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PROS & CONS OF FLAT ORGANISATIONAL W.R.T WORKERS & ORGANIZATIONS Most large corporations and organizations are by default social organizations in nature. The anatomy of any organization is how that organization operates in relation to its organizational structure [CITATION DAN06 \l 1033 ]. Mainly, there are 2 types of organizational structures. Flat organizational structure and tall organizational structure. Both are unique in their own way and have pros & cons associated to their ways of operation. We will be analysing how flat structure impacts the workers and the organization that they are working for. Also, we will be discussing some pros & cons which flat organisational structure carries with itself. We will also discuss how these structures dictate the policy making within the organizations and what are the impacts of these pros and cons on overall success or failure of the organizations. Tall organizational structures run in a straight line from top to bottom [ CITATION Gri19 \l 1033 ]. Army is one of the best examples of tall structure. A flat structure organization consists of broad span of management & number of hierarchical levels are small [ CITATION Gri19 \l 1033 ]. Due to lesser number of management levels, each level covers a broad horizon within their area of operation. This eventually results in employees being empowered and instead of going through the whole chain of command they are given the authority to make a decision for the most part. [ CITATION Gri19 \l 1033 ]. With this autonomy, employees are motivated to perform their jobs which brings out the best out of them in a form of creativity, problem solving skills & elevated efficiency. The success of Google and Apple are often associated to their flat organizational structure. These organizations support excellence in innovation [ CITATION Pau19 \l 1033 ]. In SWOT analysis of both these organizations, maximization of innovation is always evaluated as a strength [ CITATION Nat19 \l 1033 ]. In similarity to all the business theories and practices, there are certain pros and cons of both these organizational structures and organizations must be

vigilant and strictly keep a check on which of these structures suit their goals and objectives most effectively. First, we will discuss some of the pros of flat organizational structure and how impacts workers as well as organizations. Flat organizations are considered to be a cost saver for organizations [ CITATION Ker201 \l 1033 ]. Reduction in cost comes from savings on employer cost, decrease in employee turnover and elevation in profit margins. Generally, managers are highly paid then other employees therefore, when there are fewer management levels, organization will save money. Communication in flat organizations is much more effective and super-fast [ CITATION Sam19 \l 1033 ]. This efficacy results in the reduction of red tape in organizations. Red tape is defined to be the rules & managerial procedures which are counter-productive in organization [ CITATION Mat10 \l 1033 ]. Due to lower levels of managerial hierarchy, it is easy for employees to reach out to their superiors. Organizations with flat structure are reliant upon the employees which are highly trained in their respective fields. This enables them to be empowered and get a voice in decision making. Due to being empowered and considering themselves to be responsible for smooth operations of company, employees’ morale is always high. This helps organization to grow at a rapid pace & employees are happy to be given learning opportunities within the firm and associate their growth with the growth of the firm [ CITATION Inn13 \l 1033 ]. It is not always ideal to have flat organizational structure and comes with some cons also. Mainly, organizations which have only few levels of management, many employees are reporting to a single manager. This eventually leads to confusion about the chain of command [ CITATION DrR14 \l 1033 ]. Also, this makes some employees closer to their managers and eventually results in ill-will among employees. Flat structure is beneficial in small businesses but as the firm grows and operations become complex, effectiveness of flat structure is minimized or even detrimental to the interests of organization. The only way to fix this issue is to have a flat

structure in different departments within the organization like Apple & Google have done. The empowerment can be counterproductive in certain cases for example a discount being offered at one store might not be eligible in a store of same brand but in different location. The possibility of promotion in flat organization is limited due to fewer numbers of management level and employees are often given a raise but keep working in the same position for years [ CITATION Rut18 \l 1033 ]. Every organization needs to act responsibly in order to sustain in a long term. Every decision and policy not only impact organization itself but employees as well as external stakeholders too. Considering the pros & cons of flat organizational structure, it is completely at the discretion of company that which model should it follow depending upon their goals & objectives. As discussed in this report, flat organizational structure can save cost, communication is fast & effective and organizations grow faster with flat structure but also, there is a confusion in chain of command, effectiveness becomes limited in large corporations and growth opportunity is limited which might result in demotivation of employees.

References Burley, K., 2020. The Impact of Flat Organizational Structure on Communication. [Online] Available at: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/impact-flat-organizational-structure-communication23850.html [Accessed 12 February 2020]. Dan R. Dalton, W. D. T. M. J. S., 2006. Academy of Management Review 1980, Vol. 5. A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book about Studying Organizations, Volume 5, pp. 49-64. Griffin, D., 2019. Tall Vs. Flat Organizational Structure. [Online] Available at: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/tall-vs-flat-organizational-structure-283.html [Accessed 12 February 2020]. Ingram, D., 2019. The Advantages of Flat Organizational Structure. [Online] Available at: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-flat-organizational-structure-3797.html [Accessed 12 February 2020]. Innocent Kubheka, P. K. a. C. M., 2013. The Effects of Flattening Hierarchies on Employee Performance in Organizations: A Study of a South African Retail Group. International Conference on Law, Entrepreneurship and Industrial Engineering (ICLEIE'2013) April 15-16, 2013 Johannesburg (South Africa).

Mattia Wegmann, S. C., 2010. Reducing Red Tape. A facilitation and management manual, p. 79. Mayhew, R., 2018. Disadvantages of a Flat Organizational Structure. [Online] Available at: https://bizfluent.com/info-12132280-key-differences-between-managerial-nonmanagerialemployees.html [Accessed 1 March 2020]. Meyer, P., 2019. Apple Inc.’s Organizational Structure & Its Characteristics (An Analysis). [Online] Available at: http://panmore.com/apple-inc-organizational-structure-features-pros-cons [Accessed 10 March 2020]. Quain, S., 2019. Benefits in a Flat Organizational Structure. [Online] Available at: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/benefits-flat-organizational-structure-281.html [Accessed 12 February 2020]. Rakoczy, C., 2019. Advantages of a Flat Organizational Structure. [Online] Available at: https://business.lovetoknow.com/business-operations-corporate-management/advantagesflat-organizational-structure [Accessed 12 February 2020]. Rishipal, D., 2014. Analytical Comparison of Flat and Vertical Organizational Structures. European Journal of Business and Management , 6(36), p. 11. Smithson, N., 2019. Google’s Organizational Structure & Organizational Culture (An Analysis). [Online] Available at: http://panmore.com/google-organizational-structure-organizational-culture [Accessed 10 March 2020].

APPENDIX

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF APPLE SOURCE: PINTEREST

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF GOOGLE SOURCE: LARRY PAGE...