## Hourglass Structure

The hourglass structure is a three-layer organisational design with a constricted (narrow) middle management layer, resembling the shape of an hourglass.

```

[ Top Management ] ← broad strategic layer

[ Middle ] ← short and narrow

[ Lower Level Employees ] ← broad operational layer

```

### Why It Emerges

Information technology and communications increasingly replace tasks traditionally performed by middle managers.
IT links top and bottom levels directly, removing the need for many middle-level intermediaries.
The remaining middle managers are skewed — they perform cross-functional duties rather than traditional supervisory roles.

### Benefits

1. Reduced costs — fewer middle-management salaries and overheads.

2. Enhanced responsiveness — simplified decision making with authority pushed closer to the source of information.

3. Faster decisions — decision-making authority shifted to where information originates.

### Disadvantage

Reduced promotion opportunities for lower-level employees, since the middle layer is intentionally small.

Worked example

### Example 1

Case (MTP1 Nov 2021): Maadhyam, a hearing aid manufacturer, introduced an AI-based management tool that manages teams across functions, replaces many middle-management tasks, and links top and bottom levels. Skewed middle-level managers now perform cross-functional duties.

→ The new structure is an Hourglass structure. Benefits: reduced costs (fewer middle managers), faster decision-making (authority near information source), improved responsiveness.

⚠️ Common exam mistakes

Describing hourglass as simply 'flat' — it is not flat, it retains all three layers but makes the middle very narrow.
Forgetting the disadvantage (fewer promotion paths for junior employees) — exams often ask for balanced answers.
Not linking IT/AI as the driver of the hourglass shape — the technology angle is the key trigger.

Reference:

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