Editing Hierarchical organization (section)

===Two types of hierarchy: Formal and informal===
A well-known distinction is between formal and informal hierarchy in organizational settings. According to [[Max Weber]], the formal hierarchy is the vertical [[sequence]] of official positions within one explicit [[organizational structure]], whereby each position or office is under the control and [[Supervisor|supervision]] of a higher one.<ref>Weber, M. (1921/1980). [[Economy and Society|Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft]], 5th rev. edition. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck.</ref> The ''formal hierarchy'' can thus be defined as "an official system of unequal person-independent roles and positions which are linked via lines of top-down command-and-control."<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Diefenbach |first1=Thomas |last2=Sillince |first2=John A.A. |date= 2011|title=Formal and Informal Hierarchy in Different Types of Organization |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0170840611421254 |journal=Organization Studies |language=en |volume=32 |issue=11 |pages=1515–1537 |doi=10.1177/0170840611421254 |issn=0170-8406}}</ref> By contrast, an ''informal hierarchy'' can be defined as person-dependent social relationships of dominance and subordination, emerging from social interaction and becoming persistent over time through repeated social processes.<ref name=":2" /> The informal hierarchy between two or more people can be based on difference in, for example, [[seniority]], [[experience]] or [[social status]].<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":7" />
The formal and informal hierarchy may complement each other in any specific organization and therefore tend to [[Coexistence|co-exist]] in any organization.<ref name=":7" /> But the general pattern observed in many organizations is that when the formal hierarchy decreases (over time), the informal hierarchy increases, or vice versa.<ref name=":2" />