While this question might seem boring to some, what could Niels Bohr’s 1922 Nobel Prize for his model of atoms, such as the model of a carbon atom in the picture, have to do with organizations? As it turns out, quite a bit. (The rings show the most likely locations of the electrons.) According to Bohr’s model as in the picture, an electron gains a photon (+.006) in going from level n =1 to the next higher energy level of n = 2 (from the CEO Level to the Division Level with a .006 increase in the uncertainty of authority). Conversely, an electron gives up a photon (-.006) in going the other way from n = 2 to the next lower energy level of n = 1 (from the Division Level to the CEO Level with a .006 decrease in the uncertainty of authority).*
In organizations, the stability of the management structure depends on whether a trained and experienced social-analyst has staffed the otherwise missing n = 6 Midlevel. Properly staffed, the superposition of the individual management positions at the Midlevel becomes infectious. A group’s ability at this level to work across management levels stabilizes the entire structure. At that n = 6 level, the statistical uncertainty of authority would be 6 × .006 = .036, or random rather than organized on average 1 out of every 28 times, which in terms of the days in a month would be slightly more than 1 day every month, or about 2 weeks out of every year (right around the average length of vacations in the U.S. in 2023 of 10-14 days).
For one, the constraints of time and distance fade away in these transitions. For another, the stability of the entire management structure positively impacts operations. In the next diagram as W. Edwards Deming emphasized throughout his illustrious career, needed materials arrive just in time with operations kept at an optimal pace. This steady pace minimizes inventory carrying costs along with variations in the quality of products and services. With variations reduced, quality and profit increase, as does spare time. In Midlevel group meetings, this extra time gets put to good use. Goals and market demands get met. There’s time for succession planning for orderly transitions to the next generation. Absent a functional Midlevel to secure the future, most everyone finds succession planning a big bore and a waste of time. However with a properly staffed Midlevel, employees can look forward to a bright future and the organization to long-term success.
Footnote:
* In going from one level to another, statistically .006 = 2pi ✕ .001 is equivalent to Bohr’s h = 2pi ✕ △L quantum formula. (Refer to Tool Making to Making Time available as a eBook off this website.) Here .006 for the significance of authority (when responsibility is not significant) is equivalent to Planck’s h constant for the change in energy from one level to another, and .001 for the significance of responsibility (when authority, while physically real, is imaginary) is equivalent to △L for the change in an electron’s angular momentum. As you might notice, that means that authority and responsibility are not statistically significant at the same time, which follows from Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle in the quantum condition, where a particle’s position and the momentum cannot be known at the same time. However, a portion of each one, totaling 100% in combination, can be known, which is also the case for authority and responsibility.