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Lecture 8

The document discusses different types of authority including formal, functional, personal, line, staff and functional authority. It also discusses the difference between authority and power, and the concept of accountability.

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21 views

Lecture 8

The document discusses different types of authority including formal, functional, personal, line, staff and functional authority. It also discusses the difference between authority and power, and the concept of accountability.

Uploaded by

abc def
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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AUTHORITY

Lecture Ten

Dr. Henry Mensah


Dept. of Human Resource & Org. Dev.
KNUST School of Business
[email protected]
AUTHORITY

AUTHORITY
• H. Fayol regarded authority as ‘the right to
give orders and the power to exact
obedience’.
• H A Simon regarded authority as ‘the power to
make decisions which guide the actions of
another.’
• Research findings in this area of power and
authority are limited.
AUTHORITY vrs. POWER
• The terms authority and power are frequently
confused. Authority is a right whose
legitimacy is based on the authority figure’s
position in the organization. Authority goes
with job.

• Power on the other hand, refers to an


individual’s capacity to influence decisions. As
such, authority is part of the larger concept of
power.
AUTHORITY vrs POWER
• That is the ability to influence based on an
individual’s legitimate position can affect
decisions, but there doesn't have to be
authority to have such influence.
AUTHORITY vrs. POWER
• Many instructions are obeyed because of
custom, but acceptance of authority may in
some cases be ensured only by sorting to the
use of power.

• Authority is not power. Power is the product


of personality in a specific situation.
AUTHORITY vrs. POWER
• Sir Frederic Hooper in his book Management
Survey states:
• ‘Authority can be delegated; power cannot.
Either it exists or it does not. One may invest a
person with authority and with responsibility,
but one can no more invest him with power.
AUTHORITY

• Authority can be regarded as the


right or power to delegate
responsibility and it emanates in a
company from shareholders to the
board of directors, and down the
scalar chain.
AUTHORITY
• By accepting authority, a person denotes the
acceptance of responsibility and
accountability. The person who is delegating
requires subordinates to allow their
performance to be reviewed and evaluated
and holds them accountable for results.
KINDS OF AUTHORITY

• Formal authority is conferred by law or delegated


within an organization.

• Functional authority is based upon specialized


knowledge

• Personal authority is based upon seniority or


leadership.

• Another method of analysis is to show the kind of


authority which correspond to the structure types,
i.e. line, functional and staff.
KINDS OF AUTHORITY

LINE AUTHORITY
• This authority can be regarded as the main
authority in an organization; it is the ultimate
authority to decide upon matters affecting others
and is the main features of superior –
subordinate relationship. Line authority is not
absolute; it must be applied with direction,
within the limits of delegated authority, and must
relate to the performance of jobs which lead to
the attainment of the objectives of organization.
KINDS OF AUTHORITY

STAFF AUTHORITY
• Staff authority is not easy to describe. Its
scope is very limited as there is no right to
command. It is concerned with assisting and
advising and is used where line authority
becomes inadequate and occurs in all but the
smallest companies. Specialized skills are used
to direct or perform those activities which the
line manager cannot so effectively perform.
KINDS OF AUTHORITY

• Staff authority is subordinates to line authority


and its purpose is to aid the activities which are
directed and controlled by the line organization.
KINDS OF AUTHORITY

• Examples of staff departments are legal, public


relations and human resources; the heads are
staff executives who exercise staff authority it
is worth noting that, if these departments did
not exist, or were abolished, their functions
would have to be performed in the line, where
they originally existed.
•
KINDS OF AUTHORITY

FUNCTIONAL AUTHORITY
• This type of authority is subordinate to line
authority but, in comparison with staff
authority, it confers upon the holder the right
to command in matters relating to the
function. It therefore has a limit right to
command and helps the superior to delegate
authority to command to specialists, without
bestowing full line authority
FUNCTIONAL AUTHORITY

• Where organizations have a central head


office and branches or divisions, functional
authority is often used. For example, a head
office human resources director renders staff
functions for the whole company, but he
usually exercises functional authority on
human resources matters in his relationships
with branch human resources officers.
FUNCTIONAL AUTHORITY

• True functional authority occurs when the


staff assistant is delegated specific authority to
prescribe procedures and processes or policy
to be followed by operating departments, for
example where a finance director is given
authority to prescribe procedures and the
nature of the accounting records to be kept by
the production sales departments.
FUNCTIONAL AUTHORITY

• Such authority should be restricted authority.


It is possible for some line managers to
exercise functional authority over some
process in another line department; a sales
manager may exercise functional authority
over aspects of manufacturing, e.g. packaging.
FUNCTIONAL AUTHORITY
• In considering the limits of authority, an
obvious limitation is that action must conform
to the policies and programmes of the
company. In many cases, specific limitations
are made (e.g. not to take on more staff
without the approval of a superior). The
reason why a subordinate accepts a superior’s
decisions has been considered by many
authorities.
ACCOUNTABILITY
• This is a situation whereby subordinates
are supposed to be held answerable to
properly carry out their duties. They
must accept the credit or blame for their
actions.

• Accountability is the obligation to carry


out an assignment in a satisfactory
manner.
ACCOUNTABILITY
• Subordinates are responsible for the
completion of tasks assigned them and
are accountable to their superiors for the
satisfactory performance of that work.

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