Elements of Coordination

In a crude way division of work is breaking a goal into smaller tasks.

Division of work is concerned with breaking a big task into smaller ones. The resulting activities are therefore interconnected or linked.

Coordination is the process of facilitation these linked activities.

Linked Actions

On an assembly line a worker often picks up a part, does some work on it, and lays it down when finishes.

The next worker, seeing the part laid down knowns that it is now ready and the time has arrived for him to perform his operation.

One activity leads to another particular one through interaction. Perhaps it could flow through several supervisors or a production control system. The important point is that coordination occurs only when the proper actions are linked.

Elements in Coordination

Coordination has two essential elements; the work, tasks, jobs, or activities performed and their timing through a communication process.