Inhibitors to agility

The following factors related to organization structure are key barriers for enterprises to enhance and sustain agility.

A "tall" hierarchy

In any system of humans, the distribution of power is seldom equal, that is, some roles have more power than others. In the absence of defined roles, a leader or leaders will emerge who voluntarily, or by force, have more power than others in the system. An enterprise is also a system of humans, and hence the existence of power centers, both formal and informal, is a reality that must be accepted. The hierarchical structures in companies reflect this reality.

However, enterprises have used hierarchy as a means to provide "growth" to their employees. The belief that "climbing up" the hierarchy ...

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