An organizational chart, or organogram) is a diagram that shows the structure of an organization
and the relationships and relative ranks of its parts and positions/jobs.
The term is also used for similar diagrams, for example ones showing the different elements
of a field of knowledge or a group of languages.
Overview The organization chart is a diagram showing
graphically the relation of one official to another, or others, of a company.
It is also used to show the relation of one department to another, or others, or of one
function of an organization to another, or others.
This chart is valuable in that it enables one to visualize a complete organization,
by means of the picture it presents.
A company's organizational chart typically illustrates relations between people within
an organization.
Such relations might include managers to sub-workers, directors to managing directors, chief executive
officer to various departments, and so forth.
When an organization chart grows too large it can be split into smaller charts for separate
departments within the organization.
The different types of organization charts include:
Hierarchical Matrix
Flat There is no accepted form for making organization
charts other than putting the principal official, department or function first, or at the head
of the sheet, and the others below, in the order of their rank.
The titles of officials and sometimes their names are enclosed in boxes or circles.
Lines are generally drawn from one box or circle to another to show the relation of
one official or department to the others.
History
The French Encyclopédie published in France between 1751 and 1772 had one of the first
organizational charts of knowledge in general.
The Scottish-American engineer Daniel McCallum is credited for creating the first organizational
charts of American business around 1854.
This chart was drawn by George Holt Henshaw.
The term "organization chart" came into use in the early twentieth century.
In 1914 Brinton declared "organization charts are not nearly so widely used as they should
be.
As organization charts are an excellent example of the division of a total into its components,
a number of examples are given here in the hope that the presentation of organization
charts in convenient form will lead to their more widespread use."
In those years industrial engineers promoted the use of organization charts.
In the 1920s they were still not common among ordinary business concerns, but were beginning
to find their way into administrative and business enterprises.
The term "organigram" originates in the 1960s.
Limitations There are several limitations of organizational
charts: If updated manually, organizational charts
can very quickly become out-of-date, especially in large organizations that change their staff
regularly.
They only show "formal relationships" and tell nothing of the pattern of human relationships
which develop.
They also often do not show horizontal relationships.
They provide little information about the managerial style adopted
In some cases, an organigraph may be more appropriate, particularly if one wants to
show non-linear, non-hierarchical relationships in an organization.
They often do not include customers.
Examples
The example on the right shows a simple hierarchical organizational chart.
An example of a "line relationship" in this chart would be between the general and the
two colonels - the colonels are directly responsible to the general.
An example of a "lateral relationship" in this chart would be between "Captain A", and
"Captain B" who both work on level and both report to the "Colonel B".
Various shapes such as rectangles, squares, triangles, circles can be used to indicate
different roles.
Color can be used both for shape borders and connection lines to indicate differences in
authority and responsibility, and possibly formal, advisory and informal links between
people.
A department or position yet to be created or currently vacant might be shown as a shape
with a dotted outline.
Importance of the position may be shown both with a change in size of the shape in addition
to its vertical placement on the chart.
See also Organizational structure
References
External links Organizational Charts