The hierarchical management structure of the organization: features, principles, types

Any modern organization, whether it is a commercial company, an industrial enterprise, or a budgetary institution , must have an understandable and clear management structure in order to achieve its goals. If we start from the definition, then the organization’s management system is a set of interconnected and interdependent units and individual individuals who fill one or another position that is not only in the “chief - subordinate” position, but also directly influences development of this organization.

The organization’s management system is not being created simultaneously, it is a rather lengthy process, which includes the following main steps:

1. At the first stage, the leading core determines which control structure will be created: hierarchical structure, functional or direct subordination.
2. The second stage includes the creation and empowerment of the main structural components, such as the management apparatus itself, programs, units.
3. Finally, in the third stage, the final redistribution of power, duties and responsibilities takes place. At the same time, it is desirable to consolidate all these powers in the form of provisions on certain units and job descriptions.

Although quite a lot of types of management structures are known today, one of the most popular is the hierarchical management structure. It was theoretically grounded and experimentally tested back in the early twentieth century by the American sociologist F. Taylor. In the future, most scientists focused mainly on finding more and more strengths of this system.

The hierarchical management system is based on the following principles:

1. The entire control system is a pyramid, each lower level of which is subordinate to the higher and controlled by it.
2. The hierarchical structure implies a clear separation of powers between levels. Moreover, the higher level has a higher responsibility than the lower level.
3. Labor in any organization that is managed in accordance with the hierarchical principle should be clearly divided between its employees, who specialize only in the framework of the functions they perform.
4. Any activity in an institution with a hierarchical management structure should be standardized and formalized. Thereby, better coordination of workers' activities will be achieved, their level of manageability will increase.
5. Hiring should be done only in accordance with the qualification requirements for the employee. Moreover, in addition to professional qualities, it is necessary to pay attention to how well this employee is managed and how much he is ready for the role of manager.

The hierarchical structure implies that all employees of the organization can be assigned to one of three main groups - managers, specialists and performers. Moreover, since all organizations in their managerial type are very similar to each other, managers can use the experience of their colleagues to make their management structure more optimal.

The main types of hierarchical management structures should be considered a linear structure, where all the main threads are concentrated in the hands of the boss, functional, when each unit of the organization is engaged in a specific function, and also a mixed type of control, where, along with the linear apparatus, there is a branched hierarchy of various functional groups.