Hierarchies At Work

A hierarchy (from Greek: ἱεραρχία, hierarkhia, ‘rule of a high priest’, from hierarkhes, ‘president of sacred rites’) is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being “above”, “below”, or “at the same level as” one another.

In organizations, the word conjures up layers of people, through whom a person at the bottom of the rung has to sift through to gain access to the top. Perceptually it’s a challenging & time-consuming task. In the corporate world, a Triangular structure is the generally accepted model, though flat hierarchies also exist.

Where do flat Hierarchies work?

Start-ups, have smaller teams as compared to established companies. The founder is in an experimental mode. S/he has frequent impromptu brainstorming sessions with the team and the primary focus is on developing the go-to-market product. Flat hierarchies thrive in such a set-up and get the job done.

Why do we need Hierarchy levels in an Organisation?

Imagine an organization with 30-35 employees across departments, working in a flat hierarchy, with all of them reporting to the founder. In this scenario, the founder would not have enough time to spend with his/her sub-ordinates to manage day to day affairs, having to attend to other pressing issues. Without supervision, direction is lost and teams drift into oblivion. Inter-personal conflicts arise and ultimately work gets affected.

How does a structured Hierarchy assist the Organisation?

Organizations thrive on working efficiently. Hierarchies are created, based on expertise. Employees across various levels can then take decisions that fall within their purview, as they are responsible & accountable for their actions. Areas of ownership are well defined. Very clear delineation of duties are created for each employee. When all stakeholders are aligned to this model, it works like a well-oiled machine.

Hierarchies at Beforest : At the Corporate Office & at the Collective Farms

Beforest can no longer be referred to as a Start-up. With expertise in Head Counts, separate teams have been formally defined and assigned with responsibility and authority. Hence, we have Sales, Marketing, Finance, Accounts, HR & Administration at this juncture at the Corporate Office. Under Farm Operations in both Hyderabad & Coorg we have teams segregated into 3 broad departments, i.e. Nursery, Food Production & Livestock. It is our endeavor to serve our customers more efficiently and we believe this is one of the ways of reaching this goal.