Hurray for hierarchy

ON Easter Sunday, I was so touched by the brief yet beautiful blessing of Pope Francis. He appeared in his wheelchair and declared “Buona Pasqua!” (Happy Easter!). I did not expect to write this column so early as I was so pleased to see his miraculous recovery. Once again, it showed us the uncertainty and unpredictability of life. Today’s column is not to repeat what was already mentioned about the blessed life of Pope Francis but to pay my meagre tribute to him through the column of “humane results”.

- By Ajantha Dharmasiri

Overview

I recall seeing Pope Francis physically at close distance when he visited Sri Lanka from 13 to 15 January 2015. My late son was a member of the children’s choir who sang the welcome song at the airport. I still remember the solemn moment of the canonisation of Blessed Joseph Vaz, as the first Catholic Saint of Sri Lanka. The glimpses of the “pro-people” Pope with fitting humility and simplicity are still lingering in my mind.

Pope Francis inherited one of the world’s oldest hierarchies. The experts say there are only two consistent longstanding hierarchies in the world. One is military. The other is the Catholic Church. It is opportune time to look at the details of the latter.

Hierarchy in focus

According to dictionary definitions, hierarchy is any system of persons or things ranked one above another. It is also a way of governance. It can further be described as an organised body of ecclesiastical officials in successive ranks or orders. It origins from the Greek term hierarches, meaning “leader of sacred rites”.

A hierarchy can link entities either directly or indirectly, and either vertically or horizontally. It connects subordinates to superiors showing the reporting relationships. It is a vital part of the broad managerial pillar called organising.

Organising is important because it follows the management function of planning. Planning and strategy define what to do; organising defines how to do it. Organisation structure is a tool that managers use to harness resources for getting things accomplished. It can also be described as the deployment of organisational resources to achieve strategic goals.