Analyse how delayering might affect the level of profit of a business

Delayering is the process of removing hierarchical layers from an organisation. This process tends to lead to a wider span of control for managers which may provide some motivational stimulus as they perceive their role to be of more importance. A higher level of motivation is often associated with longer working hours, higher productivity and more satisfied workers. However, delayering also increases the workloads of managers which could have the adverse affect whereby employees are "snowed in" with work and this will reduce their productivity which in turns raises the costs for the business.
Secondly, a wider span of control can worsen communication as managers have more people to communicate with. Poor communication tends to lead to slower decision making, lack of cohesive strategy, and lower standards of customer service. On the other hand, removing layers as a process will increase the level of vertical communication which can have many positives for a business such as innovation from the employees being implemented and faster decision making. This points to a balance that needs to be struck and as such, delayering is likely to be very positive for a business if done correctly (especially when removing very expensive middle management layers) however attention needs to be paid to the process to prevent the possible negative effects.