Ghiselli and Johnson`s empirical evidence suggests that the level of independence that managers possess in flat organizations due to the flat organizational structure meets many of their needs in terms of autonomy and self-realization. [2] The idea behind horizontal organizations is that well-educated workers are more productive when they are more directly involved in the decision-making process, rather than being closely monitored by many levels of management. Deferral plans may aim to ensure these benefits, although potential risks include undermining employees` trust in their managers and increasing pressure on remaining managers. [3] The organizational structure of a company concerns the structure of authority, control and reporting of employees. In a hierarchical structure, for example, employees report to a front-line manager. These front-line managers report to middle management. These managers report to senior management. This structure usually creates a pyramid to represent authority, control, and communication. Choosing the right structure is important for companies to clarify roles, work more efficiently, and be more successful overall – and interactive flowchart software is key to creating a visual representation of that structure and sharing it across the organization to bring it to life. For many organizations, the flat organizational structure is not optimal. This is especially true for large organizations. The flat structure can lead to confusion as to who is responsible for certain activities. While hierarchical organizational structures have long been the first choice, many modern companies opt for flat structures that enable a collaborative, connected team in which everyone contributes equally.

In a flat organizational structure, the manager has more responsibility because the number of people he or she serves directly is large and those at lower levels rely on him or her for support, advice, assistance and guidance. This type of structure is created to allow employees to make independent decisions. This structure is best suited for small businesses and start-ups because it is designed to minimize bureaucracy. The most prominent example of a company with self-managed teams is Valve, which also has rotating, non-permanent team leaders — what Valve calls “group contributors,” recognizing that individual work and leadership form a spectrum, not a binary dichotomy, at Valve. [9] In general, the term “group employee” at Valve is at most a project, after which it (voluntarily) belongs to an individual contributor. [9] Valve also allows team members to work on what they find interesting. This is called open assignment and means employees can switch to another team at any time without question. All desks are on wheels to make this easy. [10] However, because new ideas can require significant resources, a person with a new idea may need to convince a number of their employees to join them to form a new team and achieve the “critical mass” needed to make the new idea a reality. [10] The hierarchical organizational structure works for Amazon because the company is organized into a number of small teams under separate management. This structure allows managers to work more closely with team members and facilitate control of their department. With that in mind, let`s take a look at the strengths and weaknesses of the flat structure to get an idea of where it works best.

Medium, Buffer, and Zappos were all behind the power of the flat structure to empower and unite employees. However, as businesses grow, the need for leadership and delegation increases – and without a plan, flat organizations stagnate because entrepreneurship isn`t enough to drive business growth. A horizontal organization (also called a horizontal organization or horizontal hierarchy) has an organizational structure with few or no intermediate management levels between employees and managers. The structure of an organization refers to how units and positions are distributed within it, including the nature of the relationships between those units and positions. [1] Large and flat organizations differ depending on the number of levels of management existing in the organization and the degree of control of managers. [1] “Everyone is expected to vote essentially on what`s most important to our clients across the projects they work on,” says Newell. “So none of them are working on these projects because someone else told them to work on them. Everyone is working on these projects because they thought they could make the biggest contribution to our clients if they worked on them.

People move all the time. Flat organizations have a structure with few levels of middle management between management and employees – or in some cases, no middle management at all. Small organizations and startups often have flat structures because they have fewer employees and require less line management. Many hierarchical structures are losing their entrepreneurial spirit, and to inspire its return, organizations are increasingly turning to the flat structure that characterizes many startups. This structural change allows employees to pursue projects where they find meaning and where they are good, and to harness the talents and resources of their peers.