The term Line has been borrowed from the military administration. Line and staff structure is adapted by medium to large organizations with several employees. Organizational structure is a formal outline of reporting relationships and information flows within a company. Characteristics of line organization are listed below. What is line and staff Organisation? Advantages Of Line Organization A line organizational structure has many advantages but they depend on the type of business and number of employees. Report a Violation 11. Business Models & Organizational Structure. Required fields are marked *. Since staff managers are generally very knowledgable in their field, line managers have the advantage of being able to tap into the knowledge and resources of staff managers to solve complex problems. The business unit may be divided into departments headed by departmental heads. Everybody knows his work and also to whom he is responsible. Quick Decisions: . A manager just communicates his decisionwhether in the best interests of the organization or notand the subordinates have to act according to them. Line and staff organization is an expensive organizational structure. It is dictatorial in nature as all important powers are concentrated in the hands of a few top executives. For example, human resources, accounting, public relations and the legal . Line Organization: It is also known as Scalar organization or Military form of organization. Line and staff officers and managers must understand each others work scope and not try to interfere. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. Thus, in the production department, there may be a number of foremen each having a number of workers under him. A disadvantage of a line-and-staff organization is conflict between line and staff personnel. Improving Line and Staff Relationship 1. Line managers compose the chain of command, and are responsible for directing, motivating and supervising employees at all levels of an organization. It is by far the oldest form of organization. Advantages of Line Organization. For example, at the lowest level of an organisation, workers may be performing a similar type of work, but for the sake of control and supervision, they may be divided into different groups and each group is placed under the control of a foreman. The hierarchy is different in each of them. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. Heres a breakdown of the power in each. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. There may be a good deal of nepotism and jobbery and personal prejudices. The clarity of authority and tasks within the company introduces discipline. In an industrial concern, for instance, a foreman neither receives any instructions from, nor issues commands to, another foreman. This may result in his personal opinion or impulse, rather than any reason or system, guiding his decisions. Hierarchy of Authority Levels 7. Since the departmental head has to look after all the activities of his department, he is over burdened with work. Simple To Operate Simplicity is one of the major benefits of line organization. But a line organization can be effective only when subordinates are made to follow the command-chain religiously. The line officers may become autocratic and start deciding things without consulting their subordinates. Simplicity: This system is very simple and can operate very easily. What Are the Tasks of Organizational Structure? (iv) It ensures excellent discipline in the enterprise because everyindividual knows to whom he is responsible. A superior delegates authority to a subordinate who in turn delegates authority to his subordinates and so on. This is suitable only for businesses which are run on a small-scale producing only one item and in which the workers are divided into departments according to the type of work performed by each one of them. Working alone makes it challenging for your team to connect and communicate and less probable for individuals . How Does a Human Resource Manager Have Line, Staff & Implied Authority? (iii) There is clear-cut identification of authority and responsibility relationship. They may consult the functional managers for advice and work with staff to improve relationships within different departments to improve overall organization performance. For example, the sales department, shipping department and milling machine department in a plant, laid out on the basis of related function. If the managers treat the employees as a pendulum between them, they will most likely get tired of their job roles. The line officers cannot be experts in every line of business. Line organization is the oldest and simplest method of administrative organization. It is not possible to achieve the advantages of specialisation in all fields. 2. 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.. (iii) Line organization is not suitable to big organizations because it does not provide specialists in the structure. 3. 4. Hence, less expenses is incurred for adopting line organization. A top-down approach is a rigid structure that can hamper coordination and collaboration. A person receives orders only from his immediate boss. (ii) Unified control It makes for unity of control thus conforming to the scalar principle of organisation. 2. Privacy Policy 9. Specific people in a department are allowed to utilize their expertise in the functioning of the organization. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. (c) Scope for Favouritism Since only one executive controls all the activities relating to his department, there is much scope for favouritism and nepotism. Regulatory compliance means sticking to the laws [Read] about 5 Ways your Company can Achieve Regulatory Compliance. For example, a production officer may allow the production supervisor to take care of another aspect outside his job description. immediate boss. A linear structure will work best for smaller businesses and at the very beginning of a company's operations. Fixed Responsibility 5. Moreover, it is easily understood by workers. Under it, the persons having the greater decision-making authority are placed at the top, and those having the least decision-making authority at the bottom. The authority flows from top to the lower levels. Each position in the structure has an authority over a lower position. Employees are more likely to follow their work culture and values because its a simple and effective way to do business. Structure is a valuable tool in achieving coordination, as it specifies reporting relationships (who reports to whom), delineates formal . Line-staff organization, in management, approach in which authorities The advice of staff should be realistic and practicable. 6. planning. 5. 2. Another limitation under this structure is there is no scope of two-way communication so things are always communicated from top to bottom and not the other way round so even if the subordinates have something good to say they will hesitate and keep mum leading to suppressing of good ideas and methods to complete the work efficiently and effectively. There is a scope for favouritism in line organisation. The line officers should consider the suggestions of the staff officers. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Type # 1. This ensures better understanding and quick action. One of the ways they cooperate is through networking. The operation of line organization is very simple. The allocation of work will also help in fixing responsibility of various individuals. But as between one foreman and another, there is no formal line of authority or responsibility. Again, even within a department, there may be several sub-departments. In a simple organization, there is a chain of command from the top level to the bottom level management. They are willing to adopt a dictatorial approach. Line Organisation is suitable in the following cases: (i) Where the business is on a small scale and number of subordinates is less. A line-staff organizational structure attempts to render a large and complex enterprise more flexible without sacrificing managerial authority. On the contrary, modern approaches strive to enhance employee autonomy and avoid micromanagement. (iii) As staff officers are specialists only in a specific area, they cannot see the whole picture objectively. The executive may appoint and promote his own men in various positions ignoring the claim of efficient persons. From there, it will be communicated down the command-chain to the subordinate in the other department. Unified Control- Since the orders are given by one superior, there is no confusion among the subordinates. Conditions for Success of Line Organisation 3. Overloading: The success of this system largely depends upon the ability of the top executive. Although an executive can delegate authority, he has ultimate responsibility for results. to improve overall organization performance. While many organizations follow a line organization system, a line and staff system is not suitable for small businesses. (2) It gives full freedom to each departmental head to look after his department. Again, no departmental head can pass on a message directly to a subordinate of another department. They feel that their suggestions may not carry weight with their superiors so they avoid taking any type of initiative. He does not have to carry out orders of two or more managers, thus clearing any confusion about whose orders to give priority in performance. Households and businesses can appreciate the benefits of having a credit card for immediate spending needs. Reference for Business: Line-and-Staff Organizations, TransTutors.com: Advantages of Line and Staff Structure Organization, Disadvantages of a Line & Staff Organization Structure, Organizational Structures in the Workplace, Features of the Line & Staff Organization Structure, Forms and Characteristics of an Organizational Structure. The general manager is in charge of all the departments and he can easily co-ordinate the work of various departments. Line organisation suffers from lack of specialised skill of experts. Is working for a manufacturing company right for you? Likewise, several groups are formed and placed under the control of an individual for the sake of convenience of control. This finding underscores the increasingly recognized need for companies to improve their I&D engagement with core-business managers. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This is the simplest and oldest, known as chain of command or scalar principle. This type is also known as scalar organisation. Fixed responsibility: Duties and responsibilities are clearly defined for each individual with reference to the work assigned to him. Each foreman is supposed to take his orders from the production manager and is accountable to him for planning and execution of the work assigned to him. Decision-making responsibilities are static with limited flexibility. Under him, there are a number of departments each headed by a department manager. Advantages and Disadvantages of Line Organization Advantages are: 1. Line authority means giving the person a particular amount of control for specific tasks. (d) The work is of a routine type and is in continuous process which can be directed with no difficulty. According to referenceforbusiness.com, staff managers often play a support role to line managers. Every unit is complete in itself as far as the functions are concerned. Staff officers do not have the authority to implement their opinions and recommendations without the line officers approval. Responsibility is fixed. D. core competencies., Companies benefit today by inter-firm cooperation. The subordinates do not convey their reactions or the reactions of workers to the superiors. Manage Settings (a) Overloading The chief disadvantage of the system is that under it too much is expected of the person in authority. 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. Polska 114 60-401 Pozna bluewhale-press.com. (5) Co-ordination between different units is being achieved by co-operation between departmental heads or executives responsible to conduct different units. No, he cannot have any direct communication with the said subordinate. Conforms to the scalar principle of organization. Further promotion of the workers would depend upon the reports made about them by the foreman concerned. (iii) There is unity of command. Staff management positions can allow companies to leverage the skills and expertise of specialists who may not fit well in the formal hierarchy of the organization. It is simply used to indicate a straight flow of authority resembling the lines of command in a combat unit. All the staff members of the organization clearly understand the their jobs and responsibility easily. The simple organization is economical in operation. In simple words when you are driving a car and the brake of the car is not working then you know that it is you who has to handle this situation as you are in the driver seat a and you cannot escape the situation in the same way in case of line organization the top management has to face and solve the problems as they cannot rely on others for solving the problem. Quick Decision: Quick decisions are taken by the employees because of unification of authority and responsibility. Each manager knows what he is required to do. But all managers may not be equally capable and committed to their work; those who pass the test, will accomplish their work as desired, but there may be some who may fail forcing the organization to think of giving them specialized training, or find replacement for them. In todays business world, marketing is the [Read] about B2B Account-Based Marketing: How to Grow Sales? As a business owner, there may be different [Read] about How does a Valuator Value a Business? In setting the departments, the similarity of function is taken into account. There are a number of benefits of line and staff organization, in the sense that it gives relief to the line managers and they can concentrate on the implementation of policies and plans. ii. Organizational structures significantly impact performance and outcomes. The hierarchy in management helps in achieving effective coordination. In line organisation every person is under the command of one boss only. Managers have to involve themselves in jobs of different nature. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Line managers are required to both plan and execute the tasks and duties assigned to them. 4. Among the advantages of a line structure, experts most often include: clear division of authority, competencies and responsibilities; employees are accountable to one person - the manager; possibility of quick interaction between employees and management; maximum speed of execution of orders; Modern business is so complex that it is extremely difficult for one person to carry in his head all the necessary details about his work in his department. Line organization enables the staff to work more toward the execution of tasks. This form of organisation is followed in military establishments. The limits of authority of both line and staff should be prescribed clearly. 1. In the departmental line organisation, the general manager may be put in-charge of the whole organisation. At departmental level manager is in charge and he can direct the activities of his juniors. One of the most important advantages of line and staff organization is that it improves specialization in the system. It improves coordination, encourages communication and helps management drive innovation. The departmental head has full authority to manage and control of that department. This structure brings in specialized or supporting staff to aid line executives. Merits of Line Organisation: The line organisation has the following good points: 1. Since all work is done according to the wishes of one person alone, the efficiency of the whole department will come to depend upon the qualities of management displayed by the head of that department. Surajs workplace follows a hierarchy. 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. 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. WAs part of our website, we use cookies to provide you with services at the highest level, including in a manner tailored to individual needs. (f) Lack of Co-operation One executive controls the various activities of a department and gets undue importance while the importance of other people in the department is not recognised. The traditional chain of command makes decision-making more complex and does not allow for much flexibility. There may be a good deal of nepotism and jobbery and personal prejudices. (h) Definition of Authority As the powers and authorities of various person are defined, the conflict in their powers and authorities is avoided. 9. 11. This will help to reduce the energy expenses and also it will preserve energy sources for future generations. The top-level manager can take decisions according to requirements without taking technical suggestions from experts and specialists. There may be a lack of operational uniformity among various departments. Line organization is simple to design, understand and operate. Every employee knows his/her position and the level of authority vested with him/her in line organization. Under this, the whole enterprise is divided into different departments for achieving maximum amount of convenience in controlling the whole enterprise. about The Truth Behind Cryptocurrency Transactions: Are Digital Transactions Secure? Some assistants or new officers may be appointed to expand and delegate tasks. Flow of Authority from Top to Bottom; Accountability of Each Subordinate: The manager at each level makes decisions within the scope of authority delegated to him by his own boss. This affects their creativity and capacity for independent thinking. Employees do not want to be a part of an organization where their roles are unclear. The only problem with a credit card is that it will usually carry a high APR. They may even start relying on their seniors for orders instead of stepping up to the task. The line and staff officers perform their functions smoothly through better coordination and cooperation. What is Line and Staff Organizational Structure? The lower level officials do not show initiative in suggesting new things. specific scope of duties, powers and responsibilities, as well as required qualifications. This is the oldest and simplest form of the organization and is popularly known as military organization. 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