hierarchy

(noun)

An arrangement of items in which the items are represented as being "above," "below," or "at the same level as" one another.

Related Terms

  • Systematic
  • esteem
  • bureaucracy
  • motivation
  • execute
  • control
  • implementation

(noun)

An arrangement of items in which the items are represented as being "above," "below," or "at the same level as" in relation to each other.

Related Terms

  • Systematic
  • esteem
  • bureaucracy
  • motivation
  • execute
  • control
  • implementation

(noun)

An arrangement of items in which each item is represented as being above, below, or at the same level as other items.

Related Terms

  • Systematic
  • esteem
  • bureaucracy
  • motivation
  • execute
  • control
  • implementation

Examples of hierarchy in the following topics:

  • Flattening Hierarchies

    • Flattening hierarchies can benefit smaller organizations by increasing employee empowerment, participation, and efficiency.
    • Hierarchies can be linked in several different ways.
    • The only direct links in a hierarchy are to a person's immediate superior or subordinates.
    • Parts of the hierarchy that are not linked vertically to one another can be horizontally linked through a path by traveling up the hierarchy; this path eventually reaches a common direct or indirect superior and then travels down the hierarchy again.
    • This "flattened" hierarchy promotes employee involvement through a decentralized decision-making process.
  • Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

    • Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs helps managers understand employees' needs in order to further employees' motivation.
    • Maslow is best known for his theory, the Hierarchy of Needs.
    • Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs relates to organizational theory and behavior because it explores a worker's motivation.
    • Each level of Maslow's hierarchy outlines a specific category of need, each of which must be accomplished in a bottom-up order.
    • Diagram Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs in the context of organizational motivation and employee behaviors
  • Basic Types of Organizations

    • From a business perspective, a hierarchy will often be divided according to function or geography.
    • For example, a global retailer may utilize a geographic hierarchy at the upper level, with each geographic branch creating a functional hierarchy beneath it.
    • A smaller organization operating in a single region may simply have a functional hierarchy.
    • The other hierarchy is executive and works to ensure the experts bring specific projects to completion.
    • This organizational chart of the Iraqi Special Security Organization illustrates a hierarchy.
  • Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

    • Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a model for the various needs of humanity, with important implications for behavior in the workplace.
    • Maslow's hierarchy of needs is often portrayed in the shape of a pyramid, with the largest and most fundamental levels of needs at the bottom.
    • While Maslow never used a pyramid to represent the levels, a pyramid has become the de facto way to represent the hierarchy.
    • Each level of Maslow's hierarchy outlines a specific category of need, each of which must be accomplished in a bottom-up order.
    • Diagram Maslow's hierarchy of needs, understanding each tiered component and its application to employee motivation and compensation
  • Schein's Common Elements of an Organization

    • The four common elements of an organization include common purpose, coordinated effort, division of labor, and hierarchy of authority.
    • Hierarchy of authority is essentially the chain of command—a control mechanism for making sure the right people do the right things at the right time.
    • While there are a wide variety of organizational structures—some with more centralization of authority than others—hierarchy in decision making is a critical factor for success.
  • Alderfer's ERG Theory

    • Alderfer's ERG theory, based on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, outlines three core needs: existence, relatedness, and growth.
    • Clayton Paul Alderfer (b. 1940) is an American psychologist who further developed Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs into his own ERG Theory.
  • Setting Objectives

    • Strategy is an ongoing process that develops both long-term and short-term objectives at the strategic and operational levels, establishes and/or modifies the organizational hierarchy to manage operational processes, and determines the suitability, feasibility and acceptability of the strategy
    • One model of organizing objectives uses hierarchies.
    • The items listed may be organized in a hierarchy of means and ends and numbered as follows: Top Rank Objective (TRO), Second Rank Objective, Third Rank Objective, etc.
    • "Goal hierarchy" consists of the nesting of one or more goals within other goal(s).
  • Frontline Management

    • These managers are classified according to a hierarchy of authority and perform different tasks.
    • They are normally in the lower layers of the management hierarchy, and the employees who report to them do not themselves have any managerial or supervisory responsibility.
    • Differentiating frontline management from middle management can be difficult, as the lines in the hierarchy are not always as concrete in practice as they are in theory.
    • Distinguish frontline managers from other managerial roles in the hierarchy of authority
  • Managerial Perspectives on Motivation

    • First, if employees are not being paid enough to satisfy the bottom two tiers of the hierarchy (for example, pay rent, buy food, etc.), then they will be unmotivated to create a strong social environment, accomplish goals, or be creative.
    • As noted above in Maslow's hierarchy, employees are motivated in a linear fashion (fulfilling base needs will result in higher needs).
    • As a result, a manager must recognize what level of the hierarchy an employee is on before using reinforcement or punishment.
    • The hierarchy underscores how management should assess employees' needs.
  • Decentralizing Responsibility

    • A decentralized organization tends to show fewer tiers in its organizational structure (less hierarchy), a wider span of control, and a bottom-to-top or horizontal flow of decision making and ideas.
    • These decisions or policies are then enforced through several tiers of hierarchy within the organization, gradually broadening the span of control until they reach the bottom tier.
    • Compare and contrast centralization and decentralization of responsibility within the organizational hierarchy
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