UNIT – I Lesson 1 HRM – AN OVERVIEW Lesson Outline Nature of ...

iii. Lack of proper understanding
Assuming that line and staff authority is clear, in practice, people may fail to
understand the exact nature and overstep resulting in mistrust.
For creating harmony among line managers and staff people, the following are the
suggestions:
i. Line people who have the ultimate responsibility should have authority
to make operating decisions.
ii. Staff people may be granted functional authority.
iii. Persuasion is always better than strict direction.
iv. Periodic coordination meeting can solve many problems.
Traditional Type Organization
Classical literature identifies organizational structure mainly under three
categories:
- Functional (or Traditional) type organization.
- Product (or Process) type organization
- Matrix type organization.
Functional type
Here the structure is built up on specialization. Departments are grouped, based on
specialized knowledge available, viz., production, marketing, sales, materials and finance.