It explains the tasks of every worker in an organization. One can not operate without the o. Thus it relates to Jack of All Traders But Master of None. Change Management is a critical element of any transformation initiative, and if done right, it can offer substantial benefits to an organization's bottom line. Every organization needs to make practical decisions timely for progress and success. Maintain Discipline 4. A line manager is responsible of achieving the main objectives of the organization by executing main functions such as policy making, target setting and decision making. b. Communication is fast and easy and feedback can be acted upon faster. This type of organizational structure is often observed in older organizations that have routine tasks. Line organization enables the staff to work more toward the . Development of Employees: Definition, Types, Reasons, and Pros/Cons. (iv) Which are engaged in the work which is largely of a routine nature. Many subordinates do so because they lack ability to judge whether the decision is right or wrong, but the mischievous ones among them may carry out even apparently wrong decisions to pinpoint the incompetence of manager. Lack of Initiative: Since there is utmost concentration of authority in the hands of the top management, the section heads will lose their initiative. Again, even within a department, there may be several sub-departments. The traditional chain of command makes decision-making more complex and does not allow for much flexibility. In spite of these drawbacks, the line organisation structure is very popular particularly in small organisations where there are less number of levels of authority and a small number of people. Your email address will not be published. 7. They have staff wings like intelligence, medical and so on. Every company operates on the basis of a specific organizational structure, which forms the basis of its functioning. They are responsible for sharing the information with the rest of the team. about B2B Account-Based Marketing: How to Grow Sales? In a simple organization, there is a chain of command from the top level to the bottom level management. Heres a breakdown of the power in each. This organisation is a vertical structure where one person delegates authority to his subordinate and who in turn delegates to his subordinate and so on. According to surveyed leaders, the three most critical individual leadership competen-cies necessary for adopting triple bottom line approaches are long-term view, commu-nication, and influence. In a line organization, the responsibility for the performance of tasks is fixed upon definite individuals. Such decisions are executed promptly also. Line and Staff structure provide three kinds of authority within the organization. Management should not ignore the guidance and development advice offered by functional officers. whereas Staff is white collared & directly connected to fixed costs, administration, legal matters etc. (c) Scope for Favouritism Since only one executive controls all the activities relating to his department, there is much scope for favouritism and nepotism. Fixed responsibility: Duties and responsibilities are clearly defined for each individual with reference to the work assigned to him. Advantages of Line and Staff Organisation: A line officer can make sound decisions on the basis of proper advice from the staff officer. Line organization structure chart tends to simplify and clarify responsibility, authority, and accountability relationships. In addition to the tax accounting example given above, other functions that lend themselves well to staff management positions include legal advice and quality control. Is working for a manufacturing company right for you? Similarly, a manager has to look after various departments and functions at a time. ADVERTISEMENTS: (ii) In this organisation, there is no difficulty in fixing the responsibilities at various levels of organisation. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. The departmental manager is responsible or answerable to his immediate superior i.e. They constitute the backbone of an organization. Flexibility- Since each departmental head has sole responsibility for his department, he can easily adjust the organization to changes in business situation. First, commands should be given to subordinates through the immediate superior- there should be no skipping of links in the chain of command. Similarly, each person derives authority from the superior above him. Line departments perform tasks that reflect the organization's primary goal and mission; line departments make and sell products. What happens when a department manager wants to pass some message to a subordinate in another department? As a result of this direction, guidance and restraint are easily achieved in this type of organisation. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Simple and Easy To Understand 2. Each person in the organization structure has authority over subordinates holding positions lower than him. Quick Decision: Quick decisions are taken by the employees because of unification of authority and responsibility. Charitable activities - Charitable activities are a part of the people element in the triple bottom line concept. This means relying a little too much on their individual capability, knowledge and experience. In this type, a greater variety of responsible jobs are available and this provides more opportunities for advancement of capable workers. Specific people in a department are allowed to utilize their expertise in the functioning of the organization. In a departmental line organization, there is a chief executive at the top. Each department is under the control of a departmental manager who is responsible to the superior over him. As a small-business owner, Ingram regularly confronts modern issues in management, marketing, finance and business law. Both line and staff should try to understand each other's responsibilities and difficulties and try to co-operate with each other for the achievement of enterprise objectives. This type of organisation is in accordance with the principle of scalar chain. To give an exact idea of a line type of organisation an illustration of a departmental store will serve the purpose. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'letslearnfinance_com-leader-1','ezslot_8',110,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-letslearnfinance_com-leader-1-0');As one can see from the above that line organization has both advantages, as well as disadvantages, and any company thinking of applying this form of organization structure should carefully analyze both the aspects and then take the decision. Outside of reporting to senior management, each task belongs to individual employees. 6. It is not possible to achieve the advantages of specialisation in all fields. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. For example, at the lowest levels, all workers may perform a similar activity, but for control and supervision they may be divided into different groups, each placed under a foreman. The staff officer may plan and implement them with their own judgment without suggestions from others. To achieve organizational goals and objectives, individual work needs to be coordinated and managed. Publisher Blue Whale Press sp. The flow of orders, communication of suggestions and complaints etc. Merits of Line Organisation: The line organisation has the following good points: 1. It also governs the . The staff personnel does not supervise the line officers. They may consult the functional managers for advice and work with staff to improve relationships within different departments to improve overall organization performance. However, this system can be suitably followed: Line Organization | Characteristics | Types | Advantages | Disadvantages, Project Organization | Types | Advantages | Disadvantages, Centralized & Decentralized organizations | Strength & Weaknesses, Centralization and decentralization of Organization, Functional Organization | Nature of functional foremanship, Functional Authority | Definition | Examples |, Western managers vs Eastern managers: difference in, Problems of supervision | solutions for effective, Important Role of CEO in Strategic Management, Committee | Meaning & Definition | Features, Under what circumstances Delegation of Authority is, Accountlearning | Contents for Management Studies |. Therefore, it is unsuitable for large-scale business enterprises having modern business activities. to improve overall organization performance. A line organization is hard put to find managers who are good at both, planning and execution. (ii) There is vertical flow of authority and responsibility. All persons at the same level of authority should be independent of one another. Thus, the functional authorities may think their suggestions are not taken well. 5. (iii) Strong discipline It ensures excellent discipline. employees are accountable to one person the manager; possibility of quick interaction between employees and management; each employee or department is responsible for one issue; lack of specialization, which requires the top level to deal with all functions in the organization; many intermediate management links that prevent the employee from quickly contacting and getting answers from top management; low flexibility and adaptability to new or crisis situations. (ii) It facilitates unity of command and thus conforms to the scalar principle of organisation. Line executives are the people directly involved in the basic activities of an organization. For example, the person heading the marketing department will have the knowledge and skill necessary to carry the process with full responsibility and successfully run his team. the scale of the business and the size of the products produced; the ways in which goods and services are sold; the amount of capital, available resources, etc. According to , the most pressing challenges they face in human resource spectrum are: high degree of employee turnover, management risk (Omolaja ,2015), inadequate management knowledge, shortage of. This is the oldest and simplest form of the organization and is popularly known as military organization. More training and development cost is involved in improving staff performance. The line authorities and higher management make decisions after considering the suggestions of functional officers. There may be a lack of operational uniformity among various departments. Staff experts in specific areas are incorporated into the formal chain of command. Most of the work done in aline organizational structureis routine. Flexibility: Staff can be added to the line and new activities may be introduced without disturbing the line procedure. Unity of Command: Since the workers are responsible only to one superior, unity of command is made possible. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. He has earned a Bachelor of Arts in management from Walsh University. Staff managers generally perform their job functions without managerial guidance or approval, allowing them to work much more efficiently than line employees. Line and staff organization is a little more complicated than the line system. The concept of line organization holds that in any organization derived from a scalar process, there must be a single head who commands it. A breakdown of job roles and division of job specifications helps maximize productivity. The viewpoints of both line and staff of this conflict are given below: A. Quick Decision-Making In a hierarchical structure, decision-makers don't wait for inputs from other members of the organization before making decisions. Clearly defined rights and responsibilities of all managers and employees create conditions for quick decision-making. vii. Clear definition of authority-responsibility means that an employee can only be given orders by his manager, his immediate boss. One person should get orders from one supervisor only. The top-level manager can take decisions according to requirements without taking technical suggestions from experts and specialists. Simplicity: Line organisation is simple to establish and can be easily understood by the employees. Last Updated on February 10, 2023 By Methew Harbor Leave a Comment. The higher management can help improve line and staff structure by well-defined job roles and considering suggestions of functional officers. Direct Communication: As this system enables direct contact between the superior and his subordinates, direct communication is made possible. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. By this method, specialisation is attained. A line function is one that directly advances an organization in its core work. There is also a lack of grooming the new persons for taking up important work. For this reason, it is given the name line organization. Prof. Florence enunciates three principles which are necessary to realise the advantages of this system, and the non-observance of which would involve inefficiency. 1. In the line organization, managers have to perform a wide range of functions. The first and foremost advantage of line organization is that it is very simple to understand and implement in the organization and hence there is no need to give extensive training to employees about the structure of the organization as all employees will know that flow of authority will be in a line and that too from top to bottom so there is To conclude, the organization needs not only to find right men for the right jobs, but also retain them by giving attractive salaries and privileges, at least until matching replacement is found. (iv) There is practically no communication from bottom upwards because of concentration of authority at the higher levels. 6. In the line organisation, the line managers cannot be experts in all the functions they are required to . Line Organisation is the oldest form of organization. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". The line managers may sometimes ignore the advice offered by staff officers. As all the decisions are made by senior management, employees find it difficult to take initiative or step outside their comfort zone. It requires more resources, including finance and infrastructure. (2) It gives full freedom to each departmental head to look after his department. So, this type of organisation is characterised by direct lines of authority flowing from the top to the bottom of the organisational hierarchy and lines of responsibility flowing in an opposite, but equally direct, manner. Departmental head is given full freedom to manage his department. Line and staff structure is adapted by medium to large organizations with several employees. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that youve provided to them or that theyve collected from your use of their services. This affects their creativity and capacity for independent thinking. Although there is communication from top to bottom there is usually no communication from the lower ranks to higher ranks and executives. The leaders follow the line, staff, and functional authority. Survey respondents answered the question, "Please choose the top three leadership A top-level manager has full authority to take over on his subordinate level management and also he is responsible for the decision he made. document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Conflict between Line and Staff: One more important disadvantage is the conflict between the line and staff officers. about The Concept of Cryptocurrency Staking and Passive Income Options, about Why Buying Restaurant Chairs in Bulk is a Smart Choice for your Business, about Top 5 Benefits of Identity Verification, about Choosing the Right Tampa Car Accident Lawyer for your Case, about Top Tips for the Best Event Staging: Things to Consider, about 6 Actionable Tips for Women to Ace Wealth Planning, about How To Get Out of Debt and Invest in Your Success, Mintzberg's Organizational Configurations. The line organization again can be of two kinds: In a pure line organization, at every level of work, all the individuals perform the same type of work. Simplicity: This system is very simple and can operate very easily. Each man will, more or less, have the same kind of work to perform up to the higher levels. An executive cannot shift his decision-making to others, nor can the blame be shifted. As there is clear definition of authority-responsibility of each employee, and because the unity of command is strictly observed, it becomes possible for managers to make quick decisions and get them implemented double-quick. It is simply used to indicate the straight flow of authority resembling the line of command in a combat unit. Storage Discipline: The vertical arrangement of authority and the singleness of responsibility ensures excellent discipline. Above all the departmental heads, there is a general manager to whom all the department heads are responsible. Staff authority refers to advising the people with line authority for better results. A flat structure elevates each employee's responsibility inside the organization and eliminates excess management layers to improve coordination and communication. 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