Stockholm School of Economics

Top Down

Why Hierarchies Are Here to Stay and How to Manage Them More Effectively
Harold Leavitt

For decades, management thinkers have been forecasting the end of top-down hierarchies. Even today, many information-era pundits insist that these authoritarian structures are rapidly giving way to networked, horizontal designs. Yet anyone who works in a large organization knows the truth: No matter how much "flatter" or more team-driven the company may be, it remains a top-down, boss-oriented hierarchy.

In this refreshing and deeply grounded exploration of modern hierarchies, organizational behavior expert Harold J. Leavitt explains what has driven this disconnect between current management theory and the realities of working life. More important, he looks at how this disconnect affects today's managers, who struggle to operate democratically within results-driven, authoritarian hierarchies.

Leavitt argues that hierarchies have persisted for centuries-and will continue to persist-despite their obvious flaws. Even as they frustrate us, they also satisfy many of our deep emotional needs. Hierarchies, moreover, remain the most workable and effective structures humans have invented for performing large, complex tasks. Rather than continuing a futile fight to eliminate them, Leavitt proposes, we should acknowledge the inevitability of hierarchies and find better ways to make them more efficient and humane.

Top Down explores how innovative movements, from participative management to analytic management to "hot groups," have changed hierarchies. This book also shows how modern "manager/leaders" can cope with the conundrums they face in today's hierarchies, such as:

yielding authority while also empowering workers
running teams in organizations that reward individual achievement
retaining personal integrity in authoritarian environments that demand conformity and obedience

A lively, "get real" examination of the true state of today's workplace, Top Down is a level-headed guide to building productive, innovative organizations that are also fulfilling places to work.

About author

Harold J. Leavitt is author of Managerial Psychology, Corporate Pathfinders, and coauthor with Jean Lipman-Blumen of Hot Groups. He is Kilpatnck Professor of Organizational Behavior Emeritus, the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University.

References

"Hal Leavitt has written a book to be savored. On the one hand, it is a magnificent summa of his half century of continuously path-breaking work. On the other, it is a bold leap into the future-debunking a great deal of current (wishful) organizational thinking, then offering a novel and realistic roadmap for organizational and leadership effectiveness for the new century."

Tom Peters, author of Re-Imagine!

"The entrepreneurial spirit of an enterprise is like freedom: If you don't maintain a vigil the hierarchy will take over. Hal Leavitt explains why in this book. If you treasure entrepreneurial spirit as a competitive tool, buy this book. Know your enemy."

Po Chung, Cofounder and former Chairman, DHL International, Ltd.

"This is a masterful and important book, pulsing with unusual insights and originality. Leavitt, always an ally of reality, helps us to understand the inevitability of "hierarchy" and how those who work and live in them-virtually all of us-can make them just a tad more humane and livable."

Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Management, USC, and coauthor of Geeks and Geezers

"Managers will profit greatly from Leavitt's latest, which analyzes our love-hate relationship with hierarchy and authority, and the constant tension between humanizing and systematizing forces within organizations. What a privilege it is to share these important ideas with such a wise and witty observer of the contemporary scene!"

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi,Director, Quality of Life Research Center

"Guess what? Hierarchies haven't gone away and, what's more, they shouldn't. In Top Down, Leavitt convincingly makes the case for both their ubiquity and utility. But, he does much more: he provides useful insights into how managers and leaders can make hierarchies work better for the benefit of all of us. Hooray!"

Jerry I. Porras, Coauthor of Built to Last