Most line workers receive work instructions that are passed
down through a chain of command from top management to the line organization.
However, the best advice and instructions can sometimes be obtained through the
lens of staff authority, which is when staff managers have functional authority
to assist line operations through suggestions and shared insight.
What Is Staff Authority?
Staff authority is an organizational principle that gives
people in staff positions authority over line workers' management and decision-making.
Staff Positions vs. Line Positions
To gain a better understanding of staff authority, first
distinguish between a staff position and a line position:
Line positions are concerned with the company's core
offerings. Most businesses have line organizations that create the products and
services that are sold to customers. Line workers in a company can include
supervisors such as production managers, as well as regular employees. The line
organization in a car company would be the groups in charge of building and
selling the cars.
Staff positions support line organizations. A typical staff
role does not directly produce the service or product sold to customers.
Instead, they assist the organization by providing ancillary services such as
legal services or office management. Staff functions contribute to overall
organizational goals even though staff specialists are not on a production line
(or supervise line workers). A staff specialist in a car company, for example,
could be a human resource manager or a general counsel.
When a staff member provides advice or direction to the line
department, this is referred to as exercising staff authority. This disrupts
the traditional authority structure, in which line workers report to project
management supervisors, but staff perspectives may add value to the line
organization.
How Does Staff Authority Work?
The line organizational structure in large corporations and
certain small businesses involves a chain of command that begins with corporate
executives and flows down through line managers overseeing line functions. At
the same time, these companies may have a staff organizational structure that
does not directly involve the core product of the company but still serves
broad organizational goals.
Staff authority refers to the dynamic that occurs when the
line-staff boundary is breached and staff members provide insight to line
workers or line managers. Consider the general counsel of a company providing
strategy advice to the sales manager. Such interactions take place outside of a
company's normal chain of command, but they expose employees to new
perspectives that can only emerge when employees connect across department
boundaries.
Line Authority vs. Staff Authority
Most large corporations have line positions with line
authority. They may also have staff positions where they can provide advice to
front-line workers, which qualifies as staff authority.
The normal chain of command on a company's core product line
is represented by line authority. Line authority refers to the process of
product managers instructing line workers or top management instructing product
managers. Line authority entails the concentration of power, the establishment
of a clear chain of command, and work directly related to the company's
customer-facing products or services.
Staff authority entails staff positions providing advice and
insight to line positions. Line workers have no formal authority over staff
workers. A company's in-house accountant, for example, cannot tell a marketing
manager how to do their job. However, these employees can assist line managers
and workers by providing insight and advice. They exercise staff authority in
doing so.
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