Which NIMS Management Characteristic refers to the number of subordinates that directly report to a supervisor?

Possible Answers:

1. Manageable Span of Control
2. Chain of Command and Unity of Command
3. Modular Organization
4. Management by Objectives

Explanation:

Several national incident management system characteristics can be applied to determine the incident command system structure. The manageable span of control is one of the  NIMS management characteristics.

The incident command system structure should be of sufficient size and responsible for assisting the incident command effectively. The important central aspect of this characteristic is to constrain the subordinate’s number of functions so that every supervisor is responsible for managing the tasks in the incident area. Any change in the span of control is based on the  following factors:

• Nature of the task
•  Distance between resources and personnel
•  Existing safety factors and hazardous factors
• Type of the incident

References:

• https://training.fema.gov/is/courseoverview.aspx?code=IS-200.c
• https://emilms.fema.gov/is_0200c/curriculum/1.html