3.4 Understanding the Agency Hierarchy and Structure
3.4 Understanding the Agency Hierarchy and Structure
Now that you are aware of the hows and whys of an agency, it is time to increase your familiarity with those who are in your agency. Every organization has formal and informal structures, which contribute to the intentional and unintentional culture of that organization. This section will review some of the factors that influence the structures agencies use and inform their culture.
Formal Structures
Organizational charts, job descriptions, employee handbooks, and policy and procedure manuals are the most common ways for an agency to demonstrate their formal and supervisory structure. They are hierarchical by design, even when an agency holds the value of shared leadership or the belief that you can lead from any position. Organizational charts allow monitoring entities to know who in the agency is responsible for specific duties, who reports to whom, and how the work of the agency is organized. These are all critical parts of maintaining licenses and accreditations, which may be connected to funding streams. Knowing the supervisory hierarchy is also important if an employee is having performance issues, is experiencing workplace harassment, or—on a more positive note—is being recognized outside of their unit for exceptional work.
There are basic organizational charts for both public and private agencies. The examples used in this section are a broad overview and generalized for most agencies. Your organization may have variations, but the concepts are generalizable.
Public agencies start with the state governor and state legislature at the top of their charts as funding. The laws that inform the policies and procedures come directly from those two entities. These are followed by the director for each agency, followed by division directors, and so on until all employees are listed within their supervisory units. Figure 3.3 provides a simple chart that shows the basic structure.
Private agencies have a similar structure, with the board of directors at the top of the chart, followed by the top agency executive such as the president, chief executive officer, or executive director. Much like in a public agency, the next level is the program directors, followed by their teams who provide direct services. Figure 3.4 shows a simple representation of a private agency organizational chart.
Organizational charts help you as an intern begin to see how your field experience site has formed itself, who might know the answers to some of your questions, and who the identified leaders are. It can give you a broader understanding of the entire agency, not just the unit where you will be learning and working. It is also a visual representation of how information in the agency is officially communicated. Think of an organizational chart as a map of the agency.
Informal Structures
Formal organizational systems keep an agency moving forward in a predictable and planful way. They are, as the label suggests, written