Reverse hierarchy
Encyclopedia
A reverse hierarchy is a conceptual organizational structure
that attempts to "invert" the classical pyramid of hierarchical organisations
. The concept was pioneered by the total quality management
movement.
The reverse hierarchy promotes the idea that the most important employees are those who deal daily with the organisations' customers, i.e. those who would normally be at the "bottom" of the hierarchy. It is then the role of supervisors and managers (normally "higher" in the hierarchy) to support these employees and to remove the obstacles that hinder them in satisfying their customers' needs. Thus the "more senior" people are actually "lower" in the inverted pyramid, as they have more people to support.
Some organisations claim to be operating in this way when in fact all that has happened is that the organisation chart has been drawn in an inverted fashion.
Organizational structure
An organizational structure consists of activities such as task allocation, coordination and supervision, which are directed towards the achievement of organizational aims. It can also be considered as the viewing glass or perspective through which individuals see their organization and its...
that attempts to "invert" the classical pyramid of hierarchical organisations
Hierarchical organization
A hierarchical organization is an organizational structure where every entity in the organization, except one, is subordinate to a single other entity. This arrangement is a form of a hierarchy. In an organization, the hierarchy usually consists of a singular/group of power at the top with...
. The concept was pioneered by the total quality management
Total Quality Management
Total quality management or TQM is an integrative philosophy of management for continuously improving the quality of products and processes....
movement.
The reverse hierarchy promotes the idea that the most important employees are those who deal daily with the organisations' customers, i.e. those who would normally be at the "bottom" of the hierarchy. It is then the role of supervisors and managers (normally "higher" in the hierarchy) to support these employees and to remove the obstacles that hinder them in satisfying their customers' needs. Thus the "more senior" people are actually "lower" in the inverted pyramid, as they have more people to support.
Some organisations claim to be operating in this way when in fact all that has happened is that the organisation chart has been drawn in an inverted fashion.