Concept and Features of Coordination

In this article, we will talk about the concept and features of coordination. Organizations have several departments working in tandem to achieve their objectives. Therefore, they need to coordinate effectively to ensure that they work in a harmonious manner. Let’s take a look at coordination meaning.

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Coordination Meaning

Coordination is the function of management which ensures that different departments and groups work in sync. Therefore, there is unity of action among the employees, groups, and departments.

It also brings harmony in carrying out the different tasks and activities to achieve the organization’s objectives efficiently. Coordination is an important aspect of any group effort. When an individual is working, there is no need for coordination.

Therefore, we can say that the coordination function is an orderly arrangement of efforts providing unity of action in pursuance of a common goal. In an organization, all the departments must operate a part of a cohesive unit to optimize performance.

Coordination implies synchronization of various efforts of different departments to reduce conflict. Multiple departments usually perform the work for which an organization exists.

Therefore, synchronization between them is essential. Lacking coordination, departments might work in different directions or at different timings, creating chaos.

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• Types of Coordination

Common definitions of the coordination function

Mooney and Reiley – ‘Coordination is an orderly arrangement of group efforts to provide unity of action in the pursuit of common goals.‘

Charles Worth – ‘Coordination is the integration of several parts into an orderly hole to achieve the purpose of understanding.‘

Brech – ‘Coordination is balancing and keeping together the team by ensuring suitable allocation of tasks to the various members and seeing that the tasks are performed with the harmony among the members themselves.‘

Mary Parker Follett – ‘The first test of a business administration should be whether you have a business with all its parts so coordinated, so moving together in their closely knit and adjusting activities, so linking, inter-locking, inter-relating, that they make a working unit that is not congenic of separate pieces, but a functional whole or integrated unit.‘

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Features of coordination

Coordination is the integration, unification, synchronization of the efforts of the departments to provide unity of action for pursuing common goals. A force that binds all the other functions of management.

The management of an organization endeavours to achieve optimum coordination through its basic functions of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling.

Therefore, coordination is not a separate function of management because management is successful only if it can achieve harmony between different employees and departments. Here are some important features of coordination:

• It is relevant for group efforts and not for individual efforts. Coordination involves an orderly pattern of group efforts. In the case of individual efforts, since the performance of the individual does not affect the functioning of others, the need for coordination does not arise.
• It is a continuous and dynamic process. Continuous because it is achieved through the performance of different functions. Also, it is dynamic since functions can change according to the stage of work.
• Most organizations have some sort of coordination in place. However, the management can always make special efforts to improve it.
• Coordination emphasizes the unity of efforts. This involves fixing the time and manner in which the various functions are performed in the organization. This allows individuals to integrate with the overall process.
• A higher degree of coordination happens when the degree of integration in the performance of various functions increases.
• It is the responsibility of every manager in the organization. In fact, this is integral to the role of a manager because he synchronizes the efforts of his subordinates with others.

Solved Question on Coordination

Question: What is the coordination meaning are the important features?

Answer:

Coordination is the function of management which ensures that different departments and groups work in sync. The important features of coordination are:

• It is essential for group efforts and not for individual efforts.
• It is a continuous and dynamic process.
• Coordination emphasizes the unity of efforts
• Helps in the integration of functions
• It is the responsibility of every manager in the organization.