Horizontal or Flat Organizational Structures
Flat organizational structure is an organizational model with relatively few or no levels of middle management between the executives and the frontline employees. Its goal is to have as little hierarchy as possible between management and staff level employees. In a flat organizational structure, employees have increased involvement in the decision-making process.
Flat organizational structure is an organizational model with relatively few or no levels of middle management between the executives and the frontline employees. Its goal is to have as little hierarchy as possible between management and staff level employees. In a flat organizational structure, employees have increased involvement in the decision-making process.
For a small business with a handful of employees, having a flat or horizontal structure is often the logical approach. The staff-level employees usually report directly to the business owner without a formal management structure. The span of control is wide with each management level controlling a broad area or group. Managers are given significant authority to make business decisions with little to no involvement from the top. In flat organizations, the number of people directly supervised by each manager is large, and the number of people in the chain of command above each person is small.
Main Features
- Better communication and relationships between different roles
- Simple, faster decision making as the chain of command is shorter
- Better ability for the business to change and adapt
- Lower operational costs
- This structure does not support scaling up with growth
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