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Organizational Structure 4

In a line-and-staff organization, there are two main types of positions: line positions and staff positions. Line positions are directly involved in day-to-day operations like production or sales, while staff positions indirectly support line functions through technical expertise or advice. Examples of line positions include marketing executives and line managers who direct personnel, while staff positions could be a legal adviser providing counsel.

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Thanu Suthatharan
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43 views

Organizational Structure 4

In a line-and-staff organization, there are two main types of positions: line positions and staff positions. Line positions are directly involved in day-to-day operations like production or sales, while staff positions indirectly support line functions through technical expertise or advice. Examples of line positions include marketing executives and line managers who direct personnel, while staff positions could be a legal adviser providing counsel.

Uploaded by

Thanu Suthatharan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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LINE-AND-STAFF

POSITIONS
A wide variety of positions exist within a line-and-staff organization. Some
positions are primary to the company's mission, whereas others are secondary
in the form of support and indirect contribution. Although positions within a
line-and-staff organization can be differentiated in several ways, the simplest
approach classifies them as being either line or staff.
A line position is directly involved in the day-to-day operations of the
organization, such as producing or selling a product or service. Line positions are
occupied by line personnel and line managers. Line personnel carry out the
primary activities of a business and are considered essential to the basic
functioning of the organization.
Line managers make the majority of the decisions and direct line personnel to
achieve company goals. An example of a line manager is a marketing executive.

Line-and-Staff Organization
Although a marketing executive does not actually produce the product or service,
he or she directly contributes to the firm's overall objectives through market
forecasting and generating product or service demand. Therefore, line positions,
whether they are personnel or managers, engage in activities that are
functionally and directly related to the principal workflow of an organization.

Staff positions serve the organization by indirectly supporting line functions.
Staff positions consist of staff personnel and staff managers. Staff personnel use
their technical expertise to assist line personnel and aid top management in
various business activities. Staff managers provide support, advice, and
knowledge to other individuals in the chain of command.
Although staff managers are not part of the chain of command related to direct
production of products or services, they do have authority over personnel. An
example of a staff manager is a legal adviser. He or she does not actively engage
in profit-making activities, but does provide legal support to those who do.
Therefore, staff positions, whether personnel or managers, engage in activities
that are supportive to line personnel.

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