Joey plans to revisit the organizational chart of the department. He plans to create a new position of a Patient Educator who has a coordinating relationship with the head nurse in the unit. Which of the following will likely depict this organizational relationship?
A. Box
B. Solid line
C. Broken line
D. Dotted line
Correct Answer: C. Broken line
This is a staff relationship hence it is depicted by a broken line in the organizational structure. The broken line’s meaning in an organizational chart is a less formal reporting relationship. The person at the end of that line isn’t the immediate and permanent manager, but someone else. In theory, it means that these reporting relationships are secondary, but in practice, that’s not always the case.
Option A: The boxes on an organizational chart might represent individual employees, ad-hoc working groups, or formal teams or departments. Employee names and titles and/or job positions are generally depicted in boxes or circles with lines linking them to other employees and departments.
Option B: The lines always represent the reporting path for anyone in a given box. In a simple hierarchy, the lines run vertically from employees to managers and ultimately the CEO or proprietor.
Option D: For example, the department or a member might be assigned to do some work for a team or a manager in some other part of the company. This member will still have a solid line connecting to the full-time manager, but now he’ll also have a dotted line connecting to whoever’s in charge of the other project. This particular relationship is often referred to as “dotted line reporting.”