Re: Hierarchy LO286

Bernou11i@aol.com
Wed, 1 Mar 1995 07:28:25 -0500

Eric Bohlman wrote in LO239:

> Part of the reason that organizations, such as corporations,
> became hierarchical is due to an accident of history. Namely,
> at the time these organizations began to form, the only
> comparably-sized organizations were European armies and the
> Roman Catholic Church, and the developing organizations used
> these as role models, even though the structures of the
> military and the RCC were adaptations to highly specific roles
> that didn't really correspond all that well with the roles of
> the new organizations.

Even earlier examples are the Roman Army (perhaps the biggest of
those to conquer the "know" world. The earliest reference to
organizational heirarchy is biblical. In Exodus 19:21, Moses was
becoming overwhelmed with the role of judge, settling disputes.
Jethro, Moses' father-in-law counseled him to "appoint ... rulers
of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers
of tens." Perhaps this was ther very first supreme court.

Bill Eureka (Bernou11i@aol.com)