An organizational chart is a pictorial representation of a company's structure and reporting relationships. This chart can provide a great deal of information and may help organizational members understand the overall structure of the organization and its strategy. This entry describes how organizational charts are constructed, including the software that can be used to create them; what information the organizational chart provides; the benefits of making the chart available inside and outside of the organization; and the circumstances under which a chart is likely to change.

CONSTRUCTING AN ORGANIZATIONAL CHART

All organizational charts have similar elements that allow them to be easily interpreted and understood by people inside and outside of the organization. Charts consist of shapes and lines that represent work units and their hierarchy. See Figure 1 for an example of an organizational chart.

The basic building...