Coordination deals with blending efforts to achieve objectives through planning, organizing, actuating, and controlling. It involves arranging group efforts, not individual efforts, in a continuous and dynamic process directed by managers to ensure unity of efforts toward common objectives. Effective coordination requires clearly defined goals, authority and responsibility structures, comprehensive programs and procedures, constant checking, effective communication, and leadership to guide activities in the proper direction.

1. Coordination
Coordination deals with the task of blending efforts in order to
ensure successful attainment of an objective. It is
accomplished by means of planning, organizing, actuating and
controlling.

2. Characteristics of Coordination
 It is an important managerial activity
 It involves an orderly arrangement of group efforts and not
individual efforts
 It is a continuous and dynamic process carried on by the
managers
 Its purpose is to secure unity of efforts towards common
objectives

3. Coordination: The Essence Of Management
 Coordination in Planning - Each department must execute their part of
the plan in time so as to achieve the ultimate goal.
 Coordination in Organizing - Each department is linked with the other
department in a scalar chain.
 Coordination in Staffing - Keeping the right persons on the right jobs.
 Co-ordination in Directing - The right motivation in right time and
harmonies the group efforts of followers to direct them towards a particular
destination.
 Coordination in Controlling - For evaluation and corrective action,
managers need the coordinated group efforts.

4. Need and Significance of Coordination
 Reconciliation of Goals. In organisation, the conflict of goals arises
because everybody perceives and tries to achieve the organizational
goals in his own way.
 Total Accomplishment. Coordination helps in increasing the overall
accomplishment of the organisation.
 Economy and Efficiency. Coordination eliminates duplication of efforts,
which help in maintaining economy in labour, time and equipment.
 Goods Personnel Relations. Good coordination gives job satisfaction to
the employees, where good human relationships are developed.

5. Types Of Coordination
1. Vertical and Horizontal Coordination.
 The vertical coordination is the coordination between two departments at
different levels of the organisation
 The horizontal coordination implies the coordination between departments
on the same level in the managerial hierarchy.
2. Internal and External Coordination.
 internal when it is achieved between different departments, sections and
units of organisation. It can be vertical and horizontal.
 External coordination is required to keep relationship with the external
forces like government, customers, suppliers and competitors.

6. Effective Coordination
 Clearly defined goals - Every individual in the enterprise should
understand the overall objectives and his contribution to these objectives
 Well-defined authority and responsibility - The line of authority and
responsibility should be clearly defined to achieve coordination
 Precise and comprehensive programmes and procedures - This
brings uniformity of action, as every one understands the programmes and
procedures in the right sense.
 Constant Checking and Observation - It should be through a
continuous system of personal contact
 Effective Communication - provides adequate and timely information to
different parts of the organisation.
 Effective leadership and supervision - Effective supervision guides the
activities of individuals in the proper direction

7. Principles of Coordination
Mary Parker Follett has laid down the following four principles for effective
coordination-
 Principle of Director Contact - This helps in exchange of opinions and
ideas in a better way and clarifying the misunderstandings
 Principle of Early Stages - early stages like, planning, goal setting and
policy-making.
 Principle of Continuity - It should be viewed as a never-ending process
and every manager should exercise it constantly.
 Principle of Dynamism - It changes with the change in external factors