white water consulting - business consulting

home
services offered
our approach
working in the hierarchy
management vs leadership
client projects
contact us
about us
 
managing the team
managing the team
 
For at least the last 15 years management gurus, academics and consultants have all been predicting the demise of the corporate hierarchy.

Harold Leavitt Professor Emeritus of the Stamford University
Graduate School suggests that the evidence doesn't support the
assertion; in fact the opposite is true. In reality the hierarchy is
"the dinosaur that wouldn't die".

 

Hierarchies not only survive but they thrive in business today. Every large organization remains hierarchical, even ones that are based on the knowledge economy are a variation on the basic hierarchical blueprint.

The new flatter, faster organizations that have come of age
following movements such as "total quality management" and "right sizing the organization" both reflect important changes on how
business is done. However the basic construct remains that subordinates report to superiors. Leavitt states that hierarchies may just be intrinsic to our nature.

Two possible explanations:

  • Organizations are quite capable of adapting to change.
  • Individuals within organizations have a basic need to belong; hierarchies deliver real practical and psychological value.
 
At WWC we utilize management and organizational development research based theory like Leavitt's, highlighted above, to provide managers with context to deliver practical knowledge and solutions for the daily challenges they face. If managers understand the why behind a company position or behavior it becomes much easier to support the direction and communicate it with language that their subordinates will accept and more importantly consider when problem-solving and making decisions.

 
White Water Consulting, LLC -- 401.789.7760