Why are organizational charts used so much in business?
The organizational chart of a company enables everyone to see the distribution of roles and division of authority within a company. With a quick glance, you can see the positions of the leaders, the power holders and their responsibilities, as well as how they relate to one another.
How is the company’s organizational chart built?
The organizational chart of a company is the fruit of its strategy and its corporate culture. Some positions report directly to the President, because they are essential to his or her mission. For example, in a business organized by country or by business unit, the company will give more autonomy and independence to those in the field. These relationships can be spotted instantly in the organizational chart.
What are some of the limits of the organizational charts?
The first limit is, that once you go beyond 3 levels, an organizational chart becomes confusing, (and somewhat irrelevant, except to those within that company). The second limit is that the personalities and leadership style of the managers, their relationships and their know-how play a key role in a company’s culture. You won’t be able to pick that up, just by looking at an org chart. The third limit is that the company is a living body and the organizational charts are static and need to be constantly adjusted and updated.
Who first invented the org chart?
There is no consensus. In the history of human endeavors, people have had to come up with ways to organize their work. Think of the Egyptians building their pyramids or palaces, the armies of Alexander the Great, and complex job assignments of the great monasteries. Cathedrals in Europe and transcontinental have also required the integration of many talents. An organizational chart is simply a way to visualize the relationships of the tasks and people involved in a huge undertaking.
What is the situation today?
Today, organizational charts apply in almost every business: the multinational corporations, the assembly lines at Boeing or Airbus, hospitals, the kitchens of the best chefs. The quest for efficiency and the diversity of talents have made the organizational charts great tools for anyone to use and understand.
Useful links
List of the 20,000+ available organizational charts on The Official Board
Add a new company's organizational chart
