Line Managers vs Staff Specialists

In the human resource world the need to establish "who is in charge?" or "who makes that decision?" is critical to the health and fluidity of the organization.  Some some schools and school related organizations do not have adequate human resource infrastructure in place to effectively produce the desired fluency.  For this reason, it is imperative that all organizations, and school based institutions specifically, establish the difference in roles of line managers and staff specialists.  Although the lines can be easily blurred, the parameters are simple and can be effectively conveyed to employees with minimal confusion and maximum results.

The role of the line manager is encapsulated within the "subordinate - supervisor" relationship.  The supervisor is the line manager and therefore is in charge of the day to day operations within an institution.  As such, it is the line manager that can expect to get most of the blame when things go badly.  However, it is important for effective line managers to quickly transfer any praise when things go well to subordinates.  Quite simply the line manager serves as an insulator from public ridicule and a messenger of public praise.  This only describes half of the line manager's function, however.

The line manager is also ultimately responsible for the effectiveness of his or her organization as a whole.  They must establish an clear and concise mission statement, they must define the roles of the subordinates under them and they must be able to coordinate employees in an manner that puts them in the best position possible to achieve self success and organizational efficiency.  Accomplished line mangers will also offer professional development to all employees, constructive criticism and solutions to troubled employees and will not hesitate to dispose of ineffective and incorrigible employees.

The role of the staff specialist differs from the line manger considerably.  Staff mangers are expected to act as supporting agents of the line managers.  They may have the responsibility of managing specific entities within the organization, but the onus of responsibility and subsequently all administrative level decision making falls onto the line manager.  Staff managers are expected to be the policy makers and enforcers within their specialization area.  As long as the policy is effective and in conjunction with the organizational procedures it is expected that the line manger adhere to the prescribed standards established by the staff specialists.  The reasoning behind this "blurr" in authority is that the staff specialist is the resident expert in the area that he or she is in charge of, and therefore sould be responsible for establishing the most effective standard operating procedure in that specialty area.  The relationship between Line managers and staff mangers can easily be understood by examining the Presidential line vs staff authority chart below.

Chart Credit:  referenceforbusiness.com

Woloshuck, Constance (2010). What's the Difference Between Line and Staff Management? Suite 101, Business Management.  https://blackboard.cmich.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_42205_1%26url%3D

The Human Resouce Function

In order to fully understand the function of an effective human resource department, you have to be entirely acclimated to the process by which human resource departments manage.  This process includes planning for staffing needs, recruitment of new staff, selection of highly qualified staff, professional development opportunities for new and current staff, employee evaluation and fair and equitable employee compensation.  Although this list of responsibilities seems daunting, it is simply an outline of the entire employee management process from job opening to retention and development of the hired employee. 

The process of human resource planning involves making sure that the current and hopefully future needs of the school are fulfilled upon completion of the process.  This is most effectively done by the administrator by establishing clear employee objectives and job qualifications.  In turn, the human resource department is able to offer highly qualified applicants to be considered for employment by the school administrators.

photo credit: employerneeded.com

In order to recruit new staff, the need for new staff needs to be established.  This task can be accomplished by simply sending out "contract intent letters" to existing staff and reviewing the job description of departing staff.  Once the need for new replacement employees is established, it is incumbent upon the human resource department, in conjunction with building administrators, if the need for newly created positions is present.  When the total number of replacement employees and new position needs are established the human resource department can begin the process of recruiting high qualified applicants to fill these positions.

Once staff needs have been filled with highly qualified employees it is the responsibility of the human resource department to ensure that the schools in their care are offering effective, relevant professional development opportunities.  These opportunities can range from grade and subject level specific classes to behavioral management practices.  The intent of professional development sessions is to encourage teachers to become as effective educators as they can possibly be.  Along those lines, almost all subjects covered in the sessions can serve as invaluable resources to educators.

The main function of human resource departments in education is the ascertainment and retention of highly qualified educators.  This is easily accomplished by the organized HR department head that has a clear mission statement and a competent staff.

Lunenburg, F. C., & Ornstein, A. C. (2008). Educational Administration, Concepts and Practices. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Theories of Human Resource Management: What Works?

Theories in human resource management vary greatly from Frederick Taylor's Scientific Management Theory to the Administrative Management Theory backed by research by Henri Fayol, Luther Gulick and Max Weber to the Behavior Science Approach supported by Chester Barnard, E. Wight Blake and Abraham Maslow.  While all three theories, along with numerous other human resource management theories, have strong points, the most pragmatic theory with regards to employee management is the Behavior Science Approach.  In short, the Behavioral Science approach works!

The Behavioral Science approach considers the rational, economic model as well as the human relations social model to managing employees.  Chester Barnard (who served as the President of New Jersey Bell Telephone Company for years) suggests that human resource leaders must meet two conditions to be successful (and by extension produce effective employees):  1.  the manager must emphasize the importance of effectiveness and 2.  the manager must be aware of efficiency.  Barnard describes this as his "cooperative system."  Although the human resource manager must maintain organizational effectiveness, it is incumbent upon them to also be mindful of organizational efficiency.  In order to accomplish this they must excel in both human relations and technical business skills.

E. Wight Blakke of the Yale University Labor and Management Center contributes his "fusion process" to the Behavioral Science Theory of human resource management.  This process suggests that while employees are using the organization to promote self interest and advancement, the organization is using the employee to further its own goals.  Blakke argues that successful managers are able to "fuse" the two self serving interests to produce an effective employee and organization.

Perhaps the most important contribution to the Behavioral Science Theory is Abraham Maslow's "Need Hierarchy."  This hierarchy is best portrayed by the following graphic:

As you can see above Maslow clearly demonstrates that everyone has a "Hierarchy of Needs" that range from basic needs (physiological) such as breathing, food and water to personal growth and desire needs (self actualization) such as realization of personal potential and goals.  The effective human resource manager will figure out the appropriate needs of each level of the hierarchy can benefit the organization by enhancing the employees chances of achieving these needs. 

A successful theory of human resource management revolves around the managers ability to adapt to employees styles and needs without compromising the goals and objectives of the organization.  In short, an effective human resource manger will ask him or herself "How can I adapt to my employees so that they can work within the confines of comfort?  If I can achieve this I can expect a healthy work culture and an even more productive group of workers from staff managers down to front line employees."

Lunenberg, F.C., & Ornstien, A.C.(2008). Educational Administration: Concepts and Practices, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Smashing Magazine.com. Maslow's Hierachy-of-Needs. Retrieved November 28, 2011 from http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://media.smashingmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs.png&imgrefurl=http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/04/26/designing-for-a-hierarchy-of-needs/&h=375&w=500&sz=14&tbnid=vqSgO9kwgWVHyM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=120&zoom=1&docid=FvPFsas-QcE4vM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=T-3TTsjPIKXu0gGk9oU6&sqi=2&ved=0CDkQ9QEwBA&dur=172