> Rol Fessenden wrote:
> I have also seen some flattened state
> agencies that remain as bureaucratic as ever, and I once worked for a
> small entrepreneur who had a flat organization, but was just as Roy
> described above.
A term we use in facilitation is "counter-exampling." This
indicates someone providing an example or series of examples which are
counter to the premise provided. Yes, there are examples of flat
organizations which do not learn well. Certainly, if the status regimens
are retained, the organization learns no better tier to tier than a taller
one. However, if the flatter organization is combined with a
communication structure which minimizes status and maximizes encouragement
to share information, the opposite is true.
> Therefore, the jury is still out regarding whether
> organizational 'flatness' is a driver of a learning organization.
I disagree. Tall hierarchies insulate the superiors and isolate
the inferiors in my world. The key to reduction to this effect is in
flattening the structure and maximizing communication and ownership.
> For me,
> it seems counter-intuitive. Flatness does not seem relevant.
Okay. Let me postulate, then a 35 tiered organization such as GM
in the 1970's. Do you imagine that respect for opinion is enhanced in the
35 tiered organization? Do you refute the principle that those closest to
the process understand the process best? Is there not filtering going on
between tiers in the organization? Does not a hierarchy of status develop
between the tiers such that the opinion of the higher tiers has more
weight than the lower tiers?
I would suggest that the taller the organization, the more tiers
it has, the greater the disparity of esteem between the higher and lower
tiers. Therefore, the taller the organization, the greater the status
issues interfere with communication, and the lower the organization learns
relative to its potential.
-- @__Roy_J._Winkler,_AAS,_BSM... @__Consultant:_OD/HRD/Group_Dynamics @__UAW/GM____Anderson,_Indiana___USA @__E-Mail: rwinkler@iquest.net