Hierarchy

Hierarchy can simply be defined as a ranking or order of things in a series (objects or people). These things all hold different levels of importance and are linked differently. Hierarchies occur in everyday situations such as in businesses, churches, army and politics. These hierarchies are commonly organised into a pyramidal structure with a single leader or boss at the top, which then branches into more people with lower ranks and eventually to the common society. There is also a flat Hierarchy layout known as heterarchy where decisions and choices are usually discussed with others and decided on together. In standard hierarchy, it is common for a heterarchy to take place between people of the same status or level.



In relation to our project architecture, our roles are determined and divided into specific tasks before commencing work. A typical pyramidal hierarchy structure would involve the allocation of work from the team leader to each individual. The leader would look at each persons strengths and weaknesses and then decide what they are to work on. In contrast, a heterarchy would generally involve people collaborating with each other and then deciding on what jobs to undertake.

In our specific project for our building of the Market-Rate housing in Brooklyn, New York, we often use a combination of both types of hierarchies. When we get our task from our leader (Russell) we analyse the problem and then decide together on who does what task. At other times we tell each other specifically what to do and work much like a pyramidal hierarchy structure.

References
Diagrams
Wikipedia - Hierarchy
Wikipedia - Social Hierarchy