Management Spans and Layers - Streamlining the Out-of-Shape Organization

Do you recognize the hourglass organization?

If you look closely at the management ranks of many Fortune 500 corporations, you'll see this unfortunate phenomenon: excessive layers and narrow spans of control, particularly among mid-level directors and managers.

The result is often bureaucratic buildup, bottle-necked decision-making, and a general lack of innovation. Employees laboring at the customer-facing end of this attenuated organization structure are hamstrung by vertical decision-making and multi-matrixed re-porting relationships. Their career prospects are unenticing and their creativity diminished. The view at the top is equally uninspiring ... and crowded.

Organizations like these need to look beyond simple headcount reductions to find more lasting and effective methods for getting in shape.

Booz Allen Senior Vice President Gary Neilson; Vice Presidents Ian Buchanan, Jong Hyun Chang, Vinay Couto, Paolo Pigorini, Joe Saddi, and Akira Uchida; and Senior Associate Eng-Ming Tan are the authors of "Management Spans and Layers – Streamlining the Out-of-Shape Organization."

study posted November 2003