Hierarchy in Organizations

Abstract

Hierarchy is nowadays defined as a universal structural principle of any organizational system—biological, technical, or social. With regard to social systems, this principle is discernible at all levels, from small groups to society as a whole. Indeed, mankind does not seem to know any other mode of association than that of a pyramid. However, the inevitability of this principle in social organizations means that the problems to which it gives rise are also inevitable. These problems derive from the characteristics of social relations that are typical of a hierarchy, namely, relations of subordination, dependence, and inequality. In an organization, one worker is consciously given the preeminent right to take decisions concerning another, and, moreover, he also receives the means for monitoring the job behavior of the other. Such workers form a clear minority which, however, decides for the majority. Herein lies one of the most important characteristics of intra-organizational relations, and the objective basis for the shaping of their structure. But this is also one of the most disputed principles of organizational structure, and has long been the subject of criticism.