DOI: 10.5176/2251-2349_HRM&PD54
Authors: Søren Voxted
Abstract:
Organisational change involving the removal of managers and managerial layers has indisputably created positive results in some companies. Whether or not this is a panacea remains a quite different, open issue. It is highly debatable whether there is any truth in the statement that hierarchies in companies are being phased out as a consequence of recent developments. On the contrary, a number of surveys show that hierarchies remain intact in the majority of companies. This is also true of change-oriented ones.
The aim of this article is to consider the paradox that hierarchies also remain in organisations that focus on the decentralisation of responsibilities and decision-making competencies. Despite a massive and consistent discourse on becoming flatter, hierarchies continue in modern organisations.
This article provides some explanations for the continuing presence of hierarchical structures, also in change-oriented companies. It examines why the widespread promotion in the literature on management and organisations of the notion that hierarchies are being dismantled contradicts with what employees experience in the overwhelming majority of companies.
Keywords: Hierarchy, organisational change, organisational structure
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