Advantages of reduced hierarchy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Advantages of reduced hierarchy - Essay Example In the past, hierarchy helped to define the role of employees within the same organization. It also outlines the relationship between employees. Hierarchy makes organizations stand out with limited control spans. Several organizations are becoming flatter, reducing levels of hierarchy and widening the span of control. There are several reasons to explain this promising trend among the hierarchical organization. However, hierarchical organizations have their share of disadvantages. First, hierarchy makes organizations assume a bureaucratic nature. This can slow the response rates to the needs of customers within the operations of the organization. Additionally, hierarchy in organizations contributes to the weakening of communication links within organizations. Furthermore, since hierarchy assumes a horizontal nature of information flow, some beneficial decisions can remain with the top of the hierarchy, making the employees at the bottom of the hierarchy disadvantaged (Fernandez & Gon zalez, 2001, p. 108). Based on these reasons, many organizations are resorting to the reduction of hierarchical levels within the organization. This paper will explore some of the advantages reduced hierarchal would benefit an organization. The need to stay profitable in the fast changing business environment has made business organizations reexamine their management styles. Organizations whose hierarchal structures are tall are less likely to respond quickly to external changes compared with entities with flatter hierarchal structures. The need to hasten the structure of management of any business enterprise requires the implementation of the process of delayering. This allows a business organization to remove some structures in its hierarchy to maintain a flatter hierarchal structure. Although this process has some disadvantages to the business, it also has multiple benefits as well. Hierarchical organizations ensure that employees at the apex of the hierarchy enjoy greater presti ge and privileges as compared to persons at the base of the hierarchy. As much as this benefits people at the top of the hierarchy in terms of increased self-esteem, self worth and other material benefits, it also contributes to the disorientation of the employees at the bottom of the hierarchy. As a result, these people will feel disadvantaged due to increased feelings of low self-esteem, limited or lack of access to handouts and low self worth. Consequently, their output would drastically reduce. Consequently, the productivity of the organization would equally reduce as well. It is necessary that organizations reduce their hierarchal levels to reverse this trend (Wallgrun, 2010, p. 119). Hierarchy in organizations ensure that somebody at the top only deal with the person who is directly under him or her. This implies that a top manager would not likely communicate directly with individuals at the bottom of the hierarchy. A hierarchy has several levels meaning that people only work with persons that are immediately below or above them. In case where a certain decision is supposed to reach everyone in the organization, this process would be so unyielding and time consuming. This is because the hierarchy does not address people directly by the top management. However, reducing the multiple levels of hierarchy would help to quicken the flow of information within the organization besides ensuring that little distortion to the information happens. The reduction of hierarchal levels within business organizations would ensure that employees get the opportunity to communicate with each other. This enhances teamwork besides creating a good working atmosphere for the organization.