Which term means the removal of several layers of management to flatten the hierarchy?

• A. Centralization
• B. Empowerment
• C. De-layering
• D. Chain of Command

Answer: (C)

Flattening the organization means cutting out levels of management to create a shorter, more direct line from top to bottom. The term for this is de-layering. By removing several layers, decision-making can move faster, communication improves, and costs related to middle managers can be reduced. Centralization, in contrast, concentrates authority at the top and may keep more layers; empowerment focuses on giving employees more autonomy without necessarily changing the number of levels; the chain of command is simply the reporting structure, not a method for reducing layers.