Briefly explain line-and-staff organizations and matrix organizations. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers will vary. Line-and-staff organizations incorporate the benefits of a line organization without all its drawbacks. Line managers supervise the functions that contribute directly to profitability: production and marketing. Staff managers, on the other hand, supervise the functions that provide advice and assistance to the line departments. Examples include legal, accounting, and human resources. In a line-and-staff organization, the line managers form the primary chain of authority in the company. Staff departments work alongside line departments, but there is no direct reporting relationship (except at the top of the company). Since staff people do not report to line people, their authority comes from their know-how. This approach, which overlays fast decision making with additional expertise, tends to work well for medium and large companies. But in some firms, the staff departments gain so much power that they become dictatorial, imposing unreasonable limitations on the rest of the company.Matrix organizations build on the line-and-staff approach by adding a lot more flexibility. A matrix structure brings together specialists from different areas of the company to work on individual projects on a temporary basis. A new product development team, for instance, might include representatives from sales, engineering, finance, purchasing, and advertising. For the course of the project, each specialist reports to the project manager and to the head of his or her own department (e.g., the vice president of marketing). The matrix approach has been particularly popular in the high-tech and aerospace industries.The matrix structure offers several key advantages. It encourages teamwork and communication across the organization. It offers flexibility in deploying key people. It lends itself to innovative solutions. And not surprisingly-when managed well-the matrix structure creates a higher level of motivation and satisfaction for employees. But these advantages have a clear flip side. The need for constant communication can bog down a company in too many meetings. The steady state of flux can be overwhelming for both managers and employees, and having two bosses can cause conflict and stress for everyone.