Throughout my business career I've always been a proponent of a flat organizational structure versus more traditional hierarchies. Dealing with entities in the healthcare industry provided me a good lesson on why the highly structured organizations can be a problem. In the case of the franchise industry, there are a number of reasons why a flat organizational structure works best. Following are some examples why franchisors and large franchisees should employ a flat organizational structure:

• Communication lines are more direct
• Information and feedback can more easily flow from the bottom up
• More efficient and less costly
• Easier to manage from top down
• No room to "hide"
• Less chance of the "company" message being misinterpreted
• Direct span of control encourages more manager decision making

When it comes to growing and developing an organization go for the flat structure over more cumbersome ones.