The linear-functional structure is the superposition of linear and functional structures on top of each other. It has both linear and functional branches of subordination. A linear-functional management structure, like a functional one, consists of line managers and functional units, the difference is in the connections between them.

The top-level line manager directly manages lower-level line managers on production issues. Functional units are monitored by key performance indicators: profit, profitability, labor productivity, wage fund, rhythm, technical level of production.

The functional link manages the linear links of the lower level within its competence (indirect management), through the management of lower-level functional performers: economists, accountants, engineers.

In contrast to the functional management structure, there are no subordination relationships between functional and second-level line managers. The decision made by the functional level is sent to the higher-level line manager as feedback, and only then the line manager arranges the order of execution of functional tasks by lower-level linear units. Between functional and lower linear links there are connections in the form of information flows, which are expressed in periodic reporting, requests, and responses.

In a linear-functional management structure benefits preserved functional structure (specialization of management activities) and the dignity of a linear structure (unity of command).

Serious disadvantage This structure can be considered to be its cumbersomeness, inflexibility, its inability to quickly and adequately respond to unforeseen and sudden changes in the situation. Both linear and functional branches can respond to changes only by sequentially passing information about them from the lowest management level to the highest and the same sequential response throughout the entire management chain, which is associated with time delays and distortion of information. Since the structure is closed to the top manager, as the scale of activity increases, his information overload increases, which increases the likelihood of making wrong decisions. The lack of horizontal connections in this structure when solving complex management problems does not make it possible to take comprehensive measures to eliminate them. Reorganization of such a structure is very painful for the enterprise.

11.2. Divisional OSU: product, regional and consumer-oriented

The divisional structure (from the English Division - department) was first used in the management practice of the President of the General Motors Corporation, Alfred Sloan, in the late 20s - early 30s. The peak of practical use of such structures occurred in the 60-79 years. The need for new approaches to organizing management was caused by a sharp increase in the size of enterprises, the diversification of their activities and the complication of technological processes in a dynamically changing external environment. As a result, branches have turned into unique “profit centers” for corporations, actively using the freedom provided to increase the efficiency and profitability of the business. At the same time, divisional management structures lead to an increase in hierarchy and lengthening of the management vertical, since with their development it became necessary to form intermediate management levels to coordinate the work of departments and groups, and, accordingly, to create a secondary functional system in the intermediate management groups themselves. This in turn leads to an increase in the cost of maintaining the management apparatus and an increase in the degree of inertia of the organization.

The divisional structure is mainly used by large corporations, which, within the framework of their giant enterprises, began to create production units - divisions, giving them economic and operational-tactical independence. At the same time, the administration reserved the right of strict control in matters of strategic development, research and development, and investment. Therefore, the divisional structure is characterized by a combination of centralized coordination with decentralized management. The key figures in these structures are not functional managers, but line managers who head production departments and report directly to the president of the corporation.

Divisional structures exist in three types:

· grocery

· consumer-oriented

· regional (territorial)

Product divisional structure differs in that each division is focused on the production of certain products that are technologically unrelated to each other.

Purpose of creation grocery divisional management structure - to pay as much attention to the production of each type of various products of the company as a small company that produces one type of product pays to it. For this purpose, the company organizes food branches. Management and sales powers are transferred to the executive directors of the branches. In each branch, secondary functional services are organized, which are also subordinate to the executive director of the branch, but are controlled by the primary services of the company on issues of their competence.

This structure is successful in highly diversified companies. Having their own functionality in each division gives departments the opportunity to develop independently of each other.

Under these conditions, a company can painlessly liquidate some divisions or create new ones for itself and, more importantly, for its divisions. Likewise, without prejudice to others, reorganization within the division takes place. The division itself can be organized as a bureaucratic management structure.

This structure is successful in conditions of rapid production change. However, divisional structures also have a disadvantage: they are expensive due to duplication of management functions. The presence of functionalities at the headquarters is explained by their tasks, which are different from the tasks of the functionalities in the divisions: the functionalities of the headquarters are focused on solving global strategic issues of the company.

Divisional management structure, consumer-oriented, is created where a firm produces homogeneous products that must be modified in accordance with the needs of several large groups of consumers. The goal is to satisfy the needs of all consumers as well as a company targeting only one group of consumers would. Each division within it serves a separate consumer market.

Production processes and innovative developments need to be managed. Without a well-organized management structure, it will not be possible to establish production facilities, as well as introduce developed modern information products and production facilities to the market.

Management is the basis of everything, the basis of the foundations. Both at a manufacturing enterprise and in an organization engaged in the development and implementation of innovations for all spheres of production and life, there are managers at various levels, there are specialists and there are performers. To ensure a certain result in production and development, a relationship must be ensured between managers, specialists and performers. Interconnection is achieved through control circuits. In practice, the following management structures are common:

1. Linear (the manager has full authority and is personally responsible for the work of all his subordinates).
2. Functional (the manager partially delegates his powers to lower-level managers).
3. Linear-functional (combines all the best from the first two types of management structures).
4. Divisional (headquarters manages geographically scattered, completely independent units).
5. Project-based (a new organizational structure is created for each new project, for a new development).
6. Matrix (successful attempts to combine a design control scheme with a linear-functional one).

Modern production and innovation processes are managed mainly through linear functional diagrams. Such management has proven its effectiveness.

Pros of a linear-functional structure

• A clear division of responsibilities when managing the links of the structure (each department, headed by its head, is responsible exclusively for its section to the main manager).
• The manager at the head of the hierarchy always makes competent decisions, since they are formed on the basis of an objective analysis of the activities of all departments (such an analysis is possible due to the partial transfer of their powers to the heads of departments, who provide the head with a periodic report on the activities of their department).
• The linear-functional management principle guarantees the stability of an enterprise or project in the long term;
• Opportunity to reach a high level of use of production and intellectual capacities.
• Quick results when organizing new production processes, when taking on promising developments of information products.
• Reducing resource consumption in production processes, reducing labor costs at all levels of management.
• Wide opportunities for searching for markets (this applies to both manufactured products and developed production technologies, information products).
• Such management structures have always attracted investors, which significantly increases production capacity and guarantees income.

Disadvantages of a linear-functional structure

• Sometimes the interest of line managers in the results of their own level is too high.
• Some problems in the relationship of links with each other.
• Sometimes there is a lack of understanding that everyone is working towards the same common goal.
• With changes in markets, the overall reaction of the enterprise to the changes that have occurred may be slowed down (the manager needs to wait for the reaction of each link, and make the necessary decision after receiving information from each link manager).
• Each line manager is limited in making independent decisions (all their actions must be coordinated with the main one, and this sometimes turns into a meaningless waste of time).

A few words to summarize the above

Linear functional structure is classic control circuit design. Its roots go back to history. The first hints of it were already at the birth of factory production. Since then, the scheme has undergone many changes, but the principle remains the same. Linear divisions are direct production. Functional departments are personnel, finance, raw materials, materials, legal and legal numbers to ensure the functioning of the production process.

Thanks to the linear-functional structure, society managed to move from its agricultural orientation to an industrial one. With its help, it is very easy to manage technically complex industries. The management of many giant corporations is based on a linear-functional scheme.

The expansion of any production will always reveal the shortcomings of purely linear management and will confront the manager with the need to switch to a linear-functional management principle.

The functional organizational structure of management is a scheme of operation of management bodies in which each of them is assigned to perform a certain range of technological, production, design, financial or information functions. Production units subordinate to the functional body are required to comply with all its instructions.

The most common type of management structure is linear-functional. This management scheme includes linear units that perform the main work in the organization, as well as functional service units. Linear units are involved in decision-making at their level, while divisions help the manager make and develop decisions, and also inform him.

Linear-functional organizational structure: description

This management scheme is based on the mine construction method, in which specialization is carried out by functional subsystems (production, marketing, finance, development and research, personnel, etc.). Each subsystem forms its own hierarchy, which permeates the entire organization from top to bottom. The performance of each service is assessed through indicators that characterize the performance of its tasks. The entire system of rewarding and motivating employees is built accordingly. The final result (the quality and efficiency of the enterprise as a whole) fades into the background, since it is believed that all departments are working to achieve it.

disadvantages and advantages

Positive aspects are the clarity of the system of interaction between departments, unity of command (the manager takes control of overall management), delimitation of responsibility (everyone knows what he is responsible for), and the ability of executive departments to quickly respond to instructions received from above.

The disadvantage of the structure is the absence of links that develop a common work strategy. Managers at almost all levels primarily solve operational problems rather than strategic issues. There are prerequisites for shifting responsibility and red tape when solving problems that require the interaction of several departments. Enterprise management has little flexibility and does not adapt well to change. The organization and divisions have different efficiency and quality of work. The current trend towards formality of indicators tends to create an atmosphere of disunity and fear.

The disadvantages of management in this structure lie in the large number of intermediate links that are located between employees and the decision-making manager. Top-level managers are susceptible to overload. The dependence between work results and the qualifications, business and personal qualities of senior management personnel is increasing.

Thus, we can conclude that in modern conditions the linear-functional organizational structure has more disadvantages than advantages. With this organizational system, it is difficult to achieve high-quality work of the enterprise.

The linear-staff organizational structure is designed to eliminate the shortcomings of the linear scheme. It allows you to eliminate the main drawback, which is associated with the lack of links intended for This structure provides for a reduction in the workload of senior managers, it is possible to attract external experts and consultants. However, the distribution of responsibilities remains unclear.

Every entrepreneur, when creating a company, must think about what will be inherent in his enterprise. It should be taken into account that each employee must understand in which department he works, what his tasks are and who his manager is. And the entrepreneur must monitor the results of the work not of each employee, but of those who are responsible for this or that work.

Management represents the composition, subordination and interrelation of different divisions, as well as individual officials who perform the management functions assigned to them.

They make up links and steps. A link is the functions of which are strictly defined and limited. A stage is a set of links that are at the same level in the management hierarchy.

There are several types of organizational structures. The subject of today's discussion is the linear-functional structure.

Among the advantages of such a system are the following:

Professional and business specializations are encouraged;

The manager’s responsibility for the final result of the organization’s management increases;

Increased productivity from a diverse workforce;

Conditions and opportunities for career growth are created;

It is not very difficult to monitor the activities of employees of all departments.

The linear-functional structure has the following disadvantages:

The head of the enterprise bears full responsibility for making a profit;

Coordination between departments becomes more difficult;

The process of making and implementing decisions slows down;

There is no flexibility in the structure, since the basis for functioning is a set of various rules and principles.

The linear-functional management structure is a mixture of linear and which has absorbed the advantages of the first and second. It is formed according to the chess principle of specialization and construction in the management process. Linear-functional is formed according to the types of activities where divisions of the enterprise are created. And functional units are divided into even smaller ones that perform a specific range of tasks.

The linear-functional management structure is currently the most common and is used by small and medium-sized enterprises. Basically, such firms are engaged in the production of a limited range of products and operate under stable external conditions. Large organizations use a divisional approach to management.

The linear-functional structure is based on system-forming connections. These are the vertical ones, among which a distinction is made between linear (or basic) and functional (or additional). Through the former, subordinates are managed. The manager determines what tasks will be solved and by whom specifically. Through functional units at the highest level, they give instructions to lower ones.

Linear structure is one of the simplest organizational management structures and reflects the most general level of division of managerial labor. The essence of line management is that at the head of each department is a manager, vested with certain powers and supervising the employees subordinate to him.

The linear management structure provides direct influence on the management object and provides for the full implementation of the principle of unity of command. The manager himself is subordinate to his superior. At the same time, there is no staff of specialists to perform individual functions. Such a structure is organized only on vertical connections through which all management commands pass.

The linear management structure is used in small organizations at the lowest level of management, performing basic production functions; it is harmonious and formally defined, but at the same time it is not flexible enough.

Advantages of a linear structure:

ensures quick decision making;

no conflicting commands appear;

consistency of actions of performers;

full responsibility of the manager for the results of the activities of his unit.

Disadvantages of a linear structure:

lack of specialists to implement individual management functions;

the manager must have extensive, versatile knowledge in all types of activities (economic, organizational, technical, social);

the structure is not flexible enough and does not respond quickly enough to changing conditions.

Functional organizational structure sometimes called traditional or classical, due to the fact that it was the first structure to be developed and implemented.

In such a structure, management efficiency is increased through the creation of functional units, the participation of qualified specialists in the work, transferring to them powers and responsibility for the results of their activities, specializing in performing certain types of work in a unified line management system. Traditional blocks of one profile unite specialists into specialized structural divisions - these are departments of production, marketing, finance, etc.

Advantages:

stimulates business and professional specialization;

line managers are freed from the need to have in-depth knowledge of each function;

The work of line managers is simplified.

Flaws:

in a large organization, the chain of command from the manager to the direct executor becomes too long;

There may be duplication in management issues.

19.Linear-functional organizational structure.

The traditional linear-functional organizational structure is a combination of linear and functional departmentalization.

The basis of the linear-functional structure is linear divisions that carry out the main work in the organization (production), and specialized functional divisions serving them, created on a resource basis: personnel, finance, raw materials, marketing, etc. In some sources, serving functional units are called headquarters, and the linear-functional structure is called headquarters.

The main advantages of these structures are as follows:

high efficiency with a small variety of products and markets;

centralized control, ensuring unity in solving the organization’s problems;

functional specialization and experience;

high level of utilization of the potential of function specialists.

The disadvantages of linear-functional structures include:

the emergence of problems of interfunctional coordination;

assigning responsibility for overall results only to the highest level;

insufficient response to dynamic changes in the external environment;

increase in decision-making time due to the need for approvals in large organizations.

Linear functional diagrams are simple and understandable. They make it possible to organize effective mass production, ensure controllability of the organization until the scale of controllability is exceeded, and growth does not limit the development of effective horizontal connections. Moreover, experts believe that in the development of an organization it is mandatory to go through the stage of using linear-functional structures. This helps to develop the “superior-subordinate” relationship and subsequently bring the organization to the level of an organic type.

Traditional schemes are based on a mechanistic approach; they are effective in a simple and stable external environment.