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Staff Authority - Line And Staff Relationships
Management Concepts & Organisational Behaviour - Line And Staff Relationships
Staff Authority - Line And Staff Relationships
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The relation between a staff manager and the line manager largely depend on the type of duties performed.
Staff Authority
The relation between a staff manager and the line manager largely depend on the type of duties performed. A man who only gathers facts or only checks on performance will have relationship with line manager that are different from those of a man who has concurring authority. Such variations between line and staff relationships as discussed earlier, run along a continuum with only advice at one extreme point and functional authority at other extreme point. In between, two more situations represent compulsory staff consultation and concurring authority. Thus, variations are often found in respect of staff authority and responsibility in organizations. The different shades of staff authority are discussed below:
Advisory Staff Authority
This is the type of staff relationship popularly associated with the term staff authority. An advisory staff manager provides advice, assistance, and information and it depends on the line manager whether these are put into action or not. Thus, a staff relies largely on persuasion to get his ideas put into effect. In the absence of power of command, he must build confidence in his opinions. Therefore, a staff manager has to depend on his persuasive skills.
Some organizations prescribe the practice of compulsory staff consultation. Under this arrangement, a staff man must be consulted before action is taken. However, line manage is free to take action of his choice after consulting staff. Compulsory consultation supplements a more general requirement for successful staff work- the requirement that a staff should have access to any information that relates to his field of interest.
At times, a staff man may be granted authority so that no action can be taken until he agrees to it. For example, quality control inspector must pass on raw materials or semi finished products before they move to the next stage of production, or agreement with employees over the matter of wages should be entered only after the personnel manager has agreed to it. The idea of concurring authority is that the staff view point is incorporated into operating decisions. These considerations suggest that concurring authority is granted only when the viewpoint represented by a staff man is particularly important when possible delay in action will not be serious. For example, it may be prescribed that a finance manager can not withhold capital expenditure simply because of his disapproval of capital expenditure plan, but he can withhold it when funds are not available or funds can not be arranged. In government organizations, normally wide-ranging concurring authority is granted to staff men.
The relation between a staff manager and the line manager largely depend on the type of duties performed. A man who only gathers facts or only checks on performance will have relationship with line manager that are different from those of a man who has concurring authority. Such variations between line and staff relationships as discussed earlier, run along a continuum with only advice at one extreme point and functional authority at other extreme point. In between, two more situations represent compulsory staff consultation and concurring authority. Thus, variations are often found in respect of staff authority and responsibility in organizations. The different shades of staff authority are discussed below:
Advisory Staff Authority
This is the type of staff relationship popularly associated with the term staff authority. An advisory staff manager provides advice, assistance, and information and it depends on the line manager whether these are put into action or not. Thus, a staff relies largely on persuasion to get his ideas put into effect. In the absence of power of command, he must build confidence in his opinions. Therefore, a staff manager has to depend on his persuasive skills.
Compulsory Staff Consultation
Some organizations prescribe the practice of compulsory staff consultation. Under this arrangement, a staff man must be consulted before action is taken. However, line manage is free to take action of his choice after consulting staff. Compulsory consultation supplements a more general requirement for successful staff work- the requirement that a staff should have access to any information that relates to his field of interest.
Concurring Authority
At times, a staff man may be granted authority so that no action can be taken until he agrees to it. For example, quality control inspector must pass on raw materials or semi finished products before they move to the next stage of production, or agreement with employees over the matter of wages should be entered only after the personnel manager has agreed to it. The idea of concurring authority is that the staff view point is incorporated into operating decisions. These considerations suggest that concurring authority is granted only when the viewpoint represented by a staff man is particularly important when possible delay in action will not be serious. For example, it may be prescribed that a finance manager can not withhold capital expenditure simply because of his disapproval of capital expenditure plan, but he can withhold it when funds are not available or funds can not be arranged. In government organizations, normally wide-ranging concurring authority is granted to staff men.
Tags : Management Concepts & Organisational Behaviour - Line And Staff Relationships
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