An Organizational Chart is a chart which represents the structure of an organization in terms of rank. The chart usually shows the managers and sub-workers who make up an organization. The chart also shows relationships between staff in the organization which can be: Look up Structure in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An organization or organisation (read more about -ize vs -ise) is a formal group of people with one or more shared goals. ...

• Line - direct relationship between superior and subordinate.
• Lateral - relationship between different departments on the same hierarchical level.
• Staff - relationship between an managerial assistant and other areas. The assistant will be able to offer advice to a line manager. However, they have no authority over the line manager actions.
• Functional - relationships between specialist positions and other areas. The specialist will normally have authority to insist that a line manager implements any of their instructions.

In many large companies the organization chart can be large and incredibly complicated and is therefore sometimes dissected into smaller charts for each individual department within the organization. Look up superior in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A hierarchy (in Greek hieros = sacred, arkho = rule) is a system of ranking and organizing things. ...

There are three different types of organization chart:

• Hierarchical
• Matrix
• Flat

A hierarchy (in Greek hieros = sacred, arkho = rule) is a system of ranking and organizing things. ... Matrix Management combines the aspects of a functional organization with those of a projectized organization. ... The intuitive idea of flatness is important in several fields. ...

Limitations of an organizational chart

There are several limitations with organizational charts:

• It only shows 'formal relationships' and tells nothing of the pattern of human (social) relationships which develop.

• It shows nothing about the managerial style adopted (eg autocratic or democratic)

• It very quickly becomes out-of-date, especially in large organizations who change their staff regularly.

Autocracy is a form of government where unlimited power is held by a single individual. ... Democracy is a form of government under which the power to alter the laws and structures of government lies, ultimately, with the citizenry. ...

Example of an Organizational chart

The following is an example of a simple Hierarchical organizational chart:

Image File history File links Organizational_chart. ...

An example of a Line relationship in this chart would be between the Division Officer and the three departments Training PO, Division LPO and Material PO. These three departments are directly responsible to the Division Officer.

An example of a Lateral relationship in this chart would be between Section Leader 1, Section Leader 2, Section Leader 3 and Section Leader 4 who all work on the same Hierarchical level and all report to the Senior Section Leader.