Change Through Management Hierarchy

It is usually the top level of a management hierarchy that makes the most important changes in any organization. The lower level only implements these changes. Such a hierarchy often misses out small and minute details of planning. Managers must, hence, understand how to plan for changes under such conditions. The term management hierarchy basically refers to a structure of superior and subordinate rankings. Almost every small and large organization follows this structure. Under this hierarchy, members of an organization follow a fixed chain of command.

Fig.1. 8 critical change management models to evolve and survive (Process street.com)

In a management hierarchy, it is always the top-level executives who decide all important matters. For example, in a company, this would include the board of directors. Thus, they are the ones who take all the major decisions. In the next level, managers and executives simply implement plans that the top level makes. They take only small and simple decisions in order to enforce those plans. In other words, they do not really play a big role in enforcing changes. Under such structures, it is common for finer details of changes to get left out.

For example, let’s say a company’s board decides to revamp its business by adopting the latest technology available. The board will inform the management of this decision and leave its implementation to them. In such cases, the management will have to consider finer details that the board is likely to leave out. This includes details like the purchase of new machinery, termination of certain employees, training of workers, etc.