Line and Staff Authority

LINE AUTHORITY: It is that authority which a superior exercises over his subordinates to accomplish
primary objectives of the organization. The superior issues orders and instructions to his sub
ordinates to complete the tasks.
This authority is delegated to those positions or elements of the organization which have direct
responsibility for accomplishing the primary enterprise objectives.
The flow of authority is always in the downward direction from the superior to the subordinate and
such relationship is called LINE RELATIONSHIP that exists in all departments of an organization.
Roles of Line Relationship
1. As a Chain of Command: Line officials are in the chain of command from
the highest position to the lowest position in the organization. Each
successive manager exercises command over his subordinates.

2. As a career of accountability: Each executive in the line is accountable for

the proper performance of the tasks assigned to him and every
subordinate is answerable to his superior.

3. As a Channel of communication: Since the line relationship involves issue

of instructions from the authorities and reporting from subordinates, it
facilitates and serves as an effective channel of communication.