Heterarchy

Heterarchy ( Greek  ἕτερος heteros = the other and ἄρχειν archein = to rule) is a system of elements that are not in a superordinate and subordinate relationship, but more or less equally alongside one another. Heterarchy stands for self-control and self-determination and emphasizes decentralized and bottom-up decisions. The term was introduced by the neurophysiologist and cyberneticist Warren McCulloch in connection with the functioning of neural networks as a complement to the term hierarchy .

Organizational theory

In organizational theory , heterarchy means that every participant or every organizational unit of a heterarchical organization is also the manager or control unit of this organization.

The heterarchical structure of a company or a network is the counterpart to the hierarchical structure. The coordination and cooperation within a company takes place on an equal footing and the balance of power in a company network is balanced.

In analogy to this, heterarchical arrangements can be understood as a compilation of different forms of organization which, in contrast to hierarchical organization, offer possibilities for organizational self-determination and self-control at all company levels. Heterarchical arrangements occur where, apart from exclusively top-down delegation procedures, there is scope for bottom-up decisions. The establishment of heterarchical arrangements does not lead to the dissolution of hierarchies in companies. Rather, the integration of heterarchical arrangements serves to increase the local adaptability (local responsiveness) of a multi-location company whose subsidiaries are embedded in different local contexts. A globally uniform strategy designed to increase efficiency for all company locations and a uniform world market would not sufficiently take into account the local customer needs and legal requirements to which subsidiaries are exposed. Therefore, companies have to find the right balance between flexible adaptation to local specifics and an effective and efficient global coordination of company locations.

Similar to this in the political context is risk governance in the course of European integration , which requires new forms of cooperation (co-creation).

Heterarchical task analysis

In psychological work analysis, there is a procedure called heterarchical task analysis (HAA). It combines behavioral observation and video-based retrospective surveys. This enables user and task-specific analyzes between humans and computers. By precisely logging the task processing with software tools, software development projects can gain suggestions for the design of task-oriented user interfaces.

See also

• anomie
• Emergent order
• Homeostasis
• Sociocracy
• Spontaneous order
• Viable System Model

literature

• Winter, Johannes: Between hierarchy and heterarchy: Changes in skills in subsidiaries of international automotive companies in Poland. LIT-Verlag, Berlin / Zurich 2009.
• Birkinshaw, Julian M., Hood, Neil (1998): Multinational subsidiary evolution: capability and charter change in foreign-owned subsidiary companies. In: Academy of Management Review. Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 773-795.
• Hedlund Gunnar (1986): The Hypermodern MNC - a heterarchy? In: Human Resource Management. Vol. 25, pp. 9-36.

Web links

• Introduction to the term at Vordenker.de
• Paper McCulloch, 1945 (Vordenker.de; PDF; 51 kB)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Jeremias Herberg: Public Administrators in the Europeanization of Risk Governance. Co-Creation Amidst the Political Heterarchy. In: Culture, Practice and Europeanization. Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) Potsdam, August 2018, accessed on September 18, 2019 .