Tall & Flat Organisations

Business: Edexcel IGCSE, topic 2.5.3

Tall vs Flat Organisational Structures

As well as being centralised or decentralised, organisational structures can also be classified as tall or flat.

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.

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).

Organisational structure has implications for how an organisation is managed.

Having a flat organisational structure normally means that each manager is responsible for more employees. This can make it harder for a manager to monitor each employee really closely.

If communication has to go through lots of layers, then it will be slower. This can make it hard to make changes or pass on a message.
In a flat organisational structure it can be easier for directors to make changes happen faster. Employees low down the hierarchy can communicate problems more quickly.
However, if the span of control is too wide then it can negatively affect communication because it is harder for managers to communicate with all the people they are responsible for.

Having a flatter organisational structure may mean managing more people but it creates a shorter chain of command, making communication between layers easier.