ABSTRACT
One thing distinguishing large organizations, such as companies, hospitals, or schools, from families, and from ad hoc and informal groups, is their formalized hierarchic structure. That structure divides organizations into levels, defines the functions of each level and relationships between them, and sets rules governing the interaction of the organization with its environment. It thus limits the discretionary power of members in defining their relationships to one another. In other words, institutional interactions are bound by the hierarchic order.
