Staff and line
[3] For example, human resources, accounting, public relations and the legal department are generally considered to be staff functions.Typically, these functions are related to areas such as production and sales, marketing and service delivery.The tendency for the scope and role of effective managers to increase, sometimes to untenable levels, can be greatly mitigated by an able staff function providing invaluable support to enable a full management role to be expressed within the time and cost bounds of the job.Staff functions vary between businesses, but usually include activities like advertising, human resources, environmental health & safety (EHS) positions, and plant maintenance.Organizations begin as line-only, with line managers having direct control over all activities, including administrative ones.[17] Staff workers derive influence from their expertise, from their control of potentially vital information, and from their closer access to upper management.