“LINE AND STAFF”

Project submitted in the complete fulfilment of the course POLITICAL

SCIENCE-III, 5th SEMESTER during the Academic Year 2020-2021

SUBMITTED BY:

ABHISHEK KUMAR

Roll No. – 1906

B.A. LL.B. (Hons.)

SUBMITTED TO:

PROF. DR. S.P. SINGH

FACULTY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE-III

ACADEMIC SESSION- 2018-2023

CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, NAYAYA NAGAR, MEETHAPUR,

PATNA-800001
 DECLARATION BY THE CANDIDATE

I hereby declare that the work reported in the B.A.LL.B (Hons.) Project Report Entitled
“LINE AND STAFF” submitted at Chanakya National Law University, Patna is an
authentic record of my work carried out under the supervision of Prof. DR. S.P. SINGH. I
have not submitted this work elsewhere for any other degree or diploma. I am fully
responsible for the contents of my Project Report.

2
(Signature of the Candidate)

ABHISHEK KUMAR

Chanakya National Law University, Patna

3
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Firstly, I would like to thank my faculty of POLITICAL SCIENCE-III, Prof. DR. S.P.
SINGH for providing me an opportunity to make my project on such an interesting topic
which is also a contemporary issue as for now.

Secondly, I would like to thank all my colleagues and friends for helping me out in arranging
of the accumulated collected study material.

Lastly, special thanks to my parents for guiding me in giving the final touch to this project
and helping me out throughout this project.

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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................5

1. LINE AND STAFF: POSITION........................................................................................8

LINE AUTHORITY...........................................................................................................9

STAFF AUTHORITY........................................................................................................9

2. LINE AND STAFF: MERITS AND DEMERITS...........................................................10

3. LINE AND STAFF RELATIONSHIP.............................................................................12

4. LINE AND STAFF CONFLICT......................................................................................14

5. LINE AND STAFF IN CABINET SYSTEM..................................................................17

6. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS...........................................................................19

BIBLIOGRAPHY....................................................................................................................20

5
 INTRODUCTION

Organizational structure involves, in addition to task organizational boundary considerations,

the designation of jobs within an organization and the relationships among those jobs. There
are numerous ways to structure jobs within an organization, but two of the most basic forms
include simple line structures and line-and-staff structures.

Another administrative principle popular in public administration is Line and Staff. Some
public administrationists call it a “defective hierarchy”. In any organisation, it is said, there
are generally two types of employees—one type is called line and the other is called staff.
Every enterprise or organisation has certain goals and it is the function of the members of the
line to translate the goals into reality. On the other hand, the members of the staff agency
help, in all possible ways, the members of the line to achieve the objective.

For example, in the construction of a bridge, both line and staff are involved in the
construction work. The line members are directly engaged in the construction of the bridge.
But the line members alone cannot complete the construction work if they are not assisted by
other members or employees or workers.1

In a line organization, top management has complete control, and the chain of command is
clear and simple. Examples of line organizations are small businesses in which the top
manager, often the owner, is positioned at the top of the organizational structure and has clear
"lines" of distinction between him and his subordinates.

The line-and-staff organization combines the line organization with staff departments that
support and advise line departments. Most medium and large-sized firms exhibit line-and-
staff organizational structures. The distinguishing characteristic between simple line
organizations and line-and-staff organizations is the multiple layers of management within
line-and-staff organizations. The following sections refer primarily to line-and-staff
structures, although the advantages and disadvantages discussed apply to both types of
organizational structures.

Several advantages and disadvantages are present within a line-and-staff organization. An

advantage of a line-and-staff organization is the availability of technical specialists. Staff
1
Hitt, Michael, Stewart Black, and Lyman W. Porter. Management. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2004.

6
experts in specific areas are incorporated into the formal chain of command. A disadvantage
of a line-and-staff organization is conflict between line and staff personnel.

Line and staff are the most widely used concepts in organizing, and most of the structures
have line-staff structures. Large and complex organizations operating in increasingly
dynamic environment need a variety of special abilities, knowledge and skills for supporting
the effective and efficient performance of their major functions of production and marketing.
They, therefore, employ a variety of experts including industrial experts, quality control
managers, industrial relation directors, legal advisors, cost accountants, market researchers,
research and development scientists, and so forth. These specialists perform the staff
functions of rendering expert advice and service to line managers in the performance of their
functions.2

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES:

1. To know about the Line and Staff Organization.
2. To know about the relationship about Line and Staff.
3. Critical analysis of the conflict of the Line and Staff.
HYPOTHESIS:

The researcher presumes that the basic nature of Staff as an advisory relationship
characterizes the nature of Staff authority. Although the Staff officer may exercise Line
Authority over the subordinate in his department to the extent that his position is purely Staff,
he has no Line Authority. His advice flows upward to his superior. It is to be transformed into
Line action, it is the function of the Line superior to decide.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:
The method of this research work is Doctrinal in nature.

SOURCES:

Primary Sources: Observations, Questionnaire, Government documents, Internet

communications on email, blogs, newsgroup.
2
A. awasthi & S. Maheshwari., “Structure of Organization: Line and Staff”., pp 164.

7
Secondary Sources: Reference books, Commentaries and treatises, Works of interpretation,
Textbooks, Abstracts.

LIMITATIONS OF STUDY: The researcher will confine the research to the city of Patna,
Bihar. Due to the constraints, the researcher will include library work.

SCOPE: To understand the negative participation of the nexus towards the downfall of the
country.

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 1. LINE AND STAFF: POSITION

Definition3:

Line and staff organization is an organization in which line managers make decisions, and
staff personnel provide advice and support. 

Meaning4:

Line and staff organization structure refers to a pattern in which staff specialists advice
managers to perform their duties. When the work of an executive increases, its performance
requires the services of specialists which he himself cannot provide because of his limited
capabilities on these fronts. Such advice is provided to line managers by staff personnel who
are generally specialists in their fields. The staff positions or departments are of purely
advisory nature. They have the right to recommend but no right to enforce their preference on
other departments. Sometimes it is difficult to determine which departments are line and
staff. This problem can be solved by classifying the activities in two ways: 

i. the activities that are substantive or direct in its contribution to the organization
are line ones, and
ii. The activities which are objective or indirect in its contribution are staff ones.

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 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. Although a marketing executive does not actually
produce the product or service, he or she directly contributes to the firm's overall objectives

3
https://www.britannica.com/topic/line-staff-management.
4
Ibid.

9
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. Authority within a line-and-staff organization can be
differentiated. Three types of authority are present: line, staff, and functional. Line authority
is the right to carry out assignments and exact performance from other individuals.

LINE AUTHORITY.

Line authority flows down the chain of command. For example, line authority gives a
production supervisor the right to direct an employee to operate a particular machine, and it
gives the vice president of finance the right to request a certain report from a department
head. Therefore, line authority gives an individual a certain degree of power relating to the
performance of an organizational task. Two important clarifications should be considered,
however, when discussing line authority: 5 (1) line authority does not ensure effective
performance, and (2) line authority is not restricted to line personnel. The head of a staff
department has line authority over his or her employees by virtue of authority relationships
between the department head and his or her directly-reporting employees.

STAFF AUTHORITY.

Staff authority is the right to advise or counsel those with line authority. For example, human
resource department employees help other departments by selecting and developing a
qualified workforce. A quality control manager aids a production manager by determining the
acceptable quality level of products or services at a manufacturing company, initiating quality
programs, and carrying out statistical analysis to ensure compliance with quality standards.

5
A. awasthi & S. Maheshwari., “Structure of Organization: Line and Staff”., pp 164.

10
Therefore, staff authority gives staff personnel the right to offer advice in an effort to improve
line operations.

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 2. LINE AND STAFF: MERITS AND DEMERITS

Following are the merits of line-staff organizations6:

1. Planned Specialization: the primary advantage of line-staff organizations is that

it uses the expertise of specialists, i.e. it brings knowledge to bear upon marginal
and operational problems. Line executives can, then, plan effectively and be
responsible for proper execution while the staff specialists assist as and when
needed. 

2. Scientific Actions: the actions of a line manager can become more scientific by
means of concentrated and skilful examination of business problems. Expert
advice definitely helps line executives in arriving at a sound decision.

3. Quality Decisions: the quality of decisions in line and staff structure is high
because the decisions come after careful consideration and thought. Each expert
gives his advice in the area of his specialization which is reflected in the
decisions.

4. Definiteness: in a line-staff organization, authority and responsibility are fixed.

The unity of command principle is honored as each individual reports only to one
superior, while specialized help is available as and when needed. In addition,
accountability is definite. Only line executives are accountable for the results of
their divisions or departments. Undivided responsibility compels line executives
to enforce discipline strictly. Control and coordination in these organizations are
effective.

6
https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/public-administration/line-and-staff-public-administration-definition-and-
functions/63429.

12
 5.   Training ground for developing people: as everyone is expected to concentrate
on one area, one’s training needs can be expressed easily. Line managers can improve
their problem solving in this kind or organization structure.

Following are the demerits of the line-staff organisation7:

1. Lack of understanding- In a line and staff organization, there are two authority
flowing at one time. This results in the confusion between the two. As a result, the
workers are not able to understand as to who is their commanding authority. Hence the
problem of understanding can be a hurdle in effective running.
2. Lack of sound advice- The line official get used to the expertise advice of the staff. At
times the staff specialist also provide wrong decisions which the line executive have to
consider. This can affect the efficient running of the enterprise.
3. Line and staff conflicts- Line and staff are two authorities which are flowing at the
same time. The factors of designations, status influence sentiments which are related to
their relation, can pose a distress on the minds of the employees. This leads to
minimizing of co- ordination which hampers a concern’s working.
4. Costly- In line and staff concern, the concerns have to maintain the high remuneration
of staff specialist. This proves to be costly for a concern with limited finance.
5. Assumption of authority- The power of concern is with the line official but the staff
dislikes it as they are the one more in mental work.

6. Staff steals the show- In a line and staff concern, the higher returns are considered to
be a product of staff advice and counseling. The line officials feel dissatisfied and a
feeling of distress enters a concern. The satisfaction of line officials is very important
for effective results. 8

7
Ibid.
8
Ibid.

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 3. LINE AND STAFF RELATIONSHIP
Line and staff managers are in an international and interdependent relationship with one
another. Interactions are involved in their day-to-day relationships of staff advice, guidance
and services to the line. The line managers are dependent on staff specialists for achieving
their goals. A production manager cannot function effectively, if, for example, the materials
manager does not provide him supplies, tools, spare parts, raw materials etc., the maintenance
manager does not provide him repairing and maintenance services, quality control managers
does not cooperate with him by providing guidance about quality specifications, and so forth.
Similarly, staff managers will find themselves superfluous if line people do not need or reject
their advice and services.9
 
Another aspect of line-staff relationship is based on their authority relations. The line
managers have command authority over their departments. Similarly, staff managers have
command authority over their own departments, but they don’t have authority over other
managers, line or staff, outside their own departments. Their function is to give advice and
render service to the line departments as well as to other staff departments. This point in line-
staff relationship is often missed, and can be clarified with an example. A personnel manager
extends expert advice not only to line departments, i.e., production, sales and finance, but to
other staff departments also such as materials, quality control, maintenance, etc. Thus, we
find that a staff manager is in a line relationship with other employees in his own particular
department, and in staff relationship with managers and employees in all the other
departments.
 
It is discretionary on the part of a line manager to accept or reject the advice of a staff expert.
Acceptance of advice is always voluntary; it can never be forced on others. For eg., a doctor
can advice a patient to take a particular medicine to cure his ailment, but he can’t force it
down his throat.10
 
Role and Responsibility of Line and Staff Managers
 
The line managers are responsible for:
9
Jones, Gareth R. Organizational Theory, Design, and Change. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2004.
10
Ibid.

14
i)      The formulation of objectives, plans and policies.
ii)    Making decisions for the implementation of plans and policies and attainment of
objectives.
iii)   Providing supervision and leadership, achieving coordination and exercising control.
 
The staff managers have the responsibility to11:
i)      Advice, help and guide the line managers in the performance of the above functions.
ii)    Provide specified administrative services.
iii)   Interpret objective plans and policies.
iv)   Make the best tools available for the implementation of plans and policies.
v)    Help in the selection and training of employees.
vi)   Measure organizational effectiveness.
vii) Report result to top management and suggest measures for improvement.
Nature of Line-staff Relationship
 
Following characteristics of line-staff relationship also create conflicts:
 
1.   Different Backgrounds: Line and staff people often have different backgrounds and
individual characteristics. Staff people, in contrast to line, are generally younger, better
educated, more poised in social interaction, more articulate and individualistic. As a result,
they often look down on the less educated line people, who must have worked their way up
through the organization. These differences create an atmosphere of mistrust than of
congenial and coordinative.
 
2.   Lack of Demarcation between Line and Staff: though in theory, the line and staff
authority is clear, often in practice, demarcation between line and staff is rarely clear. Many
jobs in line and staff defy description and relationship between them and are not clarified. In
such cases, there is a possibility for overlap and gap in authority and responsibility which can
aggravate personal relationships.
 
3.   Lack of Proper Understanding of Authority: Even if line and staff authority is made
clear in the organization, people may fail to understand the exact nature of line and staff
authority in practice which may be a source of conflict.

11
https://ebrary.net/7776/management/advantages_line_staff_organisation.

15
 4. LINE AND STAFF CONFLICT
Line and staff relationship is based on the assumption that both support each other and work
harmoniously to achieve organizational objectives. However, there are frequent instances of
conflict between line and staff in the organization. This generates lots of friction and loss of
time and consequently loss of organizational effectiveness. Therefore, there is a need for
analyzing the sources of line and staff conflict and then to take actions to overcome the
problem of conflict.12 
These relations are often characterized more by conflict than cooperation. Staff specialists
complain that line managers are resistant to their ideas and the line managers complain that
staff managers are sky-gazing specialists with no comprehension of practical situations. Such
attitude prevails because due to a number of reasons which are categorized under 3
categories:
 
Viewpoint of Line Managers
 
Line managers, who are responsible for the final results leading to the achievement of
organizational objectives, feel that staff people are against them in the following ways:
 
1.   Lack of Responsibility: It is the perception of line managers that staff people do
not carry any responsibility in the organization, but enjoy authority. This lack of
responsibility makes them complacent and they do not care about the ultimate
objective of the organization.
 
2.   Encroachment of Line Authority: Line managers feel that staff people interfere in
their authority. They give advice and recommendations on the matters which fall
within their jurisdiction. And whenever there is any encroachment of interference on
the legitimate right of any manager, the result is resentment, hostility, and open or
hidden reluctance to accept advice and recommendation.
 
3.   Dilution of Authority: There is a feeling that staff people dilute line authority. In
fact, staff authority emerges out of dilution of line authority. Line managers may fear

12
https://www.economicsdiscussion.net/organisational-structure/types-of-organizational-structure/31772.

16
 that their responsibility will be reduced because of the addition of staff thereby making
their job less challenging and varied.
 
4.   Theoretical Bias: Often the advice and recommendation of staff people suffer
from theoretical bias because of two reasons. First, they tend to think within the
context of their own specialty and use criteria prescribed in their own discipline, which
may make the advice one-sided and less practical. Second, often staff people are away
from the actual operational scene for which they make recommendations, and
therefore they may not be able to fully appreciate the actual dimension of the problem
and their recommendation may not be practical.13

Viewpoint of Staff Managers14

 
Like line managers, staff people have their own arguments and try to find faults with line
managers which result in line-staff conflict. Their arguments and problems run on the
following lines:
 
1.   Lack of Proper use of Staff: staff people feel that line managers do not make
proper use of staff people. Quite often staff people are ignored by the line managers
and decisions are made without inputs form staff. Staff people are informed after the
action has been taken. Many specialists feel that they should be consulted during the
planning stage of programme that involves their own area of specialty. This enables
them to anticipate problems and to recommend precautionary measures, but line
managers consult them only as a last resort.

2.   Resistance of New Ideas: Line managers often resist new ideas because new ideas
mean there is something wrong with their present way of working. Thus, new ideas are
treated as fault-finding device in their operation and the resist new ideas.

3.   Lack of Proper Authority: Staff people feel that line managers do not give enough
authority to them. They contribute to the realization of organizational objectives
without really enjoying any authority.
13
A. Awasthi., “PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION”., pp 166.
14
https://www.scribd.com/doc/40068741/Line-and-Staff-Relationships.

17
Resolving Line and Staff Conflict
 
Line-staff conflict resolution is needed so that it does not become so aggravated as to become
dysfunctional. The following suggestions are made for this purpose15:
 
1.   Recognition of Mutual Dependency: Conflicts will be minimized and inevitable
conflicts resolved if both line and staff recognize that they are in a relationship of
mutual dependency with one another.
 
2.   Clear Understanding of Staff Role: Conflicts will be minimized if both line and
staff develop a clear understanding of staff role. Even though staff is delegated
certain amount of authority in specific areas, its primary role is to provide support to
the line through advice, guidance and service.
 
3.   De-emphasis on Staff Control Function: Sometimes staff units are charged with
control function aimed at evaluating performance against standards and reporting
deviations to higher management, and also ensuring that policies and procedures are
uniformly followed by all the units of the organization.
 
4.   Proper Use of Staff Authority: Staff should use its functional, administrative and
other kinds of authority in a proper manner that provides support to the line and
strengthens it.
 
5.   Constructive Staff Attitude and Skills: Constructive attitudes on the part of the
staff and its human relations skills play an important role in shaping the line-staff
relationships. The staff manager should have the ability and willingness to use
influence to gain the line acceptance of his advice and guidance.
 
6.   Emphasis on Staff Role as Team Members: It is essential that the manager
should be a team worker. This is crucial because his function is to coordinate his
advice with the needs of the line.

15
https://ebrary.net/7776/management/advantages_line_staff_organisation.

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 5. LINE AND STAFF IN CABINET SYSTEM
In the cabinet system of United Kingdom both the executive and legislature are separate
organs and their functions are separate since the functions of the executive are clearly well-
demarcated. This particular principle has lost its important part of prominence. Only on
definite issues the line agency and staff agency work. In general, public administration or in
the administrative system, line and staff idea is so much important that this cannot be
ignored.16

There is another special aspect of this issue in Britain. According to Peter Self, the lines of
coordination and control are horizontal rather than vertical. In Britain the superior or
powerful officers are generally not found to control or substantially dominate the subordinate
staff. In other words, the chief executive does not enjoy enormous power and authority and
the subordinate officers or employees are simply order-carrying and implementing persons.
In administrative system there are parallel departments and each department imposes collec-
tive discipline and responsibility upon itself. In fact, there is no higher officer to do this job.
In general system of line and staff, this is not available.

In U.K. the general administration is mixed with politics because a minister, who is out and
out a political person, is the head of a department and the civil servants work under his
authority. Under the supreme authority and guidance of the minister the policy is formulated
and decision is taken. The chief executives or the departmental heads have some role to play
but it is the minister who is empowered to utter the final word. This is not in consonance with
the general line of administration.

The treasury department is highly powerful and it is a cohesive branch of government. At the
same time, it is a political organ because the ministers are political persons. Again, there is an
administrative system consisting of bureaucrats and other officers or employees. The
emergence of controversial issues is not a very common affair in cabinet system because the
decision of the minister is final. The minister is committed to do something and this
commitment is to the electorate. Naturally, the bureaucracy cannot change the decision of the
minister. The scope of controversy in cabinet system is not very wide and when a controversy
arises it does not take much time to die down.

16
https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/public-administration/line-and-staff-public-administration-definition-and-
functions/63429.

19
In this connection Peter Self further observes: “In terms of the staff and line theory the
position of the British Prime Minister has caused frequent confusions The power of the Prime
Minister rests upon his right to hire and fire other ministers, his personal and political appeal
as party leader and his role as the chief representative of the nation in foreign relations” In the
cabinet the British Prime Minister is not an all-powerful person or a dictator, he is simply
primus nitre pares. Because of all these reasons the principle of line and staff has not full
implication in the British Cabinet system.17

17
Ibid.

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 6. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS
It may be concluded that staff-line relationships, like any other relationships, can be built on
the foundation of mutual understanding, trust and confidence. Further, healthy relationships
can be built over a period of time and need perseverance, patience and efforts. It will also
help to recognize that relationships are destroyed or undermined far more easily and speedily
than build and strengthened.
Some people argue that it is meaningless to segregate organization activities on the basis of
their contribution to the achievement of goals.
In the recent years, the horizontal and diagonal relationships and work flow are gaining
importance than the vertical relationships represented by the line authority.
Staff and Line are not friendly to one another. They are found in a state of conflict. The Staff
work must be performed by persons of high intellectual attainments and specialized training.
The fact that they are near the chief executive naturally makes them the king’s most trusted
counsellors, relegating their Line counterparts to a modest position in the power hierarchy. In
certain matters like finance and personnel, the Staff even exercise ‘coercive’ power over
Line.
The functional organization tries to resolve this divergence between theory and actual
practice. This form recognizes that the specialists have authority over Line officials at lower
levels. The problems of this functional arrangement are the lowest levels. The problems of
this functional arrangement are obvious. Unity of command is not clearly enforced, and there
may be placed upon the lowest levels of the organization the undesirable burden of deciding
who the boss is at any given time. While a completely functional organization cannot be
expected to succeed, various mixtures with Line and Staff organizational principles can prove
to be valuable in management.18

18
A. Awasthi., “PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION”., pp 166.

21
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS REFFERED
 M. LAXMINATH., PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION., 1ST ED.
 A. AWASTHI & S. MAHESHWARI., PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION., LAXMI
NARAIN AGARWAL PUBLISHER.
 M.P. SHARMA B.L. SADANA., PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN THEORY AND
PRACTICES., KITAB MAHAL.
 J.V. OTT & E.W RUSSELL., INTORDUCTION TO PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION.

WEBSITE REFFERED

 www.wikipedia.com
 www.yourarticlelibrary.com
 www.politicalsciencenotes.com
 www.managementstudy.com
 www.keydifferences.com

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