this procedure.
Also Read
Level of Management | Their Functions | Top, Middle, Low Level of management
Wrapping Up
Sometimes, coordinated efforts have to aim more on planning whereas, sometimes, focus should be more on controlling things. Despite the degree of focus, the Essence of coordination specifies its needs which is prevalent at all levels, in every department and at all the points oftime.
Modern companies are open systems. Their continuous and dynamic communication with the environment necessitates the presence of a strong coordination system in the company.
Coordination is the power of organizational victory. Coordination between the team members and various departments is very vital to achieve all the stated goals and objectives of the organization.