Just like buildings, organizations have structures or designs. Different models have different communication hierarchies. That is why understanding the success or failure of communication in a corporation requires an assessment of the core ideas regarding organizational structures. First, a majority of organizations are hierarchies, which means that their structures are grouped into levels that have power influence over the levels below them. More often than not, these hierarchies look like pyramids with a few individuals at the top ranks and several at the bottom. The individuals at the head of the pyramid usually have more powers. Power control is often passed between different hierarchy levels. A process referred to as the chain of command. Chain of command, as used in military means that any decisions or information should flow downwards as answerability flows upwards.
The most common types of communication flow include vertical and horizontal communication. First, vertical communication entails sending and receiving messages between different hierarchy levels in the organization through downward or upward channel. From a comprehensive perspective, downward communication is when messages are passed from more influential people in the organization to less powerful people. It is usually the most common in a majority of organizations. On the other hand, upward communication is often the opposite as it means messages being sent from lower levels to upper ranks in the organization. Secondly, horizontal communication entails receiving and sending messages between individuals in the same position (Gorris, 2000). The paper will dissect the nature of communication in flat/horizontal and tall/vertical organizations.
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Flat or Horizontal Organizations
As the name suggest, flat organizations lack no job titles or ranks such as executive and managers. In this type of organizations, everyone is seen as equal. Over the years, flat structures have been referred to as self-managed institutions. The chain of command in flat organizations is always short leading to a wider span of control. A span of control is the number of employees a manager is responsible for. Since flat organizations have few management hierarchies, they have features such as decentralized management framework, broadly defined jobs, flexible boundaries, general job descriptions, concentration on teams, and a strong emphasis on the customer. Furthermore, flat organizations create more opportunities for employees to thrive in building the organizational visions (Hoonsopon & Ruenrom, 2012).
According to Griffin (2017), communication in flat organizations is easily achieved with employees at all the levels. It is always faster and effective. Communication flow in these agencies is across as it eliminates upward style. These organizations have the tendency or limiting barriers between the top managers and the lower ranking employees. Furthermore, one important characteristic of communication in these types of organizations is that informal communication and sincere critics happen effectively between peers as compared to from top ranking employees to lower ranking employees. Flat organizations experience more of informal than formal communication. Besides, they tend to receive more instant feedback (Rishipal, 2014).
Tall or Vertical Organizations
Tall organizations are often large and have extended hierarchies. Management levels in these organizations often increase as a result of new ranks, which lead to a smaller span of control. Administration in these organization designs is often in control as compared to flat structures where few managers often get bombarded by much information. These organizations often have clarity and effective managerial control. The small span of control encourages for efficient and effective supervision of employees at the lower ranks. Besides, these structures have a centralized management framework, distinctly defined jobs, inflexible boundaries, and specific job descriptions.
Communication in these organizations usually interchanges between downward and upward styles. The chain of command is usually strict because it is highly bureaucratic (Dalton, et al., 1980). As compared to the flat organizations, communication and decision-making often take time because of the different management levels. As a result, communication might get distorted along the way because different individuals might interpret the message differently. Besides, good ideas coming from lower ranks might be changed by the time they reach the executive management.
The company that is currently working for which is DHL is a tall organization because it has different structures and managerial levels. It operates under various departments such as transportation management, manufacturing and packaging, and service parts logistics, which all report to the top executives of the company in their respective countries (Christopher, 2016). Communication in my department assumes upward and downward styles. More often, we are supervised by the first line managers who report to the middle managers, who will eventually relay the message to the top-level management. Every employee in the department has very specific job descriptions that are distinctly defined. For instance, those dealing with supply chain management have to ensure that all supplies are ordered and provided according to the stipulated time and are of high quality.
As it stands, there is no standard way to decide on the best structure between these two kinds of designs. Different companies have different organizational models depending on the types of services or products they are offering. For instance, a majority of innovative companies are now opting for flat structures because of the richness of ideas it enables. Employees can share new ideas with their executives and get immediate feedback without strict chains of commands within the organization. To, enhance integration, tall organizations can establish flat structures within their frameworks, and flat structures can increase their managerial levels to decrease flooding of information at the top levels.
References
Christopher, M. (2016). Logistics & supply chain management . Pearson UK.
Dalton, D. R., Todor, W. D., Spendolini, M. J., Fielding, G. J., & Porter, L. W. (1980). Organization structure and performance: A critical review. Academy of management review , 5 (1), 49-64.
Goris, J. R., Vaught, B. C., & Pettit Jr, J. D. (2000). Effects of communication direction on job performance and satisfaction: A moderated regression analysis. The Journal of Business Communication (1973) , 37 (4), 348-368.
Griffin, D. (2017). Tall vs. Flat organizations. Chron. Retrieved on 10 May 2017 from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/tall-vs-flat-organizational-structure-283.html
Hoonsopon, D., & Ruenrom, G. (2012). The impact of organizational capabilities on the development of radical and incremental product innovation and product innovation performance. Journal of Managerial Issues , 250-276.
Rishipal, D. (2014). Analytical comparison of flat and vertical organizational structures. European Journal of Business Management , 6 (36), 56-65.
