New information (BUSLIB-L, Cyndi Schoenbrun, 1/6/2004)

I wanted to know how to portray an organization's structure outside of the traditional pyramid up/pyramid down structure. I looked at the SmartDraw software and was very impressed, as much by the website support and the information available on the site as by the software. These are the suggestions I received:

Book: Organization charts : structures of 230 businesses, government agencies, and non-profit organizations, edited by Nick Sternberg and Scott Heil., Gale Group, c2000.

Software: Visio. It has lots of flexibility as far as making org charts and adding text. The only negative is, if you are to down load it into a database it does not always work.

Three (of many) possible alternatives:

1) Flip the org chart upside down, peak on the bottom (very popular with management theorists, not particularly useful);

2) Create an indented hierarchy, like Windows Explorer folders, with more indented levels reporting to less indented levels;

3) Create an org "target" with the highest level at the center and subordinate levels sharing rings around the center, each department being a sector of the ring.

Two interesting sources on this subject:

Digital Diagrams by Trevor Bounford; New York, Watson-Guptill Publications; 2000 (ISBN 0-820-1572-6)

Information Graphics: A Comprehensive Illustrated Reference by Robert L. Harris; Mumbai, India, Jaico Publishing House, 1997 (ISBN 81-7224-611-0)

...diagrams that display organizational roles in a horizontal alignment are more dynamic. They often place customers or clients one side, with the coordinator, director, or CEO located at the center or far side. Simply turning a chart 90% makes feedback and communication appear to be one expected outcome, instead of merely establishing or mapping the paper trail flow. See examples: http://www.smartdraw.com/resources/examples/business/orgchart7.htm

Xplane is source for visually appealing posters that attempt to clarify complex business organizational structures and processes: See examples at: http://xplane.com/#/problems/

You may wish to explore social network analysis (sna) or holonic mapping which is a technique to map value & knowledge flows within an organization.

http://www.orgnet.com/

The best way to see what you might be looking for I think, is to look at a lot of them. Since most org chart images are named with the short version of the word 'organization', I usually just type "org chart" into the Google IMAGE page and click search.

One way would be to put the CEO in the center in a bubble, and then put bubbles around him showing the next layer, etc, moving out in circles. Another way would be to put the customer as the focus, and chart the ways that everyone supports the customer. Or create a chart that shows functions and how each is tied into the next with the top (CEO, etc.) supplying vision and strategy.

(BUSLIB-L Linda M. Stevenson, 1/19/1999)

Carroll's Defense Organisation Charts (print, CD-ROM, on-line) is good for technology corporations.

Gale's Organization Charts: http://www.gale.com or:

Gale Research: Organization charts: Structures of 200 businesses and non-profit organizations: http://www.thomson.com/gale/custserv.html

http://corptech.com

http://www.prars.com

http://www.CompaniesOnline.com/

(BUSLIB-L Barb Zinter, 2/2/1999)

Here's a summary of suggestions for where to look for organization charts.

1 Conference Board www.conference-board.org (good source - they also charge for the product).

2. Dialog File 513 - Directory of Corporate Affiliations provides a listing of corporate subsidiaries, divisions, etc. must be able to determine which is the ultimate parent company before you get the right list.

3. Dialog File 522 - Who Owns Whom content looks similar to 513 but price per record looked to to be very high.

4. Company 10K Report check the exhibit section for a listing of subsidiaries.

5. Carroll Publishing
1058 Thomas Jefferson St. N.W.
Washington DC 20007
202-333-8620