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 modern democracy is a tyranny whose borders are undefined; one discovers how far one can go only by traveling in a straight line until one is stopped.”
—Norman Mailer (b. 1923)
“Uses are always much broader than functions, and usually far less contentious. The word function carries overtones of purpose and propriety, of concern with why something was developed rather than with how it has actually been found useful. The function of automobiles is to transport people and objects, but they are used for a variety of other purposes—as homes, offices, bedrooms, henhouses, jetties, breakwaters, even offensive weapons.”
—Frank Smith (b. 1928)