superhierarchy

English

Etymology

From super- +‎ hierarchy.

Noun

superhierarchy (plural superhierarchies)

1. A higher or superior hierarchy.
   • 1953, John M. Pfiffner, Public Administration‎^[1], The Ronald Press Company, page 402:

     What happens to Australian wool or Bolivian tin has profound and immediate repercussions in New York, London, and Des Moines. The world is becoming more and more a galaxy of economic superhierarchies which coordinate local subhierarchies.

   • 1965, Simulation, Volume 5‎^[2], SAGE Publications, page 74:

     Now, Ben says there is a need to develop a superhierarchy of good management.

   • 1998, The Virtual Dimension: Architecture, Representation, and Crash Culture‎^[3], Princeton Architectural Press, →ISBN, page 280:

     Thus, when several bureaucracies coexist (governmental, academic, ecclesiastic) in the absence of a superhierarchy to coordinate their interactions, the whole set of institutions will tend to form a meshwork of hierarchies, articulated mostly through local and temporary links.

Related terms

• subhierarchy