Published by: sadikshya
Published date: 01 Jun 2021
Here, we are going to discuss the differences that we can find between the Line Organization Structure and Line & Staff Organization Structure.
Line Organizational Structure is one of the simplest types of organizational structures. Its authority flows from top to bottom. Unlike other structures, specialized and supportive services do not take place in these organizations. The chain of command and each department head has control over their departments.
Line-staffs Organization Structure in management, approach in which authorities establish goals and directives that are then fulfilled by staffs and other workers. In a highly centralized structure, decisions are made by a few executives or managers and flow downward through the enterprise.
Perhaps the most important (and obvious) difference between line and staff is the purpose: line’s purpose is to work directly toward organizational goals, whereas staff advises and assists. Another important difference is authority. Line authority is generally considered as the formal (legitimate) authority created by the organizational hierarchy.
The Differences between are about the meaning, authority, discipline, executives, degree of centralization, etc. They are explained below.
| BASIS FOR COMPARISON | LINE ORGANIZATION | LINE AND STAFF ORGANIZATION |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | The organization in which the authority and responsibility move downward and accountability flows upward. | The organization structure, in which a specialist is added to the line managers to provide guidance and support. |
| Authority | Command | Command and Advise |
| Discipline | Strict | Loose |
| Executives | Line executives are generalists. | Line executives are generalist and staff executives are specialists. |
| Degree of centralization | Absolute centralization | Partly centralized and partly decentralized |
| Appropriate for | A small organization with less number of employees. | A large organization with a number of employees. |