Centralisation: Decision-making power is concentrated at the top of the hierarchy, ensuring consistency and strong leadership but potentially slowing down local responses.
Decentralisation: Authority is delegated down the hierarchy, allowing lower-level managers to make decisions, which can increase motivation and speed up operational changes.
Delegation: The process where a manager assigns authority to a subordinate to perform specific tasks, which helps develop employee skills and frees up management time.
| Feature | Tall Structure | Flat Structure |
|---|---|---|
| Chain of Command | Long and complex | Short and direct |
| Span of Control | Narrow (few subordinates) | Wide (many subordinates) |
| Communication | Slower, formal | Faster, informal |
| Management Style | Often more supervisory | Often more supportive |
Definition: Delayering involves removing one or more levels of hierarchy from an organisational structure to flatten it.
Purpose: It is often done to reduce costs (by cutting management salaries) and to improve the speed of communication and decision-making.
Risks: It can lead to increased stress for remaining managers due to wider spans of control and may result in a loss of experienced staff.
Calculating Span: When given a chart, always count only the direct reports for a specific manager to determine their span of control.
Identifying Levels: Count the horizontal rows of boxes to determine the number of levels in the hierarchy; do not count the lines between them.
Contextual Analysis: If asked to recommend a structure, consider the business size; small start-ups usually benefit from flat structures, while large global firms often require tall hierarchies for coordination.
Common Error: Do not confuse 'Chain of Command' (the path) with 'Span of Control' (the number of people).
