This term is utilized often by anarchists who oppose it in human relations. However, the term also refers to cognition, where it denotes an ascending series of abstractions, where each set of abstractions is subsumed by a larger abstraction.
Both meanings have in common a structure of diminishing ascendence, where there are more members of the organization at the bottom, and increasingly less as we move up through the levels.
See also Reverse hierarchy
Hierarchical organization is a common way to structure a group of people, where members chiefly communicate with their immediate superior and with their immediate subordinates. Structuring organizations in this way is useful partly because it can reduce the communication overhead.
Not all organizations have this structure. The opposite extreme is described as "flat" or "single-level".
Although it is not always the case, superiors in a hierarchy often have higher status and power than their subordinates.
Organizational development (OD) theorist Elliott Jacques identified a special role for hierarchy in his concept of requisite organization.
Hierarchiology is the term coined by Dr. Laurence J. Peter, originator of the Peter Principle, to refer to the study of hierarchical organizations and the behavior of their members.
Hierarchial organizations include most corporations, governments, and the Roman Catholic Church. In fact the word hierarchy was first used in the religious sense.
One branch of political philosophy is vehemently opposed to hierarchical organisation: the libertarian socialist branch of anarchism.