Henry Fayol, L.A. Allen and Ordway Tead consider coordination as a separate management function, while others suggest that coordination is not a separate managerial function; it is in-built with all management functions. Therefore, coordination has been defined by various authorities in various ways.
Ordway Tead defined coordination as ‘the effort to assure a smooth interplay of the functions and forces of the different component parts of an organization to the end that its purpose will be realized with a minimum of friction and a maximum of collaborative effectiveness.’ Henri Fayol laid emphasis on an internal coordination suggesting following three action plans:
i. Each department of an organization should work in a proper harmony with the rest
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ii. Each department or division should be informed of its share in the group task
iii. Working schedule of different departments should be constantly attuned to circumstances
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Therefore, within the organization, both vertical and horizontal coordination must be achieved, so that individuals in organization are aware how their functions relate to other functions and how they contribute to the achievement of goals.
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Vertical coordination is coordination between the jobs of different individuals as different levels of organizational hierarchy. Horizontal coordination, on the other hand, is coordination between different departments at the same level in a chain of command. We have subsequently discussed the techniques of achieving internal coordination in an organization.
At this stage, it is also important for us to discuss what external coordination is. We are aware that any business organization operates in a dynamic environment. Forces exogenous or external to an organization have great influence on its success and failure. Therefore, coordinating external forces also is important to accomplish organizational goals. We have also discussed separate techniques to achieve external coordination.
According to Newman, ‘coordination deals with synchronizing and unifying the actions of a group of people. A coordinated operation is one in which the activities of the employee are harmoniously detailed and integrated towards a common objective.’ McFarland defined coordination as a ‘process whereby an executive develops an orderly pattern of group effort among his subordinates and secure unity of action in the pursuit of common purpose.’
In the same way, Mooney and Reilly defined it as ‘an orderly arrangement of group effort to provide unity of action in the pursuit of a common purpose.’ Further, Spriegal defined coordination as ‘the process of so arranging group activities in relation to time, place and effort that each item will take care of itself according to the need of the situation.’
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We have already stated that there exists difference of opinions about attributing coordination as a separate function of management and considering it as inbuilt with all managerial functions like, planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling.