The departments or employees of a firm that perform the core activities and contribute to its business directly are called line function example manufacturing and marketing. on the other hand the departments or employees that perform the support function and contribute indirectly to the business of a firm are termed as staff function example Human Resource Management and Finance. Rajnish
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Line has authority to give order to subordinates. A staff can not give order. Staff can only suggest line. Hence line is responsible for the work of subordinates, but staff does not.
Line authority or function is a Direct or main function of an individual or department. It involves Direct and Legitimate Authority over subordinates. It decides what to do, and when to do it. eg., Production for a Manufacturing company. Staff Authority on the other hand is an assistant function as it guides line managers or functions into performing a specific activity. They are more specialized and therefore provide advice to Line authority. eg., Human Resource (HR) for a Manufacturing company.
Plant Manager
Line managers are the overall decision makers and have authority over their subordinates in an organization. the staff in the other hand is are the individual employees that take instructions from their immediate leaders
Staff work is generally preferred over line work. Employees hired as staff work less and make more money than line workers.