Hierarchical organizations have a rigid structure with subordinates following orders from supervisors who report to their own supervisors. Examples include religious, corporate, and governmental institutions. The Roman Catholic Church is a key example, with priests ascending through the ranks to become cardinals and potentially the pope. Hierarchies have been used since prehistoric times, with the strongest or most powerful person taking leadership. Many modern businesses use a pyramid-shaped hierarchy, but the chain of command can lead to inefficiencies.
A hierarchical organization is based on a rigid organizational structure. Examples of such groups include religious, corporate and governmental institutions around the world. A hierarchical organization, or hierarchy, is usually made up of subordinates who follow the orders of supervisors, who in turn report to their own supervisors, and so on. Most such hierarchies allow for promotion up through the ranks based on merit, seniority, or other factors. Hierarchy has been the dominant form of human organization for thousands of years.
A key example of a hierarchical organization is the Roman Catholic Church. Priests look after individual churches and bishops oversee several churches in one area. These bishops report to the archbishops and cardinals, who in turn report to the pope, who is the head of the Catholic Church as a global entity. A priest who ascends through these ranks faces greater responsibilities and benefits with each new level. He must attain the rank of cardinal before he can be considered for the papacy, a position that is only open after the previous pope’s death.
Human institutions have been arranged along hierarchical lines since prehistoric times. Monkeys and other social animals organize along similar principles, with the strongest or fiercest fighter controlling the group’s resources. This was also true in early human societies, when the most powerful person would take over the leadership of a tribe or nation. This was the person with the most political or military assets, not just the greatest warrior. Military nations like Rome were more likely to form a hierarchical organization; the Athenian society of Greece instead experienced the first forms of democracy.
In modern times, many business entities use pyramid-shaped hierarchical organization as a model. A single individual or small group of people are at the top, setting major policies and reaping most of the benefits of the company’s work. Supervisors are in charge of departments that may include dozens or even hundreds of people. Each of these departments is split into smaller groups, based on location, function, or other factors, each with its own supervisor. Churches, military organizations, and governments use similar hierarchies.
Workers who wish to raise concerns generally should approach their supervisors, who will determine whether to pass the information online; this is known as the chain of command. It allows top management to deal with administrative functions rather than the details of day-to-day work. This is also the main disadvantage of any hierarchical organization. Those at the top may not have a clue what’s going on at the lower levels, and those at the lower levels have no way of getting the information at the top. This explains many of the easily observable inefficiencies of large hierarchical organizations of any kind.
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