hierarchy

hierarchy, in the social sciences, a ranking of positions of authority, often associated with a chain of command and control. The term is derived from the Greek words hieros (“sacred”) and archein (“rule” or “order”). In modern societies, hierarchical organizations pervade all aspects of life. Yet they were increasingly criticized in the early 21st century because the features that made them an effective means of organization were deemed problematic.

Conceptions of hierarchy

Hierarchy has been conceptualized in two ways. A conventional usage, as epitomized by Max Weber’s analysis of modern bureaucracy, highlights legal-rational authority in a formal organization. This view holds that hierarchy consists of a central authority and a tightly integrated chain of command and control and that authority is gradually transferred downward. The relationship between units at different levels is that of superordination and subordination, and each unit is accountable to only one superior at the next level.

Hierarchical organization is also characterized by both specialization and formalization of activities. Hierarchy is based on the division of labour: each unit is functionally differentiated and assigned a set of specific tasks. It is formalized in the sense that roles, relationships, and behaviours therein are prescribed in a set of rules, which serves as the cornerstone of rational-legal authority. Yet, hierarchy can also refer to an informal structure of inequality in power, such as class structure in society and hegemony in world politics.

In the social sciences, studies of complex systems have provided a broader notion of hierarchy and demonstrated that it need not be defined in terms of authority relations. Instead, it can be distinguished by nestedness, or an arrangement of units composed of several subunits, each of which is further organized in the same fashion down to the bottom. This structure reduces complexity by making partitions within an organization to divide and conquer, as can be observed in configurations of congressional committees, governmental agencies, and corporate departments.

This instrumental conceptualization of hierarchy is tied with a voluntaristic view of authority. Here, authority is not imposed top-down. Rather, it is based on mutual consent, especially that of subordinates, and is thus delegated upward. This alternative interpretation of hierarchy and authority paved the way for vast literature on organizational design. Agency theory, for example, focuses on the problems that accrue from the delegation of decision-making authority to an agent by a principal. Also at issue is the span of control—the number of subordinates directly supervised by a superior. A narrower span will render a direct control more effective while creating more levels, and, as a result, the overall management of an organization will likely be less effective.

The prevalence of hierarchical organizations

How can the prevalence of hierarchical organizations be explained? There are three important approaches to this question. Institutional economics posited that hierarchy can be an efficient response to market failure. Given the assumption of bounded rationality and the possibility of opportunism, the higher the uncertainty and costs of transactions are, the more likely they are arranged hierarchically. This insight was extended into the political realm to assert that the sovereign state outmaneuvered alternative polities such as feudal states and empires because of its superior ability to reduce transaction costs, prevent opportunism of its members, and make credible commitments.

In contrast, sociological institutionalism argues that hierarchy became widespread not so much because it is functional but because it was regarded as an appropriate way to coordinate interactions in a world dominated by modern Western culture. Thus, an institutional environment constrains but also constructs and empowers hierarchical organizations.

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Historical institutionalists in political science and sociology pay much closer attention to both the sequences and varieties of organizational development while emphasizing the influence of domestic political processes mediated by formal and informal institutions. These scholars demonstrate that the development of bureaucratic state and corporate capitalism was neither inevitable nor unilinear but historically contingent. This approach also points out that organizations can have unintended consequences and that, therefore, theories of organizational design have a substantial limitation.

Hierarchical organizations and globalization

By the turn of the 21st century, when hierarchical organizations had permeated domestically and internationally, publicly and privately, they were increasingly challenged by ever more-complex problems in a rapidly globalizing world. Specialization and formalization in hierarchical organizations can stabilize expectations and behaviours of their members but can also hinder flexible and adaptive governance. In addition, hierarchical organizations are controlled in a top-down and standardized manner, thereby making them seem inattentive to the diverse interests of their stakeholders. The perceived inaptness and unresponsiveness of hierarchical organizations cast doubt on their legitimacy as an effective governing mechanism.

In response, three measures have been taken. The first response is to restructure hierarchy—for example, by slashing the number of its layers. The second recourse is the market solution: governments privatizing public services, and companies outsourcing their previously internalized transactions. Finally, some organizations and their subunits collaborate across traditional boundaries, variously called networks, partnerships, projects, teams, and communities of practice.