line and staff authority
Authority passes from the highest level to the lowest level. this is called line and staff authority. the vice president reports directly to the president. the managers report directly to the vice president. the supervisors report directly to managers. the is direct responsibility in line authority.
in the case of staff authority, it is not part of the chain of command. its job is to provide support, advice and expertise
to line authority. they have no accountability. for example, the presidential adviser or assistant is a staff position.
both line ans staff officers and needed for the efficient operation of the managers make the decision while the staff managers assist in the making of decisions. however, in some case staff managers can make decisions and can issue directives. for instance, a legal adviser in a marketing department can deiced the nature of the contract. but he cannot change the price of a product.