Common Organizational Structure
When a group of people work together to accomplish a goal, a structure needs to be applied to maintain order, unless the group is very small and the goal is very simple. Large organizations such as businesses, governments and religious hierarchies are characterized by complex and rigid organizational structures that are widely accepted among the members of the group.
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Top-Down
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Top-down organizations are authoritarian, hierarchical and based on dynamics of command and obedience. A military force is a good example of a top-down organization; it's usually led by a single powerful figurehead who wields authority over a small number of seconds-in-command, who in turn wield authority over those immediately beneath them, and so on down the line. In pure top-down organizations, the people on the bottom have no say whatsoever in the way that things are run. In reality, most organizations have elements of various structures within them.
Bottom-Up
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A democratic government in its pure form is an example of a bottom-up organization. Leaders are decided upon by the members of the group and exist to serve the interests of everyone. However, structures such as a pure democracy don't exist in reality; any system is compromised by influence, money and private agendas. In theory, bottom-up organizations exist to provide the greatest good to the greatest number of people and recognize the right of everyone to have a say in their fate.
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Bureaucratic
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Max Weber wrote that the defining characteristic of a bureaucratic organization is the separation of an individual from the role that he occupies. Prior to the rise of bureaucracies in the modern world, leaders were obeyed and revered because of their personal characteristics. In a bureaucracy, a president, police officer or bank clerk is recognized as an individual who occupies a role that's separate from him in nature. This dynamic contributes to a society full of organizations dominated by anonymity. If a person leaves a bureaucratic organization, his role can be filled by someone else.
Horizontal
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Horizontal organizations function without coercive hierarchies and are almost always small in number and populated by people who know each other personally. Informal local groups that organize to do a fundraiser for a church or to start a community garden may be horizontal in nature. One of the largest horizontal organizations in the modern world was the anarchist collective that existed in Catalonia until it was crushed by Franco in 1939. This tragic event symbolizes the inherent problem with nonauthoritarian organizations: When they are opposed or attacked by armed hierarchies, the latter groups are more efficient at conflict and oppression.
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References
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