(griech. 'heilige Herrschaft') Die auf Über- u. Unterordnung (Rangstufen) aufgebaute Organisation in allen soz. Bereichen, z.B. als polit., betriebl., kirchl. H. Soziale Gliederung von Gesellschaften und Institutionen nach festen Rangordnungen.
ETYM Greek ierarchia: cf. French hiérarchie.
1. A series of ordered groupings of people or things within a system.
2. The organization of people at different ranks in an administrative body; SYN. power structure, pecking order.
Structure consisting of different levels of authority in, for example, a business organization, one above the other. At the top of the hierarchy of a company, for example, is the chair and at the bottom is the shop-floor worker. Each worker in the hierarchy should have a job description that clearly sets out his or her duties and position within it.