In this part of our guide to organizational management we cover management structure…
Management is the process of planning, organizing, leading and controlling the efforts of organization members and resources to achieve stated organizational goals.
Typically, a company will be set up to include different types of managers, which can include managers with responsibility for a specific department or division of the entity, as well as regional managers who supervise activities in a particular geographic region. The types of management positions will vary in accordance with the size of the business.
Management structure (also known as organizational structure) is the method by which staff, departments, divisions and regions work and interact with one another. There are two main types of such structures, known as flat and hierarchal.
A flat management structure is in place when there are few or no levels of intervening management between the head(s) of an organization and the members of it who perform its day to day functions. It promotes worker involvement through a decentralized decision making process.
A flat management structure is dependent on a more frequent and personal relationship between the entity’s staff and managers, affording the workers a higher level of responsibility by encouraging feedback and comments to those leaders who will ultimately make decisions. Having such feedback and commentary available on an on-going basis also speeds up the decision-making process.
The hierarchal management structure has a set chain-of-command — that is each unit in the organization (except that at the very top) is subordinate to another unit or division. That means that each individual communicates directly with an immediate supervisor or subordinate and does not “jump over” layers of management to get to the top leader.
The benefit of a hierarchal structure is also its primary limitation in that it will reduce the level of communication that goes directly to the top. The hierarchal configuration, however, is the most prevalent for large corporations, governments, and even organized religions.
In practice, the complexity of an organization’s structure is often proportional to its size and its geographic dispersal. A flat management structure is generally possible only in smaller organizations or individual units within larger organizations. When they reach a critical size, they can retain a streamlined structure but cannot keep a completely flat manager-to-staff relationship without impacting productivity.
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