If you are reading this, you are most likely starting a new organisation or evaluating your existing organisational structure. One way or another, the way people are organised within a structure strongly affects the happiness and productivity on an individual and on a structural level. And whilst certain structures are more popular than others, there is not one version that can apply to all forms of organisations. This page will therefore delve into four of the most common organisational structures, discuss the pros and cons of each and leave it up to you to decide which fits your initiative best.
1) Hierarchical organisational structure
The first one is the hierarchical organisational chart (pyramid-shaped). It is characterised by a very dominant chain of command. Whilst the number of tiers might vary, the trend remains that the commands from the CEO/manager trickle down through various tiers until they reach the employee/member. The role of the employees is to follow the orders of their supervisor, while the supervisor fulfils the role of their boss and overlooks the progress of development for their respective inferiors. The one pulling all strings and implementing their vision is at the top of the hierarchical structure. Read more here.
2) Functional/ Flatter organisational structure
This organisational structure has several similarities to the pyramid shaped hierarchy above. The key differences though are, that there are fewer tiers of command and the communication is bi-directional. Here the focus is less on following commands from the top-down, but enabling communication, collaboration and participation of members. In order to work effectively, this structure requires:
Read more here.
3) Self-Managed/ Flat organisational structure
Different to the hierarchical and the functional structure, a self-managed or flat organisation does not have job titles, managers, departments or anything alike. All employees are equally important and share the level of responsibility and authority. Instead of tasks being ordered from the top down (as there no longer is any hierarchy in their structure) employees collectively come up with a list of tasks that have to be accomplished and then divide these up based on individual preference. If an employee wants to pursue a project outside of this list, they are responsible for securing funding and organizing a team. Read more here.
