Line and staff organizational structure
/What is the Line and Staff Organizational Structure?
Line and staff are the two broadest categories within which employees are organized in a business. Line personnel are directly involved in the operations of a business. Line functions include sales, marketing, production, and distribution. The line functions also generate revenue for the organization.
Staff personnel facilitate the activities of line personnel. For example, a human resources employee is ranked within the staff classification, as is an internal auditor, an accountant, a public relations person, and a risk manager.
Line personnel are directly involved in attaining the goals of an organization. Staff personnel are only indirectly involved, since they are facilitating the work of the line personnel.
During economic downturns, staff personnel tend to be laid off first, since doing so reduces costs without interfering with the productive capacity of the business.
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Line and Staff Conflicts
There can be conflict between the two types of positions. Line personnel tend to resent staff personnel for interfering with their job functions, while staff personnel complain that they are being ignored by line personnel. The situation can be exacerbated when staff personnel become too involved in line work in order to give the appearance that they are justifying their positions. Ideally, there should be just enough staff personnel to create a net gain in the performance of the organization as a whole. Staff personnel tend to be paid more than line personnel, which can cause tension with line personnel. Further, too many staff personnel will increase costs while reducing the efficiency of the line personnel.
Disadvantages of the Line and Staff Structure
There are several disadvantages to operating a line and staff structure, which are as follows:
Separately-managed staff. A key concern with the line and staff structure is that there are two separately-administered groups within a business, without common leadership. This can create conflicts between the two, as managers of the groups fight over who has the power to make various decisions.
Conflicts about decision-making. Those employees working on the staff side of this organizational structure may not feel empowered, because the line personnel usually have the authority to make decisions. This means that staff personnel may put in a great deal of effort to research a recommended course of action, only to find that they cannot get it approved by the line side of the business. This can result in more turnover among staff personnel.
Duplication of effort. The line and staff structure can be expensive, since some positions (especially at the manager level) are duplicated across the two groups. This can be a major concern in an organization that is only earning modest profits, and so cannot afford to pay for additional staff.
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