The Authority-Influence Role of the Functional Specialist in Management.

Management literature is just beginning to explore in depth the uncertain and amorphous relationships that exist in organizations among people who are not in a direct chain of command. Increasing stress is being placed on the "horizontal" or "diagonal" relationships where no one is clearly "superior" and no one is clearly "subordinate." While the literature manifests increasing interest and attention on these relations, empirical evidence is scarce. The authors have embarked on a long range investigation of several executive positions whose relationships are essentially non-linear. The overall purpose is to get a more accurate picture of the authority-influence status of each of these functional specialists. This initial portion of the study deals with the corporate personnel director. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]