Comment by projektfu

Having worked for a "flat" organization that grew past 200 employees (cf. Dunbar's number) and was on its way to a thousand, hierarchy did indeed form and it was often like a shogunate, although without the peasants.

But orgs with clear org charts often have hidden political hierarchies as well. It would be nice if you could count on your supervisor and expect your supervisees to do as you ask, but a formal hierarchy is only effective if it's actually enforced and other hierarchies are suppressed. In practice, the formal hierarchy can become the tool used to enforce the goals of the alternative hierarchy.

Chesterton's fence makes sense in a deliberative process but old fences are often just in the way. In a lot of ways, the default position on this front is mere obstructionism.