Tall & Flat Organisations
Business: Cambridge International GCSE (2027 Exams), topic 2.2.4
Tall vs Flat Organisational Structures
As well as being centralised or decentralised, organisational structures can also be classified as tall or flat.
Tall organisational structures
- A tall organisational structure is a hierarchy with a long chain of command (lots of layers) in the organisation.
- Usually each manager has a smaller span of control (is responsible for a smaller number of employees), but lots of people are managers.
Flat organisational structures
- A flat organisational structure means the opposite. There are less layers in the organisational hierarchy.
- This means that managers have a larger span of control (manage or are responsible for more employees).