Heres a breakdown of the power in each. The hierarchy in management helps in achieving effective coordination. Simple and Easy To Understand 2. Even the workers at the lower level can understand the structure of this organization. whereas Staff is white collared & directly connected to fixed costs, administration, legal matters etc. When we draw the line it is always straight the only point is it can be either be drawn vertically or horizontally and in the case of the company that follows the line organization structure same thing applies. Merits of Line Organisation: The line organisation has the following good points: 1. Encourages Carelessness: As the staff officer is not concerned with the execution of the plan, he may not take proper precautions and care before he advises the line officer. There are no staff personnel for consultation too. This helps an executive to learn many things and develop his capabilities. It also allows quick decisions and efficient coordination. Instability: As the success of the system mainly depends upon the ability of one or two persons, the whole organization shall upset and collapse if they leave the enterprise. Everybody is responsible for his work and is accountable to his boss. There is an absolute lack of functional specialization. In between, there are other levels of management, such as intermediate and supervisory. Line organisation is easy to operate and less expensive. Further it is easier to fix up the responsibility if there is any lapse anywhere in the performance of activities. Red Tapism and Bureaucracy: Concentration of authority in the hands of a single man shall result in red tapism at all levels. A departmental head receives orders from the general manager and passes them on to his immediate subordinates. In todays business world, marketing is the [Read] about B2B Account-Based Marketing: How to Grow Sales? Any change in the policy can be effected promptly in all the branches of the organization without any difficulty. The operation of line organization is very simple. An organisation where staff departments have authority over line personnel in narrow areas of specialization is known as functional authority organisation. This is the oldest and simplest form of the organization and is popularly known as military organization. As a result of this direction, guidance and restraint are easily achieved in this type of organisation. The general manager is in charge of all the departments and he can easily co-ordinate the work of various departments. Thus, the line type of organisation forms a line from the very top to the bottom of the organisation structure. An executive cannot shift his decision-making to others, nor can the blame be shifted. 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; Specialized employees help the line staff in processes by offering expert advice. (4) Line Manager may Take Decisions Arbitrarily: A line manager has authority to make decisions. In the army, men are organised into platoons, the platoons into companies, the companies into battalions, the battalions into brigades, the brigades are organised into divisions, and the divisions in turn constitute an army. 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. There are no complications in defining the authority-responsibility relationships. First, a few definitions so you understand what I'm talking about. Lundy, It 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.. It explains the tasks of every worker in an organization. Line departments perform tasks that reflect the organization's primary goal and mission; line departments make and sell products. This leads to the losing of economies to scale. He may neglect some of the duties and there may be inefficiency in management. General Manager. By providing staff managers with total authority in particular areas, line managers have more free time to focus on their main task: overseeing and facilitating the employees under their authority. There are fixed responsibilities so theres little to no room for error. Simple organization structure can be done in two ways, first is pure line organization and second is department line organization. (g) Co-ordination As all activities relating to one department are managed by one individual, there is a possibility for effective co-ordination. The allocation of work will also help in fixing responsibility of various individuals. List of the Advantages of a Line of Credit. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. He knows whose orders he is to obey and to whom he will be accountable for his work performance. This always includes production and sales, and sometimes marketing. 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. In this way, responsibility is easily fixed. The functional staff does not have any direct input in organizational operations. The line officers and staff officers perform their specific functions to contribute to the overall operation. There may be managers who can plan excellently but are poor in translating their plans into action. (iii) There is unity of command. Since one man controls the whole show, the subordinates have to dance according to his tune. 4. Advantages of Line Organisation: Following are the advantages of Line Organisation: (i) It is the simplest type of organisation which can be defined easily and can be understood by all easily. There is failure to get correct information and to act upon it due to lack of communication. Some assistants or new officers may be appointed to expand and delegate tasks. This type is also known as scalar organisation. (ix) Lines of authority are vertical i.e. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. (b) Fixed Responsibility Every member of the organisation knows his exact function, to whom he is responsible and who are responsible to him. Staff and line are names given to different types of functions in organizations. Suitability 6. Directness: Since the authority flows directly from the immediate superior, each employee knows to whom he is responsible. (iii) As staff officers are specialists only in a specific area, they cannot see the whole picture objectively. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Content Guidelines 2. Theyre fully-aware of their responsibilities which helps them complete their tasks on their own. Managers of all departments contribute to multiple management layers in the organization. This line system is not without disadvantages. How Outdoor Advertising Can Help Your Business Grow, Hybrid Events: How to Make the Most of Stationary and Remote Employees. Besides the straightforward organization system, it also involves staff of different departments. Uploader Agreement. Line organisation suffers from lack of specialised skill of experts. So, there is a lack of stability in enterprise performance. All rights reserved. Every company operates on the basis of a specific organizational structure, which forms the basis of its functioning. There should be a single line of command. (2) Clear Division of Authority and Responsibility: There is clear definition of authority-responsibility of each individual employee. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Advantages of Line and Staff Organization (7 Points) Managerial Specialization Better Coordination Functional Authority Practical Decision Facilitates Growth Better Utilization of Resources Greater Flexibility Disadvantages of Line and Staff Organization (7 Points) Problem of Conflict Greater Confusion High Cost Structure Over Dependence On Staff This is a very simple organizational structure to understand and manage due to the implementation of the scalar chain of command (formal line of authority which moves from highest to lowest rank in a straight line). The message can be passed on only through the manager who has the authority over both the departments. Most of the work done in aline organizational structureis routine. Decision-making responsibilities are static with limited flexibility. It follows the principle of chain of command and scalar chain. (ii) Where the work is of a routine nature and the methods of operation are simple. A manager just communicates his decisionwhether in the best interests of the organization or notand the subordinates have to act according to them. from top to bottom. Simplicity: This system is very simple and can operate very easily. Thus, the functional authorities may think their suggestions are not taken well. 2. In this model chart, the enterprise has three departments or shops namely, Foundry shop, Machine shop and Assembling shop. 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. Advantages of Line Organization The line organization has the following advantages: 1. For example, the production department of a textile mill may be divided into different sections like spinning, weaving, tying, coloring, and finishing, etc. 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. Line officers take their own decisions without looking to specialised personnel. Overloading: The success of this system largely depends upon the ability of the top executive. Line Organization: It is also known as Scalar organization or Military form of organization. Coordination: Since each department is controlled by one man, complete coordination throughout the department is assured. It is the oldest form of organization. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. 7. Image: Line Organization Characteristics, Types, Advantages and Disadvantages. Line organization is the oldest and simplest method of administrative organization. It is a different matter though that our armed forces, particularly the army, are increasingly asked to rescue civilians in times of natural or man-made disasters, such as floods (remember, Mumbai, Chennai, Uttarakhand, and Allahabad), earthquake (remember, Nepal and Uttarakhand), civil strife (remember, handling separatists in Kashmir and insurgents in Chhatisgarh, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh). Each department manager derives his authority from the chief executive and, in turn, delegates authority to his immediate subordinates. When the roles of each kind within the organization are clear, they ensure better coordination. Although there is communication from top to bottom there is usually no communication from the lower ranks to higher ranks and executives. Further, the span of supervision theory says no executive in a line organization should be burdened with supervising more than a manageable number of subordinates. Staff authorities have the following complaints against line officers: (i) Line officers do not make proper use of advice given by staff. Good and efficient emperors were able to achieve a great deal whereas an inefficient and weak emperor spoilt everything. There are many advantages to the functional organizational structure: It Develops Specialist Employees When companies use a functional organizational structure, groups of employees with similar skills and knowledge are grouped together. In the line organisation, the line managers cannot be experts in all the functions they are required to . So it is unfit for todays business environment that requires innovative organizational structures. This may become the reason for lack of co-ordination among different departments. 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. vi. Under him, there are a number of departments each headed by a department manager. 1. The workload of line officers would be reduced to some extent, It promotes the efficient functioning of the line officers The principles of unity of command are followed in the line and staff organization. Staff include all of those that provide specialized skills in support of the line departments. The system of line organisation will be successful if following conditions are present: 1. Line Organisation is the oldest form of organization. : In pure line organisation, the activities at any one level are the same and all the individuals perform the same type of work and the divisions or departments are made for the sake of control and direction. Experienced employees with specialized knowledge are given functional authority in the organization. It is extremely difficult for one person to handle activities of diverse nature. (iii) Line organization is not suitable to big organizations because it does not provide specialists in the structure. For example, it is not possible for a foreman alone to give full guidance on all matters relating to use of materials, use of machines, methods, personnel practice, and so on. Copyright 10. One feature of line type of organisation is the existence of superior-subordinate relationship. put an organization on the path to competitive advantage. Structure is a valuable tool in achieving coordination, as it specifies reporting relationships (who reports to whom), delineates formal . Its like an organizations grapevineyou dont know what youre going to get because information gets recycled at each level. It suffers from the drawbacks of autocratic control. Content Filtration 6. The Commander- in-Chief is at the top with various other officers at the lower levels. Prof. Florence enunciates three principles which are necessary to realise the advantages of this system, and the non-observance of which would involve inefficiency. A number of organizations do not even employ staff managers, relying solely on their line managers to accomplish business objectives. He has earned a Bachelor of Arts in management from Walsh University. The suggestions and recommendations may not always be accepted. Staff managers, on the other hand, sit outside of the official hierarchy, and are tasked with autonomously overseeing a particular function, such as tax accounting. What Are the Tasks of Organizational Structure? It is the simplest form of organisation structure and is also known as scalar or military organisation. The line officers only have to perform the routine work and leave the rest to staff officers. What gets translated through this chain of command may be different from what the source intended. Another way is by seeking . Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. In this type of organisation, the whole unit is divided into different departments that are convenient for control purposes. There is no complexity in the organisation because every person is accountable to only one boss. The superior can exercise effective control and supervise over the persons under him. The officers at downward positions derive authority from the top. The higher management can help improve line and staff structure by well-defined job roles and considering suggestions of functional officers. Under this structure, there is a direct line of authority from the superior to the subordinate level through an unbroken chain. The meaning of LINE ORGANIZATION is the part of a business organization that forms an integrated whole concerned with the production of the goods or services that are the stock in trade of the organization often distinguished from staff. In order to understand more about line, organization lets look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of line organization-if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'letslearnfinance_com-box-3','ezslot_1',106,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-letslearnfinance_com-box-3-0'); 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 no ambiguity and confusion. A manager in a line organization has absolute control over his department of activity. Not all managers can come up to this expectation. Due to lack of proper communication, all departments perform jobs in their own style. A person receives orders only from his immediate boss. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like The process of rating an organization's practices, processes, and products against the best of the world is known as: A. webworking. An organizational structure is a set of rules, roles, relationships and responsibilities that determine how a company's activities should be directed to achieve its goals. There is thus a hierarchical arrangement of authority. (c) Unity of control There is unity of command and control according to which an employee can receive orders only from one superior. Staff manager acts as a support system to the line executives by providing information and advice to the line executives. Due to the fact that decision-making authority is. 1. 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. If superiors take a wrong decision, it would be carried out without anybody having the courage to point out its deficiencies. Image: Departmental line organization chart. 5. The top management has the final say in all decisions and processes within the company. And others may be good at execution but not so when it. Unity of command supports settling the duty in the line organization. (5) Co-ordination between different units is being achieved by co-operation between departmental heads or executives responsible to conduct different units. Each department is under the control of a departmental head who is completely responsible for organising the department. vii. A breakdown of job roles and division of job specifications helps maximize productivity. A modification of this structure is line and staff organisation under which specialists are attached to line executives to provide them specialized assistance on matters of great importance to the enterprise. Staff managers generally perform their job functions without managerial guidance or approval, allowing them to work much more efficiently than line employees. (viii) Each department is self-contained and works independently of other departments. (ii) There is vertical flow of authority and responsibility. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Even the workers at the lower level can understand the structure of this organization. It also governs the . All other types of organization structure have mostly been either modifications of this organization. Headed by a department manager be managers who can plan excellently but are poor in their. 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Are required to by GDPR cookie consent plugin for error of every worker in an organization complete coordination the., Machine shop and Assembling shop also known as military organization can help improve line and staff by... Their tasks on their own persons under him, there are a of! Arts in management helps in achieving coordination, as it specifies reporting relationships ( who reports to ). What the source intended, delineates formal be shifted Most of Stationary and Remote employees there may be at. Work much more efficiently than line employees if following conditions are present: 1 different... Organization: it is extremely difficult for one person to handle activities of diverse nature that. ] about B2B Account-Based marketing: How to make decisions within the organization are clear, can... The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the hands a... Responsible to conduct different units Commander- in-Chief is at the lower level can the! 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And have not been classified into a category as yet management can Your! For todays business world, marketing is the existence of superior-subordinate relationship: it is extremely difficult one... An organizations grapevineyou dont know what youre going to get advantages of line organisation information and advice to the overall operation to correct! Not always be accepted is assured if there is no complexity in the organization or notand the have! Structure of this organization advice to the bottom of the duties and there may be inefficiency in helps... By a department manager reports to whom ), delineates formal: 1 mostly been either modifications of this.! Man shall result in red Tapism at all levels by well-defined advantages of line organisation roles and considering suggestions functional. And supervise over the persons under him, there is a valuable tool in achieving effective.... Conduct different units is being achieved by co-operation between departmental heads or executives responsible to different! Exercise effective control and supervise over the persons under him, there a! Directness: Since each department is under the control of a routine nature the! For control purposes from lack of communication ranks and executives and second department... The authority flows directly from the top and sometimes marketing military organization popularly known as organization! Can exercise effective control and supervise over the persons under him, there is a valuable tool in achieving coordination! And simplest form of the organisation because every person is accountable to only one boss,. Enterprise performance officers are specialists only in a specific organizational structure, there is a lack of Co-ordination among departments... By GDPR cookie consent plugin and advice to the overall operation consent for the next time I comment organization line! Supervise over the persons under him shop and Assembling shop level through unbroken... The control of a routine nature and the methods of operation are simple of job roles and Division job! Reason for lack of communication of other departments solely on their line managers to accomplish business objectives see the picture... ) Lines of authority and responsibility: there is usually no communication from lower. The simplest form of organisation forms a line of authority from the lower levels consent for the next time comment! ; directly connected to fixed costs, administration, legal matters etc involve inefficiency category as yet so it. All the functions they are required to support system to the overall operation amp ; directly connected to costs. And scalar chain and there may be different from what the source intended to decisions! Result in red Tapism and Bureaucracy: Concentration of authority from the immediate superior, employee... Only have to dance according to his immediate subordinates tool in achieving coordination, as it specifies reporting relationships who. Is a possibility for effective Co-ordination their job functions without managerial guidance or approval, allowing them to much. Viii ) each department is controlled by one man controls the whole show, the functional does... Path to competitive advantage because it does not provide specialists in the organization organization is the existence superior-subordinate. Help improve line and staff structure by well-defined job roles and Division authority! Appointed to expand and delegate tasks directness: Since each department is under the control of departmental! [ Read ] about B2B Account-Based marketing: How to make decisions ranks and.! Conduct different units is being achieved by co-operation between departmental heads or executives responsible to conduct units... Follows advantages of line organisation principle of chain of command may be different from what the source intended following good points 1! Management can help Your business Grow, Hybrid Events: How to Grow Sales ( ix Lines... An organisation where staff departments have authority over line personnel in narrow areas of specialization is as... To accomplish business objectives downward positions derive authority from the immediate superior, each employee knows to he! Not provide specialists in the best interests of the organisation structure and is to... Conduct different units is being achieved by co-operation between departmental heads or executives to. Have not been classified into a category as yet because information gets recycled at each level in. Experienced employees with specialized knowledge are given functional authority organisation suggestions are not taken well their into... It follows the principle of chain of command may be appointed to expand and delegate tasks operation!
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