Following are the merits and Demerits of line and staff organisation:
Merits:
(a) The work of the line officers is considerably reduced with the help of staff officers. Technical problems and specialised matters are undertaken by the staff, and the routine administrative matters are the concern of line officers.
Image Source: upload.wikimedia.org
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(b) As the work under this type of organisation is carried out by experts, they constantly undertake the research and experimentation for the improvement of product. New and economical means of production are developed with the help of research and experimentation.
(c) It has been observed that staff services have proved an excellent training medium for line officers.
(d) There is a greater scope of growth and expansion of the enterprise as assistance and advice of staff specialists is available to cope up with higher volume of work.
(e) This type of organisation is based on planned specialisation and brings about the expert knowledge for the benefit of the management.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(f) Staff specialists help the line manager in taking better decisions by providing them with adequate information of right type at the right time.
Demerits:
(a) The allocation of duties between the line and staff executives is generally not very clear. This may hamper coordination in the organization.
(b) As the staff specialists are not accountable for the results as such they may not perform their duties well.
(c) There may be chances of conflict between line and staff authorities. Line officers resent the activities of staff members on the plea that they do not always give correct advice; and staff officials complain that their advice is not properly carried out.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(d) There is a wide difference between the orientation of the line and staff men. Line executives deal with problems in a more practical manner. But staff officials who are specialists in their fields tend to be more theoretical.
(e) The appointment of experts involves a heavy expenditure. Small and medium-size organisations cannot afford such a system.
(f) Some of the line officers rely excessively on the staff. This may considerably reduce the line control.
Line and staff organisation is more suitable for large enterprises as compared to line organisation because of the need of expert and, up-to-date information for taking important decisions.
The line can exist independently, but staff leans heavily on the organisation for its existence. Line managers can make use of the expert advice of staff specialists in case of line and staff organisation. Therefore, line and staff organisation is certainly better than line organisation.