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. What is line and staff Organisation? (ix) Lines of authority are vertical i.e. In this type, a greater variety of responsible jobs are available and this provides more opportunities for advancement of capable workers. Required fields are marked *. Structure is a valuable tool in achieving coordination, as it specifies reporting relationships (who reports to whom), delineates formal . Flexibility- Since each departmental head has sole responsibility for his department, he can easily adjust the organization to changes in business situation. This makes the line of authority straight and vertical. So it is unfit for todays business environment that requires innovative organizational structures. According to McFarland, Line structure consists of the direct vertical relationship which connects the positions and tasks of each level with those above and below it.. The executive may appoint and promote his own men in various positions ignoring the claim of efficient persons. Specific people in a department are allowed to utilize their expertise in the functioning of the organization. Economical: . He is given the required authority and responsibility to manage his department. A top-down organizational structure with an established chain of command is known as aline organizational structure. Identification of Authority and Responsibility: . (5) Co-ordination between different units is being achieved by co-operation between departmental heads or executives responsible to conduct different units. Hence, it is quite expensive and small and medium-sized concerns cannot afford it. This can be effective when organizations are short on time. The lack of managerial specialisation is the demerit of line organisation. vi. Similarly, each group of activities will be a complete unit by itself being adequate for performing the assigned tasks. 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. By this method, specialisation is attained. In the line organization, there is one head for decision making and the rest are the followers of that decision. As such, they can not devote sufficient time to creative functions. 5. Unity of Command: Since the workers are responsible only to one superior, unity of command is made possible. Matthew is a Co-Founder at BusinessFinanceArticles.org. There is a direct link between the superior and his subordinate, both can communicate properly among themselves. Thus, for an inter-departmental message, there is a long and time consuming journey. BusinessManagementIdeas.Com. Specialisation: The staff officers concentrate mainly on the planning function and the line officers on the "doing" function. It is by far the oldest form of organization. Line managers can work more efficiently with staff managers handling specialized functions. It is shaped depending on the objectives of the company and the units necessary to achieve them. (b) It facilitates unity of control and the presence of scalar principle. We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. List of the Advantages of a Line of Credit. A departmental head receives orders from the general manager and passes them on to his immediate subordinates. (3) Limited Superior-Subordinate Communication: A line organization generally does not encourage subordinates to communicate with their managers. Thirdly, the number of subordinates whose work is directly commanded by the superior should be limited. This greatly reduces the establishment cost. All rights reserved. 2. A linear structure will work best for smaller businesses and at the very beginning of a company's operations. Since the manager has to take all important decisions, he can make changes if new situation warrants. This may become the reason for lack of co-ordination among different departments. 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 the oldest form of organization. Organizational structure refers to how individual and team work within an organization are coordinated. about Advantages and Disadvantages of Visionary Leadership Style, about Advantages of Seniority Based Pay Systems, about What to do When Your Business is in Financial Strife, about Custom Merchandise Ideas to Boost your Brand Identification, about A New Frontier in Estate Planning with Guardianship Bonds, about Buying a Restaurant in Edmonton, Alberta, is the Newest Golden Egg: Three Reasons you should Jump on his Hot Opportunity, about The Top Canadian Tax Deductions for Small Business Owners, about 6 Tips for Optimizing your Business Internet Connection, about Tips for Filipino Women to Find Career Opportunities. Confusion: If the pattern of authority relationship between line and staff executives is not clearly indicated, there may be considerable confusion throughout the organisation. Hence, there is greater flexibility in the organisation. (b) The methods of operation are straight and simple so that the management, with the help of automatic machinery, can conduct its operations without depending much upon the intelligence of foreman; (c) It is not difficult to handle problems pertaining to the labour management; and. Functional officers guide according to need while the line authorities plan and control the activities of the staff. 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. The Staff Viewpoint. When the planning and execution job roles are separate, more employees get the chance to showcase their talent. Its important to understand organizational values and culture before you enter the workforce. Advantages of Line and Staff Organisation: A line officer can make sound decisions on the basis of proper advice from the staff officer. The decisions may lack objectivity. planning. The larger the company, the more complex and complicated its organizational structure can be. Under this type of organization, each department control is vested with one individual who is known as Departmental Head. For example, quality control officers may guide the production department in improving the stability of the product. Accountability This approach makes it much easier to assign responsibility for actions and results. Line managers can work more efficiently with staff managers handling specialized functions. The flow of orders, communication of suggestions and complaints etc. The line authority not only becomes the avenue of command to operating personnel, but also provides the channel of communication, coordination and accountability in enterprise. There is a scope for favouritism in line organisation. Each position in the structure has an authority over a lower position. Two types of managerial authority are granted by an organizational structure. One of the most important advantages of line and staff organization is that it improves specialization in the system. Everyone knows as to whom he can issue orders and to whom he is accountable. 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. Theyre fully-aware of their responsibilities which helps them complete their tasks on their own. The chain of command goes from top to bottom. Strong Discipline- Because of direct authority-responsibility relationships, discipline can be maintained more effectively. The departmental manager is responsible or answerable to his immediate superior i.e. Demerits 5. Thus, this system may encourage carelessness on the part of the staff officer. D. core competencies., Companies benefit today by inter-firm cooperation. The clarity of authority and tasks within the company introduces discipline. The top-level management takes decisions without taking any suggestions and guidance from experts. Advantages of Functional Organizational Structure The executive or the team leader has the knowledge and experience of that particular field. In setting the departments, the similarity of function is taken into account. Advantages and Disadvantages of Line Organization Advantages are: 1. The simple organization is economical in operation. Simplicity: This system is very simple and can operate very easily. 2. While better coordination is an advantage of line and staff organizational structure, it can also be the other way. (iv) Advice given by the staff is not always sound. Learn how your comment data is processed. Lets tell you the advantages and disadvantages of line and staff organization. This is the oldest and simplest form of the organization and is popularly known as military organization. Again, even within a department, there may be several sub-departments. It is dictatorial in nature as all important powers are concentrated in the hands of a few top executives. Another disadvantage of line organization is that due to the presence of a single authority the scope of favoritism and biased towards some employees increases leading to dissatisfaction among other employees and a hostile working atmosphere within the company which in long run can be a disaster for the company. To give an exact idea of a line type of organisation an illustration of a departmental store will serve the purpose. (iii) Line organization is not suitable to big organizations because it does not provide specialists in the structure. But it must be remembered that it has no direct relationship with the modern military establishment. 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. 1. The traditional chain of command makes decision-making more complex and does not allow for much flexibility. It is the simplest form of organization which is common in small and medium-sized organizations. Line and staff organization is a little more complicated than the line system. Every person in the organization is in the direct chain of command. military, vertical, scalar, departmental organization. Besides the straightforward organization system, it also involves staff of different departments. Profitability Organizations save an average of $11,000 per year per part-time telecommuter, or 21% higher profitability. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". Among the advantages of a line structure, experts most often include: Result- No scope for individual initiative, no offering of comments or suggestions on planning and execution, even no relook at any decision wrongly made. Direct supervision and control also helps in maintaining strong discipline among the workers. While in the line organisation, there is too much concentration of control, in the functional organisation, there is too much division of control. The demerits of line organization are as under: (i) With growth, the line organization makes the superiors too overloaded with work. (ii) It facilitates unity of command and thus conforms to the scalar principle of organisation. Co-ordination: . Advantages of Line Organization The line organization has the following advantages: 1. The hierarchy in management helps in achieving effective coordination. Subordinates can only Approach Immediate Superior: Workers placed under a foreman have no direct access to production manager. Features of Line Organisation 2. 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. Advantages of the Divisional Organization Structure The key points in favor of the divisional structure involve placing decision making as close to the customer as possible. (iv) Where the work is done by automatic machines and less supervision is needed. Opportunities for Advancement. The sales department can be further sub-divided into Counter Sales, Branch Sales, On Line Sales and Export. They are the doorstep people who do and make things happen for accomplishment of organizational objectives. A superior delegates authority to a subordinate who in turn delegates authority to his subordinates and so on. Each person in the organization structure has authority over subordinates holding positions lower than him. 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. 7. Line Organization: It is also known as Scalar organization or Military form of organization. Having a three-way authority system in the company facilitates expansion and growth. 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. Instruction is given by the boss directly to his subordinates. The direct relationship is prevailing between the sub-ordinate and immediate superior. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Each foreman works independently, without any formal line of authority or responsibility with other foremen and takes orders from his superior or superintendent to whom he is directly responsible. A staff function supports the organization with specialized advisory and support functions. This reporting structure has distinct advantages, such as relieving upper-level managers of the responsibility for making low-level decisions and allowing lower-level managers to . Its a simple, no-fuss setup where you know exactly who youre reporting to. The staff officers help the line officers in making decisions through their expertise. . Further it is easier to fix up the responsibility if there is any lapse anywhere in the performance of activities. 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. Image: Line Organization Characteristics, Types, Advantages and Disadvantages. To achieve organizational goals and objectives, individual work needs to be coordinated and managed. An executive cannot shift his decision-making to others, nor can the blame be shifted. Staff and line are names given to different types of functions in organizations. The line organisation represents the structure in a direct vertical relationship through which authority flows. Moreover, there are a number of suggestions which continuously occur to lower ranks, but these suggestions cannot be utilised because generally the higher officers look down upon the views of their subordinates. As all the decisions are made by senior management, employees find it difficult to take initiative or step outside their comfort zone. It is not possible to achieve the advantages of specialisation in all fields. (ii) Concentration of Authority- It is dictatorial in nature as all important powers are concentrated in the hands of a few top executives. 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