Role Conflict and Multiple Authority in Complex Organizations.

The article focuses on sources of role conflict in complex organizations. Principles of organizational authority include chain of command, unity of command and direction, and single accountability. Organizations structured on hierarchies are based on the chain-of-command principle, which has a single flow of authority from top to bottom. Multiple chains of command can occur in professional organizations where employees are accountable to more than one person, in hospitals where authority is represented by administrators and physicians, and in line and staff organizations where there is project and department supervision. Research about job satisfaction, resolution of role ambiguity, prevention of role conflict, and criteria for successful problem-solving meetings is discussed.