Many people who work within a flat organizational structure find themselves always connected to their work. 4. 1. Flat structure is also known as horizontal structure. This can create confusion and possible power struggles among management employees. 2. Management Can Easily Lose Control As mentioned above, this structure is ideal for startups and small business where the number of employees is still manageable. Why have a flat organizational structure? A line organisation has only direct, vertical relationships between different levels in the firm. 2. Because of this, management may decide against new opportunities in an effort to maintain the structure which, as a result, may limit the long-term growth of the organization. The disadvantage of using the flat organizational structure is that it can create role confusion within highly structured teams. 5. The management can easily lose control when there are less people to put a brake to bad behaviors and less individuals to support or back them up on their decisions. It creates fewer levels of management. The flat organizational structure assumes that each worker is going to give their best effort every day. Highly-skilled workers also like having opportunities to advance upward through the chain of command. The fewer individuals who have to be consulted for a decision, the quicker it is to be made, making a flat organizational structure really beneficial. It Can Create Power Struggle Under this organizational structure, it is observed that employees often lack a specific boss to report to, especially when the owner or CEO is not around. This makes it hard for workers to focus on their tasks and specialize at their jobs. Google’s organizational structure and work environment are one of the most idolized and studied aspects of the organization. It is a structure that improves employee morale. Because the flat organizational structure is essentially a “bottom up” type of hierarchy, there is tremendous reliance on the expertise of the front-line staff. Quick decisions and actions can be taken because it has only a few levels of management. That improves employee morale. However, the structure of a business is important in accomplishing corporate goals and objectives, achieving greater productivity … So, we have already pointed out the advantages of a flat organizational structure. Although access is a benefit, because there are not continuous lines of communication between varying departments or teams, a lot of time can be wasted when trying to be innovative. Bad decisions can be made under the guise of expertise. The lower number of employees who are focused helps in ensuring that the business is able to manage without complicating things for the organization. That can lead to poor decision-making experiences, unproductive behaviors, and other negative workplace experiences. Benefits or advantages of a flat organisation structure are as follows: Flat Organisation is less costly because it has only few managers. At the same time, the front-line staff receives direct communication from the C-Suite, allowing each worker to make clear adjustments to their responsibilities when necessary. Is Tesco a tall or flat structure? There is a lack of work-life balance. That makes it difficult to stay focused on a specific task for many workers. It isn’t scalable. Flat organization structure refers to having a relatively small number of layers in your company's organizational chart. Flat organizational structure Advantages of a Flat Organizational Structure 1. Flat and Hierarchical Organizational Structures refer to the typeof order a business or corporate’s managers, subordinates and staff are positioned for reporting, supervision and communication purpose. In a flat organizational structure, their creativity is encouraged. This is because the less time managers have to helicopter and micromanage their employees, the more productive employees can get in day as these can give them a higher sense of responsibility. 7. In an SMB, the C-Suite might involve just one person. Hey there Adam, I enjoyed reading your summary regarding the difference between a tall organization and flat organization in addition detailing the advantage and disadvantage between the two organizational structures. It is a structure that improves employee morale. 2. There is also a lot of time spent talking with others to ensure that an idea isn’t being duplicated before it is presented. 4. Because this organizational structure is based on direct contact, there are fewer opportunities to misinterpret feedback or ideas. That bickering leads to confusion, which leads to resentment, and that leads to a lack of productivity. While reporting directly to the company president has its advantages, there are also several disadvantages to this type of organizational structure. Confused customers become unhappy customers and that can change their brand loyalty. The rise of new leadership models, the development of technologies, and the multi-generational workforce mix tend to challenge traditional organizational structures. Advantages and Disadvantages of Functional Organizational Structure In this type of organization, the emphasis is on managing some functions wherever the function may be performed in the enterprise. Fewer people have to be consulted about a decision, allowing the management to provide rapid response to any issues or concern. An example often used to … An employee who needs something fresh or new to do may find few options available to them, which encourages them to seek out a new job instead of staying put. Instead of the C-Suite needing their middle managers to collect information assets from the front-line staff and then reporting it to them, they can obtain the information directly. In comparison to a tall organizational structure, a flat organisation structure has fewer levels of management and therefore a short chain of command. It creates a direct communication line between the person sitting behind the desk (the owner or CEO) and the people on the front line (the workers). It is one of those organizations where the employees literally get to practice the freedom of speech and their work rights that are the … The top management is closer to the middle management which makes it easier for the upper management to communicate effectively to the lower level management. 2. Functional Organization : All of the companies define its organizational structure to determine the reporting relationships that will exist in the company. In other words, employee involvement is promoted by decentralizing the decision-making process and elevating the levels of responsibility of employees. Let us now take a look at its limitations. A flat organizational structure is defined by few management layers that have a broader span of authority. Tesco has a tall structure. When the businesses start growing with a lot of additions however there is a need to adopt a formal structure. There are fewer eyes looking over their shoulders or criticizing their ideas, which allows each worker to focus on what they do best instead of focusing their efforts to please a supervisor who controls the feedback that goes into their personnel file. Without middle management expertise, the flat organizational structure requires the front-line staff to be experts in their job responsibilities. The system can pose a problem to the whole organization when the ratio of employees to managers become too out of proportion. With this organizational structure, customer comments and feedback will reach all the personnel involved in the decision faster, enabling the company or organization to make a rapid response to customer feedback. There is less dominance in the workplace. The advantages of tall organizational structures are more opportunities for advancement and more specialized managers; the disadvantages are higher costs and reduced empowerment. The flat organization supervises employees less while promoting their increased involvement in the decision-making process. If someone does not have the level of expertise that their job requirements demand of them, the C-Suite could make decisions based on false expertise. It can encourage power struggles. Employees in this type of structure do benefit from being able to approach the C-Suite with their ideas. Advantages of flat management Flat management, or even a network-based organizational structure, can provide multiple benefits for organizations at a time when the number of decisions is increasing and leaders must focus on strategic issues more than the day-to-day work. If you want to learn more about organizational structure types in Project Management you should check out our 100% Online and Self-Paced Project Management Professional Certification Training . When there is confusion within the employee base, that often translates to confusion within the customer base. Confused customers become unhappy customers and that can change their brand loyalty. It simply states who works for who. That lessens their effectiveness and ultimately is costly to the employer. A flat organization – sometimes referred to as a horizontal organization – has few, if any, layers of supervision and management between staff and the company's top executives. In a small boutique shop, for example, the business owner or business head may perform some of the functions that middle managers in hierarchical organizations perform. Let us now take a look at its limitations.1. Whether or not it is for your business, it depends on the size and type of your company. 3. There can be a lack of responsibility definition. Startups and small business should weight its advantages and disadvantages before deciding to implement it in their own business. Fewer bosses means fewer conflicts and that makes for happier employees as well. Bible Commentary Bible Verses Devotionals Faith Prayers Coloring Pages Pros and Cons, 9 Prevailing Advantages and Disadvantages of Virtualization, 10 Powerful Prayers for Selling Your Home, Be Not Drunk with Wine Meaning and Meditation, Even a Child Is Known by His Doings Meaning and Meditation, Washing of Water by the Word Meaning and Meditation, Righteousness Exalts a Nation Meaning and Meditation, 18 Strong Prayers for a New Place to Live, Having Done All to Stand Meaning and Meditation. It is more cost-efficient. for the management level. Flat organizational structure helps avoid this by allowing the upper management to take direct input from employees, and vice versa. It can improve employee retention. It Requires Less Dominance and Supervision Many believe that a company’s head must be able to monitor and manage anything and everything that is happening inside his or her organization, including the employees. That makes it difficult for some workers to turn away from their professional duties when enjoying personal time, which affects their work-life balance. 5. Like many other organizational structures, the flat organization structure also has its share of advantages and disadvantages. There is less miscommunication. Some founders do make a conscious decision to have a flat organization but it usually occurs organically when a small team of specialists come together to pursue a business idea. Excellent employees who are looking for an improvement in their rank, aside from an increase in their salary, may find it hard to find job satisfaction in this kind of organizational set up. The advantage of this horizontal organizational structure is that it allows decisions to be made faster. Flat structures tend to empower the employees more and allow them a greater sense of responsibility and autonomy. This structure generally occurs in a small organization or in a smal… 2. Work-Relationship Could Struggle When managers have too many people to manage every day, they may find it difficult to connect with their employees on a personal level, which is crucial in maintaining trust and in stepping up the baseline of employees’ responsibility and accountability for the work and the organization as a whole. Instead of relying on an intercessory, the C-Suite gathers information directly from the source and this can limit the amount of miscommunication that can occur at the workplace. Although large companies can struggle to implement this structure because of the dynamics of size, SMBs who implement a flat organizational structure effectively can see tremendous savings. Employees are not supervised by many levels of management. There Is Less Motivation While a flat organization structure may lessen the problems caused by unhealthy competition among employees, it makes it harder for ambitious workers to move up the ladder as there is very little room up there. 6. Flat hierarchies: a general definition. If that person leaves, the employees bicker amongst themselves about who should be in charge when a replacement is not named. This structure isn’t scalable, so fast growth in an SMB or startup can cause the C-Suite to lose control over their workplace. It can lead to a lot of wasted time. Advantages of a flat organizational structure. Faster decisions create highly satisfied customers and often improves employee morale. Instead of having a defined role, many companies that incorporate a flat organizational structure tend to ask people to do a little bit of everything. Matrix Organizational Structure: Advantages, Disadvantages & Examples What Is a Flat Structure in an Organization? They may end up looking for a job somewhere else where they believe their efforts will be rewarded with a promotion. The flat organizational structure is most common in young startups and small businesses. For many workers, career satisfaction isn’t just about the size of the paycheck. The flat organizational structure naturally increases the levels of independence that workers experience in their job every day. That is especially true for workers who might be in a satellite office. Benefits in a Flat Organizational Structure One of the disadvantages of a tall organizational structure is the slow rate of communication due to the number of management layers between executives and. For example, a company could have a group working in information technology, another in marketing and another in finance.Each department has a manager or director who answers to an executive a level up in the hierarchy who may … 1. 1. When it comes to discussing the advantages of horizontal organizational structure, the benefits are typically limited to smaller, less complex organizations. As a results, advantages of a flat organizational structure are many. 4. Thus, carefully consider the pros and cons discussed above before adopting this structure in your own organization. For the average person, up to 15 minutes of lost productivity can happen whenever a task is switched. It was designed with the idea that knowledgeable and well-trained workers will be more productive when they are directly involved in the decision making process of the organization, rather than being supervised by many management layers. Why Consider a Flat Structure for Your Organization The main purpose of having a flat organizational structure is to encourage all employees to become more active and productive by giving them … READ MORE on smallbusiness.chron.com What Is a Flat Structure in an Organization? The disadvantage of using the flat organizational structure is that it can create role confusion within highly structured teams. Consequently, what is a flat Organisational structure advantages and disadvantages? 4. When there is confusion within the employee base, that often translates to confusion within the customer base. The cost structure of a business is improved. When correctly used, it can lead to faster decisions, happier employees and satisfied customers, but when implemented the wrong way, it can cause job confusion and low levels of … In this article, we are going to review the advantages and disadvantages of each organizational structure: Functional, Projectized, and Matrix. Then, of course, flat organizational structure is for everyone. Key Difference – Tall vs Flat Structure The key difference between tall and flat structure is that tall structure is an organizational structure with many levels of hierarchy whereas flat structure is an organizational structure with a limited number of levels of hierarchy. There will be far less people and managers to consult on the critical things to be done within the organization. This con can have a great impact on the issue of respect and morale of an organization on levels of authority. Organizational structures play a key role in effective communication and decision-making. 18 Major Advantages and Disadvantages of the Payback Period, 20 Advantages and Disadvantages of Leasing a Car, 19 Advantages and Disadvantages of Debt Financing, 24 Key Advantages and Disadvantages of a C Corporation, 16 Biggest Advantages and Disadvantages of Mediation, 18 Advantages and Disadvantages of a Gated Community, 17 Big Advantages and Disadvantages of Focus Groups, 17 Key Advantages and Disadvantages of Corporate Bonds, 19 Major Advantages and Disadvantages of Annuities, 17 Biggest Advantages and Disadvantages of Advertising. Can Result to Role Confusion An employee may go to work for a flat organization expecting to fulfill a defined role, but find out later that he or she needs to do many pieces of other jobs. In this structure the most trained employees get involved with decision making process. Flat Structure Improves Communication One of the disadvantages of a tall organizational structure is the slow rate of communication due to the number of management layers between executives and staff employees. When a company utilizes a flat organizational structure, there are fewer, if any, levels of middle management included within the chain of command. In this article, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the functional structure, plus learn about other organizational structures in business. The system can pose a problem to the whole organization when the ratio of employees to managers become too out of proportion. There is a certain “responsibility” that comes when the C-Suite sends out an email asking for a job to be completed or feedback to be offered. The functional structure is one type of organizational structure that helps companies manage employees and meet their business goals. The flat organizational structure eliminates middle management and adopts a more casual, people-powered approach to running a business. That can lead a business down the wrong path very quickly. 7. The hierarchy still begins with the company’s C-Suite, but there isn’t a “buffer layer” between them and the front-line staff. When communication is passed across many management layers, there is a high chance of miscommunication. - Definition, Advantages & Disadvantages One of the greatest costs to the annual budget for a business is labor. 3. There must be strategies in place to deal with the potential negatives which like to occur under this structure. Much media attention has focused on holacracies, but actually holacracy is just one type of flat hierarchy that became popular due to its adoption by well-known companies operating in Silicon Valley and the wider technology sector.. What holacracies and other forms of flat hierarchies have in common is a smaller-than-normal layer of middle management. Although there are monitoring programs that can track productivity or worker presence, that isn’t always the same as having a manager be responsible for team productivity. It is designed to minimize bureaucracy. This means that there are less wages, fringe benefits, and so on, to pay for management. The growth can be in the for… It Makes Employee Retention Difficult Who does not want a promotion? Flat organizational structure is an organizational model with few or (in most cases) no levels of middle management between the executives and the staff level employees. This could easily erode motivation, giving people no reason to take the extra mile in their work. Highly-skilled workers often struggled in structured hierarchy environments because their creativity is often limited. Organizational structure varies in each company. Because there is a focus on hiring the best people possible for each position, less turnover typically occurs. However, the flat structure also makes it harder for ambitious employees to find satisfaction. This structure works well for small organizations, but what happens if a company experiences high levels of growth over a short period? Answer (1 of 9): The main advantage of flat organization structure in increased coordination and timely spread of information among different departments. … In a flat organizational structure, there is very little room for employees to move up through the business. Advantages of flat organization structure The benefits of a flat organizational structure are Cost-efficient – There are very few managerial layers in a flat organizational structure. This is especially true in those organizations with self-managing teams, where individual staff organizes and performs their own work without the need for close supervision. 6. So, we have already pointed out the advantages of a flat organizational structure. Flat organisational structure is a structure where there are no levels or very few levels between managers and staff. It means that the company has to shed out less amount of money in terms of salaries, benefits etc. 3. Salary-related expenses are reduced, enabling the company to save money as well as provide better pay for its workers. 3. 2. These flat organizational structure advantages and disadvantages show us that when it is implemented with a clear plan, it can be successful. It lacks close supervision in many instances, which means workers can get away with not working at all on some days. It Promotes Faster Decision Making Another advantage about a flat organizational structure is there are less decision-making hoops. Because there is a lack of management definition in most flat organizational structures, a power vacuum is created when the C-Suite is not present. 8. It Is Cost Efficient As mentioned, in this organizational structure, there are fewer (or no) manager layers between the executive and the staff. There are advantages to this -- it lowers the problems caused by unhealthy competition. It May Hinder Growth Change is often times difficult and poses a lot of what ifs. Functional structure. One of the most significant advantages of a flat structure is that the economic costs are lower as there are far less employees. Some studies, however, show otherwise. Some companies, even when they have already grown or expanded retain a flat structure. There are only line… 5. Advantages, Disadvantages and Impact. The advantages and disadvantages of a hierarchical organizational structure involve communication, innovation, and collaboration. Often times, you will see this model used in very small businesses, where there is a lack of middle managers because there are too few employees to handle. If you’ve had a job, you likely worked in a functional organizational structure.The functional structure is based on an organization being divided up into smaller groups with specific tasks or roles. By eliminating multiple layers of middle management, a flat organizational structure can quickly save hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars for certain businesses. This structure can limit productivity. It can hinder employee retention. Small organizations, naturally adopt this structure because of limited employees. Management Can Easily Lose Control As mentioned above, this structure is ideal for startups and small business where the number of employees is still manageable. The cost structure of a business is improved. Organizations choose their organizational structure based on many factors like: size, its geographic location, the manner of delivering different products and services that they will offer. Here are some of the additional flat organization structure advantages and disadvantages to think about. Tall and flat organisations The staff structures of a tall organisation and a flat organisation Tall organisations Advantages. The functional structure is a centralized structure that greatly overlaps with the … A flat structure (or a flat hierarchy) is an organizational structure that has significantly fewer management layers and significantly wider spans of management control than another organization, for example, an organization of comparable size, in the same industry (or an organization unit in the same corporation), with a similar business model and purpose. In my opinion the benefit of tall organizations really benefit larger publicly traded companies like that sit on the Standards & Poor 500 list. It also involves a chance to pursue their passions and this business structure can make that happen. Because middle management positions are naturally limited in this business structure, there are fewer advancement options. Every structure has certain challenges that must be met, but when these negatives are proactively approached, their impact to the business and each worker can be effectively minimized. 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