Organizational structure involves several considerations apart from the designation of positions within the structure and their relationships. There are two fundamental ways in which these positions or jobs in an organization may be structured. These are simple line structures and line-and-staff structures. The chain of command is clear and simple in a line organization with top management in complete control. Typical small businesses are characterized by line organization where the top manager is often the owner and every one else in subordinate position is the staff. Line-and-staff structure is often found in medium and big businesses, where the line organization is combined with staff departments, that advise, monitor and support the line departments (management-encyclopedia/line-staff organizations).

The term ‘executive’ usually applies to top-level management positions as chief executive officers, chief financial officers, chief operating officers, vice-presidents and general managers in large companies. Executive pay and compensation in companies are not uniform as they receive shares and perks calculated in their over all compensation package. Chief executives focus on strategic plans and organizational performance measured on profitability or on the other scales as service to community. This applies usually to large organizations (managementhelp.org).

Executives at the top rung in a company and the line managers at the bottom have several layers of management positions between them characterized by varying degrees of duties, responsibilities and accountability between them. According to Occupational Outlook Handbook, “Specific duties of these managers vary by degree of responsibility and authority. First-line administrative service managers directly supervise a staff that performs various support services. Mid-level managers, on the other hand, set goals and dead lines, implement procedures…Some of these managers advance to upper level positions, such as vice-presidents of administrative services…”(US Department of Labor).

In other words, “top (or executive) managers are responsible for overseeing the whole organization and typically engage in more strategic and conceptual matters, with less attention to day-to-day detail. Top managers have middle managers working for them, who are in charge of a major function or a department. Middle managers have first-line managers working for them and who are responsible to manage the day-to-day activities of a group of workers (managementhelp.org). To be more precise, Functional Line Manager is the person “accountable for the competency and the usage of personnel resources committed to the execution of assigned portions of a project”(maxwideman).

The line manager also has a crucial role when a new employee is inducted. He has to remain in regular close contact with the newly inducted employee by the virtue of his position. “The manager must therefore be prepared to set aside a significant portion of his/her time for the employee, and must remain accessible, approachable, patient and empathetic” (workplaceinfo).

The management tasks in aviation industry are no different. However, the aviation industry is characterized by dynamic transformation and change. Not longtime back, “young people entered the industry either through apprentice schemes or started within the lower ranks as a junior, working their way up to the middle management positions by way of quality-training infrastructure within the airline. In many cases, the latter has long since disappeared. Swiss, for example, cancelled their scheme in 2001″ (ssth.ch/public/contents/documents/MBAAMOverview).

Corporate aviation occupies a large chunk of aviation industry. Huge investments are made in corporate aircraft maintenance and management. “Managers responsible for these resources face the challenges of using the capital wisely, operating flexibly and efficiently, and managing small teams with a diversity of functional responsibilities” including the most crucial financial responsibility (darden.Virginia.edu).

Aviation sector is so huge that it involves management tasks of not just aviation but an assortment of related activities as safety, health, and pollution among a number of other specialized and general functions.

We shall conclude with a brief mention of a typical hierarchy among the regional aviation staff. They are Regional Aviation Officer (responsible for leadership and management), Deputy Regional Aviation Officer (principal assistant to RAO), Regional Aviation Safety Manager (responsible for a comprehensive aviation safety program), Regional Aviation Management Specialist (responsible for aircraft dispatch other than tactical missions), Supervisory Pilot, Fixed Wing Operations Specialist, Regional Helicopter Program Manager, Helicopter Operations Specialist, Assistant Helicopter Operations Specialist, Helicopter Inspector, Pilots, Airplane Inspector Pilots, Regional Aviation Maintenance Program Manager and Aviation Safety Inspector, Deputy Regional Aviation Maintenance Manager, Aircraft Maintenance Technician, Inspector and Evaluator Pilots (gacc.nifc.gov/nrcc/dispatch/aviation). The aforementioned hierarchy is merely representative. A wide variation in management positions and responsibilities may be found depending on the specific sector within aviation industry and the context of managerial positions.

References

US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook

http://www.darden.virginia.edu/exed/programs

http://www.enotes.com/management-encyclopedia/line-stafforganizations

http://gacc.nifc.gov/nrcc/dispatch/aviation/R1R4-AviationPlan.pdf

http://www.managementhelp.org/mgmnt/defntion.htm

http://www.maxwideman.com/pmglossary/PMG-F03.htm

http://www.ssth.ch/public/contents/documents/MBAAMOverview

http://www.workplaceinfo.com.au