1. PRINCIPALS OF MANAGEMENT II LINE /STAFF AUTHORITY

2. AUTHORITY: The right in the position and hence the right in the person occupying the position to exercise discretion in making decisions affecting others and the performance of individuals and others. LINE /STAFF AUTHORITY What is Authority? Authority is the right to perform or command. It allows its holder to act in certain designated ways and to directly influence the actions of others through orders. It also allows its holder to allocate the organization’s resources to achieve organizational objectives

3. Barnard defines authority as the character of communication by which an order is accepted by an individual as governing the actions that individual takes within the system. Barnard maintains that authority will be accepted only under the following conditions: 1.The individual can understand the order being communicated. 2.The individual believes the order is consistent with the purpose of the organization. 3.The individual sees the order as compatible with his or her personal interests. 4.The individual is mentally and physically able to comply with the order. The fewer of these 4 conditions that are present, the lower the probability that authority will be accepted and obedience be exacted.

4. What is Power? Power: The ability of individuals or groups to induce or influence the beliefs or actions of other individuals or groups. – The presidential Authority. The PM’s Authority. The power of a leader

5. BASES OF POWER: LEGITIMATE POWER: ARISING FROM POSITION AND DERIVED FROM THE CULTURAL SYSTEM OF RIGHTS AND DUTIES / OBLIGATIONS. POSITION ACCEPTED AS LEGITIMATE BY THE PUBLIC. ROYAL POSITIONS – KINGS MINISTERIAL POSITIONS…….. RAILWAYS TTES TRAFFIC POLICE,…..

6. Referent Power Is that influence which persons exercise to influence others owing to one’s / their commanding respect among the public. (Sports persons, Cine stars) Reward Power: Power in granting rewards. (CEOs, Professors, … ) Coercive Power: Power to punish. (Police authorities, Intelligence,…..)

7. EMPOWERMENT: The act of giving authority and power to exercise decision making without seeking powers from one’s superiors. PARAMETERS TO BE CONSIDERED: Competencies, mutual trust, sincerity, degree of acceptance by the subordinates, integrity, loyalty, (Power being “P” and Responsibility being “R”) P = R symbolizes Balanced situation, P > R symbolizes Autocratic Behavior P< R symbolizes Frustration leading to inefficiency.

9. GENERAL PERCEPTION: LINE FUNCTIONS: Those having direct impact on the accomplishment of the organizational objectives. (Production, sales, (finance) ) Staff functions: Those helping the line persons work more effectively in accomplishing the objectives. (Purchase, design, R&D, HR, maintenance, service, QC,..……)

10. LINE AUTHORITY: The most fundamental authority within an organization, reflects existing superior- subordinate relationships. It consists of the right to make decisions and to give order concerning the production, sales or finance related behavior of subordinates. In general, line authority pertains to matters directly involving management system production, sales, finance etc., and As a result with the attainment of objectives. People directly responsible for these areas within the organization are delegated line authority to assist them in performing their obligatory activities.

11. Line authority gives a superior a direct line of authority over his subordinate. I.E., A superior exercises direct supervision on his subordinate an authority relationship. Exists as a series of uninterrupted steps. STAFF AUTHORITY: Staff authority consists of the right to advise or assist those who possess line authority as well as other staff personnel. Staff authority enables those responsible for improving the effectiveness of line personnel to perform their required tasks.

12. Line and Staff personnel must work together closely to maintain the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization. To ensure that line and staff personnel do work together productively, management must make sure both groups understand the organizational mission, have specific objectives, and realize that they are partners in helping the organization reach its objectives. Size is perhaps the most significant factor in determining whether or not an organization will have staff personnel. The larger the organization, the greater the need and ability to employ staff personnel. As an organization expands, it usually needs employees with expertise in diversified areas. Although small organizations may also require this kind of diverse expertise, they often find it more practical to hire part time consultants to provide it is as needed rather than to hire full time staff personnel, who may not always be kept busy.

13. LINE – STAFF RELATIONSHIPS : As an example: A plant manager has line authority over each immediate subordinate, human resource manager, the production manager and the sales manager. However, the human resource manager has staff authority in relation to the plant manger, meaning the human resource manager has staff authority in relation to the plant manager, meaning the human resource manager possesses the right to advise the plant manager on human resource matters. Still final decisions concerning human resource matters are in the hands of the plant manager, the person holding the line authority.

14. ROLE OF STAFF PERSONNEL: Harold Stieglitz has pinpointed 3 roles that staff personnel typically perform to assist line personnel: 1.The Advisory or Counseling Role : 2.The Service Role : 3.The Control Role :

15. Nature of staff relationship: Advisory. To investigate, research, help and advice the line managers in accomplishing organizational objectives. Governor’s relationship with ministry. The Advisory or Counseling Role In this role, staff personnel use their professional expertise to solve organizational problems. The staff personnel are, in effect, internal consultants whose relationship with line personnel is similar to that of a professional and a client.

16. The Service Role Staff personnel in this role provide services that can more efficiently and effectively be provided by a single centralized staff group than by many individuals scattered throughout the organization. This role can probably best be understood if staff personnel are viewed as suppliers and line personnel as customers. The Control Role Staff personnel help establish a mechanism for evaluating the effectiveness of organizational plans. The role of staff in any organization should be specifically designed to best meet the needs of that organization.

17. SCALAR PRINCIPLE: Speaks of authority, responsibility, reporting, decision making and communication. “ Clearer the line of authority (from the ultimate management to every subordinate position) clearer will be the responsibility for decision making and more effective will be organization communication.”

18. CONFLICT IN LINE – STAFF RELATIONSHIP: From the view point of line personnel, conflict is created because staff personnel tend to Assume Line Authority Do not give Sound Advice Steal Credit for Success Fail to Keep line personnel informed of their activities Do not see the whole picture. From the view point of Staff Personnel, conflict is created because line personnel do not make proper use of staff personnel, resist new ideas and refuse to give staff personnel enough authority to do their jobs. Staff Personnel can often avert line-staff conflicts if they strive to emphasize the objectives of the organization as a whole, encourage and educate line personnel in the appropriate use of staff personnel, obtain any necessary skills they do not already possess, and deal intelligently with the resistance to change rather than view it as an immovable barrier.

19. NOTE: Line and staff are distinguished by authority relationships and not by what people do. A department like R&D, DESIGNS may stand in a predominantly staff position with respect to other departments but within the department, are line relationships. (VP – production – generally line function. But, when he advises the CEO on company’s production policy, the relationship is staff in nature.) Line personnel can do their part to minimize line staff conflict by single staff personnel wherever possible, making proper use of the staff abilities, and keeping staff personnel appropriately informed.

20. FUNCTIONAL AUTHORITY: The right which has been delegated to an individual or a group to control specified processes, practices, policies, procedures, or other matters related to activities undertaken by persons in other departments. (Company controller prescribing the system of accounting system for the entire company. QC specialist establishing QC practices for the entire corporate group of companies.) In other words; Functional authority consists of the right to give orders within a segment of the organization in which this right is normally non existent. This authority is usually assigned to individuals to complement the line or staff authority they already possess. Functional Authority generally covers only specific task areas and is operational only for designated amounts of time. It is given to individuals who, in order to meet responsibilities in their own areas, must be able to exercise some control over organization members in other areas.

21. PROBLEMS WITH OR LIMITATIONS OF STAFF MANAGERS. Danger of undermining line authority. Lack of staff responsibility. Thinking in a vacuum. Managerial problems – confused unity of command.

22. The act of bringing together the activities under the control of a central authority. TYPES OF CENTRALIZATION: CENTRALIZATION BY PERFORMANCE. – Co. Operating in a single location. CENTRALIZATION BY DEPARTMENTS. – Central maintenance, central purchase,…. CENTRALIZATION AS AN ASPECT OF MANAGEMENT. – High degree of authority held at or close to the top management. CENTRALIZATION:

23. DECENTRALIZATION: More than delegation. Reflection of management philosophy. Policy making to guide decision making. Selection and training of personnel –critical. Essential element of a successful managerial system. Signifies readiness to accept new challenges, flexibility, globally dynamic environment.

25. DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY: THE PROCESS OF DELEGATION: Determine the specific results expected of a position. Assign the tasks to the position. Delegate the necessary authority to accomplish these tasks. Hold the person in that position responsible for accomplishing the tasks.

26. Decentralization in Organizations Benefits of Decentralization Lower Level Managers gain experience in Decision making Lower Level Decisions often based on better information Top management freed to concentrate on strategy Decision making authority leads to job satisfaction Lower levels managers can respond quickly to customers

27. GOLDEN RULES OF DELEGATION: What a superior delegates is his authority and never the responsibility. You may hold your subordinate responsible, still you are accountable for all the responsibility.

28. SPLINTERED AUTHORITY. Wherever a problem cannot be solved without pooling the authority of two or more managers, there lies “splintered authority”. (Joint decision by marketing and production departments on product mix during the times of short supplies of raw material. Managerial conferences,…)

29. PARAMETERS AFFECTING DELEGATION: Personal attitudes towards delegation. Receptiveness willingness to let go. Willingness to let others make mistakes willingness to trust subordinates. Willingness to establish and use broad controls good feedback mechanism

30. GUIDELINES TO OVERCOME WEAK DELEGATION. Assignment of tasks and delegation of authority should be in light of the results expected. Select the right person for the job to be done and not the other way. Establish and sustain open and transparent communication lines. Establish right methods and measures of control. Develop a clear feedback mechanism. Reward effective delegation and successful assumption of authority.

31. Relieves top management. Encourages decision making develops independent thinking leads to establishing broad controls and measures. High chance to increase motivation. May establish profit centers. Aids product diversification. Helps in developing generalists. Aids developing flexibility and adaptation.

33. DEMERITS OF DECENTRALIZATION Difficult to have a uniform policy. Tough to coordinate multiple decentralized units. May lead to loss of control by top management difficult in establishing control measures. Short of good managerial talent is a set back. Calls for expensive training of managers. May not get in few situations for certain operations under economy of scale.

35. 1- Write short note on : a)Line Authority b)Staff Authority 2- What is Delegation of Authority?