A line function is a primary business activity that negatively affects income or the customer experience if it is interrupted. Line functions vary between businesses. These functions are directly related with the objectives of the enterprise.
This function provides authority to line manager over the subordinates. It is in the form of a series of steps and therefore involves the scalar principle.
The line of authority in organization should be as clear as possible. This line starts from the top management position to the subordinate positions. The clearer this line is, the more effective the organization will be as each level gets to know its responsibility and what share that level has in decision making.
The opposite of a line function is a staff function.
If the group of activities is a fundamental part of the organisation, set up to achieve its aims and objectives, it is called a line function. Such functions as production, purchasing and marketing are examples. These functions are often referred to as the 'primary group' of activities.
Famous quotes containing the words line and/or function:
“A line will take us hours maybe;
Yet if it does not seem a moment’s thought,
Our stitching and unstitching has been naught.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“If the children and youth of a nation are afforded opportunity to develop their capacities to the fullest, if they are given the knowledge to understand the world and the wisdom to change it, then the prospects for the future are bright. In contrast, a society which neglects its children, however well it may function in other respects, risks eventual disorganization and demise.”
—Urie Bronfenbrenner (b. 1917)