Direct vs Indirect Reports
Each manager in a hierarchy is responsible for the performance of a number of direct reports. If direct reports have people reporting to them, the manager is accountable for their performance too. This relationship is known as an indirect report.Managers Without Direct Reports
In many cases, employees are considered directors and managers in terms of their position but have nobody reporting to them. Their job title simply reflects the authority they require to do their job. It is also common for highly skilled knowledge workers to have a higher salary than a manager who is simply administering a team. As such, job titles may be arranged to reflect the status and salary of individual contributors. For example, a technology firm may employ a single economist with no reports who may sit at the same level in the org chart as a director who has hundreds of reports.Tall vs Flat
A tall hierarchy is an organization with a complex organizational structure with a large number of middle managers. A flat organization is a structure with a small top, little or no middle and a large bottom layer.Example
An IT consulting firm has a CEO who reports to a Board of Directors, 12 directors who report to the CEO, 10 managers who report to several of the directors and 200 working level employees who report to the managers.| Overview: Hierarchical Organization | ||
Type | ||
Definition | An authority structure whereby everyone in an organization reports to a manager or board of directors. | |
Related Concepts | ||
