Line management refers to the
management of
employees
Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...
who are directly involved in the production or delivery of
products,
goods and/or
services. As the interface between an
organisation and its front-line
workforce, line management represents the lowest level of management within an organisational
hierarchy
A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...
(as distinct from
top/executive/senior management and
middle management Middle management is the intermediate management level of a hierarchical organization that is subordinate to the executive management and responsible for ‘team leading’ line managers and/or ‘specialist’ line managers. Middle management is i ...
).
A line manager is an employee who directly manages other employees and day-to-day operations while reporting to a higher-ranking manager. Related job titles are
supervisor
A supervisor, or lead, (also known as foreman, boss, overseer, facilitator, monitor, area coordinator, line-manager or sometimes gaffer) is the job title of a lower-level management position that is primarily based on authority over workers or ...
,
section leader
A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform Instrumental music, instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely ...
,
foreperson,
office manager and
team leader.
They are charged with directing employees and controlling that the corporate objectives in a specific functional area or
line of business
Line of business (LOB) is a general term which refers to a product or a set of related products that serve a particular customer transaction or business need.
In some industry sectors, like insurance, "line of business" also has a regulatory and ac ...
are met.
Despite the name, line managers are usually considered as part of the organization's workforce and not part of its management class.
Responsibilities
Line managers are responsible for implementing and enabling, through their staff, an organisation's people policies and practices in alignment with business objectives and core values.
Their main functions with respect to employees include:
*
recruitment
Recruitment is the overall process of identifying, sourcing, screening, shortlisting, and interviewing candidates for jobs (either permanent or temporary) within an organization. Recruitment also is the processes involved in choosing individual ...
and selection,
*
training,
mentoring,
coaching and
staff development,
*
performance management and
appraisal Appraisal may refer to:
Decision-making
* Appraisal (decision analysis), a decision method
* Archival appraisal, process for determining which records need to be kept, and for how long
* Project appraisal, comparing options to deliver an objectiv ...
,
*
motivation
Motivation is the reason for which humans and other animals initiate, continue, or terminate a behavior at a given time. Motivational states are commonly understood as forces acting within the agent that create a disposition to engage in goal-dire ...
,
*
well-being,
*
team building,
* reaching the team goals.
Line managers' activities typically include:
* planning the aims, objectives and priorities of their work area and communicating this to staff as appropriate;
* deploying the resources within their control (e.g., staff time; funding) to achieve plans;
* complying with policy and legislation;
* providing structure, direction and purpose to their teams;
* scheduling regular meetings with staff members to discuss progress and any issues.
Line management is also responsible for adopting (with the support of senior management) any type of organizational culture change.
The Scope of Change
Lynda Bourne, February 11, 2010
The line management function will often cross into other functions vital to the success of a business such as human resources, finance
Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...
, and risk management. Indeed, at corporations, responsibility for risk management is vested with line management.
See also
* Staff management
* Project management
* Performance management
* Staff and line
* Employee engagement
* Management by objectives
References
Business terms
Management by type
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