·
Line authority gives a
manager the right to direct the work of his or her employees and make many
decisions without consulting others. Line managers are always in charge of
essential activities such as sales, and they are authorized to issue orders to
subordinates down the chain of command.
·
Staff authority supports line
authority by advising, servicing, and assisting, but this type of authority is
typically limited. For example, the assistant to the department head has staff
authority because he or she acts as an extension of that authority. These
assistants can give advice and suggestions, but they don't have to be obeyed.
The department head may also give the assistant the authority to act, such as
the right to sign off on expense reports or memos. In such cases, the
directives are given under the line authority of the boss.
·
Functional authority is authority
delegated to an individual or department over specific activities undertaken by
personnel in other departments. Staff managers may have functional authority,
meaning that they can issue orders down the chain of command within the very
narrow limits of their authority. For example, supervisors in a manufacturing
plant may find that their immediate bosses have line authority over them, but
that someone in corporate headquarters may also have line authority over some
of their activities or decisions.
Functional Authority is given to a line or staff manager to do a
specific job. When the job is completed, the authority is taken back.
For e.g. The normal job of the Marketing manager is to sell
the products of the company. The Managing Director (MD) may give him authority
to conduct a New Year Party for the full company. This authority is called
Functional Authority. So, functional authority is given to a manager to do a specific
job. This job is not his normal job. When he is doing this new job, he may or
may not do his normal job. The manager already has a line or staff authority to
do his normal job. Thus, Functional authority is an additional authority given
to him to do the new job. When this new job is completed, the functional
authority is taken away, and he has to go back to his normal job.
Functional Authority is different from Line Authority
because line authority is given only for one particular department. For e.g. A
Production manager is given line authority only for the production department.
However, Functional Authority may be given for a particular department or for
the full organisation. For e.g. In the first example, the Marketing manager is
given functional authority to conduct a new year party for the full
organisation. So, Functional Authority is not restricted to a particular
department.
Functional authority is also different from staff authority.
This is because the manager that has staff authority cannot do anything. He can
only give advice and service. However, the manager that has functional
authority can do something. Here, functional authority is similar to line
authority. In fact, it is a type of limited line authority.
Features of
Functional Authority
The characteristics or features of functional authority
are:-
Functional authority is given to a manager to perform a
specific function.
The manager may be a line manager or a staff manager. But
mostly functional authority is given to a staff manager.
It is not limited to a particular department. It may even
cover the full organisation.
It is an additional authority. It is given to a manager in
addition to his normal (line or staff) authority.
It is removed when the work is completed.
Advantages of Functional
Authority
The importance or merits or advantages of functional
authority are:-
The specific function is given to another manager. So, the
line manager can concentrate on his regular job.
The specific function is performed by an expert. So, it will
be done efficiently.
The service of the staff managers will be utilised fully for
the benefit of the organisation.
It is suitable for large organisations.
The authority and responsibility is well-defined.
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