Here is the wiki def.
Line authority - in which individuals in management positions have the formal power to direct and control immediate subordinates.
Staff authority - granted to staff specialists in their areas of expertise. Narrower than line authority and includes the right to advise, recommend, and counsel in the staff specialists' area of expertise. It is a communication relationship with management. It has an influence that derives indirectly from line authority at a higher level.
and take a human resource manager as an instance
what is the relationship between staff and line authority?
Line has authority to give order to subordinates. A staff can not give order. Staff can only suggest line. Hence line is responsible for the work of subordinates, but staff does not.
Staff authority - granted to staff specialists in their areas of expertise. Narrower than line authority and includes the right to advise, recommend, and counsel in the staff specialists' area of expertise. It has an influence that derives indirectly from line authority at a higher level.
A person holding a line authority is higher than a person holding a staff authority. this is because a line authority flows from the head of the organization to the subordinate staffs. a good example of a line authority is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) On the other hand, a staff authority will comprise only the head of a certain department within the whole organization and his/her staff. A good example of a staff authority is a company supervisor whose authority is primarily felt by his/her juniors and not the whole organization
The chart shows relationships between staff in the organization which can be: * Line - direct relationship between superior and subordinate. * Lateral - relationship between different departments on the same hierarchical level. * Staff - relationship between a managerial assistant and other areas. The assistant will be able to offer advice to a line manager. However, they have no authority over the line manager actions. * Functional - relationships between specialist positions and other areas. The specialist will normally have authority to insist that a line manager implements any of their instructions.
Line authority or function is a Direct or main function of an individual or department. It involves Direct and Legitimate Authority over subordinates. It decides what to do, and when to do it. eg., Production for a Manufacturing company. Staff Authority on the other hand is an assistant function as it guides line managers or functions into performing a specific activity. They are more specialized and therefore provide advice to Line authority. eg., Human Resource (HR) for a Manufacturing company.
There are three main types of authority: 1: Line Authority: It is the power to give orders to subordinates. Line managers are responsible for attaining the organizational goals as efficiently as possible. Production and sales managers typically exercise line authority 2: Staff Authority: Power to give advice, support, and service to line departments. Staff managers do not command others. Examples of staff authority are found in personnel, purchasing, engineering, and finance. 3: Functional Authority: Staff's ability to initiate actions within a given area of expertise. Functional Authority allows decisions to be implemented directly by the staff. In an organization functional authority can be found in accounting, labor etc areas.
conflics between line & staff orgnaisation take place when one considers self more qualified and skillful and never give proper attention what the other suggest. i.e they are different in nature of thought .
Line managers are the overall decision makers and have authority over their subordinates in an organization. the staff in the other hand is are the individual employees that take instructions from their immediate leaders
The difference between line relationship and staff relationship is that, line relationship receives command from the top management, while staff relationship is managed by all staff.
Functional Staff Authority means that a staff manager gives advice and service to the line manager in an effective manner.
it takes the form of counsel, advice, and recommendation. People with staff authority derive their power from their expert knowledge and the legitimacy established in their relationships with line managers.