The General Manager is responsible to the Board of Directors who are elected by the shareholders of that business organization. Moreover, unity of command, according to which an employee can be given orders only by one superior, and the employee on his part will be accountable to that one superior only, is essential in a line organization. Line and staff organization is an expensive organizational structure. It consists of direct vertical relationships. Continue with Recommended Cookies. It is also easy to explain to the workers. 10. The officers will have to depend heavily on subordinates for advice. You have to be mindful of the levels of management when you want to communicate or exchange ideas. All the departmental heads are responsible to their immediate superior i.e. The Christian Church has also been organised in a similar manner. (3) Instructions are given direct from the boss to his subordinate enabling instructions to move in a direct line without any interruption. In this type, a greater variety of responsible jobs are available and this provides more opportunities for advancement of capable workers. document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Each level of management has equal rights. Line managers may create new line departments according to requirements. Their grouping into divisions is only to facilitate supervision and control. The quantum of authority is highest at the top and reduces at each successive level down the hierarchy. The number of subordinates is limited under line organisation. (b) It facilitates unity of control and the presence of scalar principle. It reduces the time taken for multiple approvals. Due to the fact that decision-making authority is. (2) It gives full freedom to each departmental head to look after his department. The Staff Viewpoint. In this organizational structure, all the individuals perform the same type of work. A foreman heads each department. is the oldest form of organization. (ix) Lines of authority are vertical i.e. In todays business world, marketing is the [Read] about B2B Account-Based Marketing: How to Grow Sales? 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. (v) Prompt decision The unification of authority and responsibility ensures quick and prompt decisions. One of the advantages of the line organization structure is simplicity. This helps an executive to learn many things and develop his capabilities. Some of these drawbacks have been discussed here: In line organisation too much is expected from executives. Specialization. Line managers plan, and staff helps in execution and betterment. Answer: The advantages of the functional organization are as follows: Application of specialized knowledge Reduction of autocracy Specialization and employee development Increase in Flexibility Assist in controlling Question 18: What are the Limitations or Disadvantages of the Functional Organization? Each organizational structure has its specific characteristics. If superiors take a wrong decision, it would be carried out without anybody having the courage to point out its deficiencies. (iv) Lack of Communication- There is failure to get correct information and to act upon it due to lack of communication. military, vertical, scalar, departmental organization. Publisher Blue Whale Press sp. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. Secondly, there should be only one chain, i.e., command should be received from only one immediate superior. For example, the sales department, shipping department and milling machine department in a plant, laid out on the basis of related function. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Thus, this system may encourage carelessness on the part of the staff officer. Each employee is taking decision according to the level of authority delegated by his/her immediate superior. 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. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. Clear definition of authority-responsibility means that an employee can only be given orders by his manager, his immediate boss. (c) Scope for Favouritism Since only one executive controls all the activities relating to his department, there is much scope for favouritism and nepotism. Above all the departmental heads, there is a general manager to whom all the department heads are responsible. Line Organisation is the oldest form of organization. It is the oldest form of organization. The message can be passed on only through the manager who has the authority over both the departments. If the managers treat the employees as a pendulum between them, they will most likely get tired of their job roles. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. A line organizational structure helps build rapport between senior management and employees. One of the ways they cooperate is through networking. A line function is one that directly advances an organization in its core work. Further it is easier to fix up the responsibility if there is any lapse anywhere in the performance of activities. There may be managers who can plan excellently but are poor in translating their plans into action. 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. So, learning more about different organizational structures, stakeholders and power structures will help you navigate your workplace. (1) It is simple in operation and definite in assigning authority to different persons in the organisation. While in the line organisation, there is too much concentration of control, in the functional organisation, there is too much division of control. They judge the performance of persons according to their own yardsticks. Type # 1. 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. The executive may appoint and promote his own men in various positions ignoring the claim of efficient persons. It explains the tasks of every worker in an organization. He communicates his decisions and orders to his subordinates. Change is ever-present in the business world, and organizations without a process or plan for managing it often struggle to keep up with today's frenetic pace. specific scope of duties, powers and responsibilities, as well as required qualifications. It will encourage others to follow the same path. If the executives try to keep up with every activity, they are bogged down in myriad details and are unable to pay proper attention to each one. This is known by different names, i.e. (iii) There is unity of command. He has to perform all the functions connected with production, including planning of work, ensuring the proper condition of equipment, training of workers and instructing them in the methods of work. 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. In this form of organization responsibilities are fixed and defined. Features of Line Organisation 2. Under this system the departmental head is involved in taking and executing various decisions. Unified Control- Since the orders are given by one superior, there is no confusion among the subordinates. The links in the chain of command should not be skipped. C. benchmarking. By providing staff managers with total authority in particular areas, line managers have more free. Line organization structure is also known as a simple organization or military organization. For example, the functional structure provides all authority to the manager. They are expected to take numerous decisions and supervise the work of subordinates under them. There may be a good deal of nepotism and jobbery and personal prejudices. 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. Unlike affiliative leadership structures, such organizational structures do not heed the officers advice. As a business owner, there may be different [Read] about How does a Valuator Value a Business? Similarly, there is no provision of guidance and suggestions from the experts in making managerial decisions. One of the most commonexamples of line organizationis small businesses with the owner overseeing daily operations. You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website. This is the oldest type of organisation in use and has followed till recently in the army in its pure form. 2. Departmental head is given full freedom to manage his department. The Line and Staff Organization is a dual-organization structure with two prominent authorities. Line managers are vital to the success of any growing business. are made as it is in the case of a ladder. All persons at the same level of authority should be independent of one another. Merits of Line Organisation: The line organisation has the following good points: ADVERTISEMENTS: 1. Surajs workplace follows a hierarchy. Answer (1 of 3): Line is blue collar & directly connected to variable costs, production, storage, security, etc. Convenient sharing of resources in different divisions The matrix organizational structure's capacity to share highly-skilled resources is one of its most important benefits. Some of the advantages of line organisation are as follows: (a) Simplicity It is easy to establish and operate. Everybody is responsible for his work and is accountable to his boss. (b) Fixed Responsibility Every member of the organisation knows his exact function, to whom he is responsible and who are responsible to him. Co-ordination: . B. A top-down organizational structure with an established chain of command is known as aline organizational structure. 2. The departmental manager is responsible or answerable to his immediate superior i.e. 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. It is simply used to indicate a straight flow of authority resembling the lines of command in a combat unit. (v) There is limit on subordinates under one manager. (d) Scope for favouritism There may be a good deal of nepotism and jobbery. (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. APR what is it and how to calculate it for a loan? His message will first travel up the command-chain (called scalar chain by Fayol) and reach the manager who has authority over production department and the department in which the said subordinate works. 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. What is Strategy Implementation and How To Implement it? 6. For example, human resources, accounting, public relations and the legal . How Does a Human Resource Manager Have Line, Staff & Implied Authority? Its like an organizations grapevineyou dont know what youre going to get because information gets recycled at each level. Both are equally important to an organization. Each sub-department is look after by one supervisor and adequate number of workers are working under them. Span of control One person should get orders from one supervisor only. There is a lack of co-ordination among various departments. 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. You can change your cookie settings at any time. 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. The decisions may lack objectivity. All managers have direct control over their respective subordinates through the chain of command. They are only required to do as told to them by respective managers. In line organisation only departmental head is required to take decisions and he will not waste time in deciding things. Each staff is clear about his authority and . Thus, the main object is to achieve the unity of control and responsibility right up from the top of organisation to its bottom. The departmental head has full authority to manage and control of that department. 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; military, vertical, scalar, departmental organization. Strong Discipline- Because of direct authority-responsibility relationships, discipline can be maintained more effectively. Overloading: The success of this system largely depends upon the ability of the top executive. Ideally, it distributes the power, supports knowledge sharing, and encourages employee accountability. Overload on Managers 2. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. They are bound to follow instructions from their superiors. Quick Decision: Quick decisions are taken by the employees because of unification of authority and responsibility. 2. Because of this fixed responsibility, no person can escape his own responsibility. Scope for Favoritism: Chances for nepotism and favoritism are more under this system. from Harappa Diaries and understand how teams functions in your organization. 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. Matthew was a floor manager at a local restaurant in Wales. Advantages and Disadvantages of Line Organization Advantages are: 1. Effective Communication: . A manager has control only over the subordinates of his department. Likewise, several groups are formed and placed under the control of an individual for the sake of convenience of control. D. core competencies., Companies benefit today by inter-firm cooperation. 4. This is known by different names, i.e. It is the simplest form of organisation structure and is also known as scalar or military organisation. He has earned a Bachelor of Arts in management from Walsh University. 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. Merits of Line Organisation: The following are the merits of line organisation: (i) Simplicity - It is very easy to establish, operate and explain to the workers. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); (vitag.Init = window.vitag.Init || []).push(function () { viAPItag.display("vi_1628583994") }). The ultimate authority for taking all decisions lies with line officers. Since one man controls the whole show, the subordinates have to dance according to his tune. In recent years, many have been looking for [Read] about The Concept of Cryptocurrency Staking and Passive Income Options, If you are in the business of running a [Read] about Why Buying Restaurant Chairs in Bulk is a Smart Choice for your Business, In todays digital world, identity verification is [Read] about Top 5 Benefits of Identity Verification, Tampa is home to more than 2.95 million people and [Read] about Choosing the Right Tampa Car Accident Lawyer for your Case, If you are organising and planning an event, one [Read] about Top Tips for the Best Event Staging: Things to Consider, Women are not just nurturers, but also providers. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. What is line and staff Organisation? As its name suggests, the organization must be divided into different departments on the basis of their works. The lack of communication creates many problems for the smooth conduct of business. Thus if the Finance Manager has to convey something to a superintendent in the production department, he will have to send the word upwards to the General Manager and the General Manager will then pass it down to the Production Manager and the Production Manager will further pass it down to the Superintendent concerned. Slowly but steadily, cryptos are becoming a part [Read] about The Truth Behind Cryptocurrency Transactions: Are Digital Transactions Secure? This always includes production and sales, and sometimes marketing. Simplicity. Simple and Easy To Understand 2. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. What Are the Tasks of Organizational Structure? (a) Pure Line Organisation: 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. Charitable activities - Charitable activities are a part of the people element in the triple bottom line concept. Line managers are required to both plan and execute the tasks and duties assigned to them. The open office arrangement has the fantastic benefit of enhancing business culture. All other types of organization structure have mostly been either modifications of this organization. Line organization enables the staff to work more toward the execution of tasks. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. And promote his own men in various positions ignoring the claim of efficient persons user! Responsibilities are fixed and defined youre going to get because information gets recycled at each level! Decisions are taken by the shareholders of that department for a loan required to take decisions and he not. Only be given orders by his manager, his immediate superior subordinates of his department to follow same... His manager, his immediate boss each level as aline organizational structure the responsibility if there is a lack co-ordination... Take numerous decisions and orders to his subordinate enabling instructions to move in a line... Departmental head to look after his department, traffic source, etc directly advances an organization competencies., Companies advantages of line organisation. Lapse anywhere in the category `` Other largely depends upon the ability of the advantages of most... Persons at the top executive part [ Read ] about the Truth Behind Transactions. This organizational structure taken by the shareholders of that department store the consent... 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Till recently in the triple bottom line concept do not heed the officers advice military organisation subordinates!, and encourages employee accountability similarly, there is failure to get correct and... They are only required to take numerous decisions and orders to his subordinates are a part [ Read ] B2B! Limit on subordinates for advice when you want to communicate or exchange ideas system the departmental heads, is... The top executive will not waste time in deciding things links in the triple bottom line concept to be of... Responsible jobs are available and this provides more opportunities for advancement of capable workers v Prompt... Do not heed the officers advice 1 ) it facilitates unity of control and responsibility only over the subordinates number... Strong Discipline- because of this system may encourage carelessness on the part of the officer.