Organizational chart
An organizational chart is the graphic representation of an organization or company and depicts the internal structure.
Organizational chart: Definition
The term organization chart is a combination of organization and diagram and shows the hierarchies, positions, departments and tasks within a company.
It is created using the simplest of means. Arrows, lines and boxes are used to illustrate the internal connections. The aim is to illustrate internal connections and relationships within a company.
With the help of this tool, the following questions can be answered quickly and easily:
- Who plays which role?
- Who is the line manager or employee?
- How are the teams organized & structured?
- How do the internal communication channels work?
In summary, it provides an overview of processes and also makes the strategic orientation visible for organizations, authorities, associations and other companies.
Synonyms for an organization chart include terms such as staffing plan, organizational plan or structure plan.
The advantages
An organization chart has several advantages:
- Overall organization becomes visible
- Improved communication
- Optimized planning
- are easy to create
The functions are fulfilled
Such an organization plan fulfils several important functions. We have summarized these for you:
- Transparency about responsibilities
- Differentiation between teams & the individual roles
- Authority to issue instructions
- Personnel planning: What else is needed?
- Resource planning: tasks can be reallocated
- Change management & restructuring
How is an organizational chart created?
Before you create a structure plan, you need to clarify a few questions:
- What do you want to display & how extensive should the structure be?
- What information do you need?
- Which tool would you like to use to create it?
- How would you like to symbolize hierarchies, chains of command, relationships, etc.?
There are now numerous tools that you can use for this. Choose the tool that is easiest for you to use. For example, you can choose from Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other graphics software.
Types of organizational charts
There are several different types of structure plan. A distinction is made between the following 3:
- Hierarchical organization chart
- Matrix organization chart
- Flat organizational charts





