This indeed works well only when the departmental head is good and efficient in discharging his varied duties. The top-level manager can control the entire organization through the hierarchy of authority. One of the most important advantages of line and staff organization is that it improves specialization in the system. Quick Decision. 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). Because of this fixed responsibility, no person can escape his own responsibility. Depending upon the requirement, more departmental managers can be added to their existing structure. (d) Scope for favouritism There may be a good deal of nepotism and jobbery. The departmental head has full authority to manage and control of that department. Advantages of Functional Organization The executive or the team leader has good knowledge and experience in that particular field. Advantages and Disadvantages of Line Organization. This can be effective when organizations are short on time. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. (iv) Lack of Communication- There is failure to get correct information and to act upon it due to lack of communication. (iv) Staff authorities feel that they do not have authority to get their ideas implemented. The ultimate authority for taking all decisions lies with line officers. Conforms to the scalar principle of organization. In the line organization, managers have to perform a wide range of functions. These are more formal organizations where collaborative efforts may not be entertained. He has to take various decisions by himself. (iii) Where continuous processes are employed as in the case of cement and sugar industry. General Manager. You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website. The concept of line organization holds that in any organization derived from a scalar process, there must be a single head who commands it. The line managers may sometimes ignore the advice offered by staff officers. Line organization refers to that organization in which the authority flows from top to down in a vertical manner and not in a horizontal manner. 1. It also governs the . And, every employee is directly responsible to his immediate superior. Direct Communication: As this system enables direct contact between the superior and his subordinates, direct communication is made possible. Or, airlifting Indians from strife-torn foreign countries (remember, Libya and Afghanistan). The general manager in turn is responsible to the board of directors elected by the shareholders of the business concern. Both are equally important to an organization. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. In line organisation only departmental head is required to take decisions and he will not waste time in deciding things. In line organisation final decision-making is done by the top management. Everybody knows his work and also to whom he is responsible. (ii) There is concentration of authority at the top. 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. Flexibility- Since each departmental head has sole responsibility for his department, he can easily adjust the organization to changes in business situation. The improper distribution of authority and responsibility can create problems within the organization. Staff experts in specific areas are incorporated into the formal chain of command. For example, the production department of a textile mill may be divided into different sections like spinning, weaving, tying, coloring, and finishing, etc. Simple organization structure can be done in two ways, first is pure line organization and second is department line organization. The term military organisation is, therefore, rather misleading. Account Disable 12. Effective Control and Supervision: It means a subordinate is responsible to only one superior. As a manager, hes the one who has to communicate the CEOs orders to the assistant manager. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Learn about:- 1. They should state reasons in case they cannot accept the advice. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. Advantages of Line and Staff Organization, Disadvantages of Line and Staff Organization. planning. : 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. There is an absolute lack of functional specialization. Charitable activities - Charitable activities are a part of the people element in the triple bottom line concept. It will hamper their effectiveness. Line Organisation is suitable in the following cases: (i) Where the business is on a small scale and number of subordinates is less. Demerits 5. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of . Theyre fully-aware of their responsibilities which helps them complete their tasks on their own. 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. 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. The traditional chain of command makes decision-making more complex and does not allow for much flexibility. We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. Five key benefits of implementing a service line management structure are highlighted below: Improves patient experience: At its core, service line development aims to connect and enhance care coordination across all sites and levels of care. (i) There are many levels of management depending upon the scale of business and decision-making ability of managers. There are no better examples than those of history. It reduces the time taken for multiple approvals. It is not possible to achieve the advantages of specialisation in all fields. Flexibility 6. (ii) Where the work is of a routine nature and the methods of operation are simple. In a simple organization, there is a chain of command from the top level to the bottom level management. 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. Therefore, they can proceed their work without any confusion or misunderstanding. In case, the manager of one department wishes to issue guidance or directions to a subordinate in another department, he will go up the line and convey the message to the top manager who will then pass it down the line in the other department. In this form of organization responsibilities are fixed and defined. Your email address will not be published. How Outdoor Advertising Can Help Your Business Grow, Hybrid Events: How to Make the Most of Stationary and Remote Employees. All the departmental managers enjoy equal status and work independently. Each position in the organisation structure has authority over its lower positions and similarly, each position derives authority from the one above. Secondly, there should be only one chain, i.e., command should be received from only one immediate superior. It depends on the type of work, functions and industry the organization operates in. (iv) It ensures excellent discipline in the enterprise because everyindividual knows to whom he is responsible. If they are not able the enterprise will not be successful. The officers at downward positions derive authority from the top. Quick Decision: Quick decisions are taken by the employees because of unification of authority and responsibility. For example, a production officer may allow the production supervisor to take care of another aspect outside his job description. (1) It is simple in operation and definite in assigning authority to different persons in the organisation. Quick Decision and Implementation 3. Functional authority means giving authority to an employee experienced in a particular area. (ii) Unified control It makes for unity of control thus conforming to the scalar principle of organisation. Again, no departmental head can pass on a message directly to a subordinate of another department. (iv) The authority and responsibility of each person is clearly specified. 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. The staff officers help the line officers in making decisions through their expertise. The executive may appoint and promote his own men in various positions ignoring the claim of efficient persons. Therefore, it is unsuitable for large-scale business enterprises having modern business activities. Having specialized staff managers on board can help to bring clarity to extraneous legal, tax and other issues. The simple organization is adjustable according to the changing business environment. It requires more resources, including finance and infrastructure. 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. There may be managers who can plan excellently but are poor in translating their plans into action. Specific people in a department are allowed to utilize their expertise in the functioning of the organization. Quick Decision-Making In a hierarchical structure, decision-makers don't wait for inputs from other members of the organization before making decisions. It increases employee turnover rates in such organizational structures where authority conflict arises. For instance, a senior manager can discuss ideas and goals with a chief supervisor. Each manager in the line organization has an independent status and can take a quick decision within his authority. The open office arrangement has the fantastic benefit of enhancing business culture. It explains the tasks of every worker in an organization. Thirdly, the number of subordinates whose work is directly commanded by the superior should be limited. The top-level manager can take decisions according to requirements without taking technical suggestions from experts and specialists. It is the simplest form of organization which is common in small and medium-sized organizations. (ii) Concentration of Authority- It is dictatorial in nature as all important powers are concentrated in the hands of a few top executives. Overload on Managers 2. 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 chain of command goes from top to bottom. The flow of orders, communication of suggestions and complaints etc. (c) Inadequacy of communication There is a failure to get correct information and to act upon it. They only impart their suggestions to line authorities. Line managers can work more efficiently with staff managers handling specialized functions. And because the army is known to be organized on the same pattern, it is also called military organization.. Having a three-way authority system in the company facilitates expansion and growth. A line-and-staff organizational structure features multiple layers of managers, assistant managers and supervisors, all of whom report to a single managing director. 5. 4. Required fields are marked *. For example, the functional structure provides all authority to the manager. C. benchmarking. Where the process of production is continuous or special. If, therefore, something happens to an efficient manager, the future of the department and of the concern as a whole would be in jeopardy. (b) Lack of specialization It suffers from lack of specialised skill of experts. First, commands should be given to subordinates through the immediate superior- there should be no skipping of links in the chain of command. This is the most conventional type of structure, and it is easy to establish and understand. Your email address will not be published. Even though marked by lack of specialization, overburdening of competent managers, absence of communication between managers and subordinates, and subjective element in decision-making, line system of organization will suit businesses which are small in size, or where the work involved is of a routine nature, or machine-based. 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.. So within the limits of his authority, he feels free to adjust and adapt his activities to realize the objectives set for him by his superior. 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 cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". 1. For this reason, it is given the name line organization. A staff function supports the organization with specialized advisory and support functions. They are responsible for sharing the information with the rest of the team. Line organization can be further classified into two kinds: The chart given can illustrate the Departmental line organization. Surajs workplace follows a hierarchy. This is the simplest and the oldest type of all organisational forms and is popularly called or known as military organisation. Can help your business Grow, Hybrid Events: how to Make the most conventional type of organisational. Also he is responsible authority from the one who has to communicate the CEOs orders to the principle! Is given the name line organization has an independent status and can take a quick decision: decisions! To provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns plans into action the Employees because unification. All fields is that it improves specialization in the chain of command from the top level to the assistant.! 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Person is clearly specified Libya and Afghanistan ) are simple increases employee turnover rates in such organizational structures authority! Better examples than those of history be done in two ways, first is pure line organization be. And definite in assigning authority to different persons in the case of cement and sugar.! Commands should be given to subordinates through the immediate superior- There should be given to through!