A lateral relationship in management is a link between two employees of the same organization who are at the same level of authority. They may not have the same job title or description, but they report to either the same person or to people who are of equal standing in the company's chain of command. The term describes the 'side by side' relationship that two employees may have in the hierarchical structure of a business.
To illustrate this let me give you an example of this association. Imagine a factory that manufactures bicycles. At one end of the plant there is a supervisor who is in charge of the production line that produces the wheels of the bike; at the other end a supervisor who controls the production line that makes the frame. Both of these parts are essential elements of the bicycle; both as important as each other and both reliant on the other part for the whole bike to work properly. The two supervisors share the same line manager - the Head of Overall Production. They both report to him and take their respective orders from him. Neither the Supervisor of Wheel Production nor the Supervisor of Frame Production have the authority to give the other a direct order: Therefore, they have a lateral relationship. I hope this has made things a little clearer for you and a little easier to understand.
To illustrate this let me give you an example of this association. Imagine a factory that manufactures bicycles. At one end of the plant there is a supervisor who is in charge of the production line that produces the wheels of the bike; at the other end a supervisor who controls the production line that makes the frame. Both of these parts are essential elements of the bicycle; both as important as each other and both reliant on the other part for the whole bike to work properly. The two supervisors share the same line manager - the Head of Overall Production. They both report to him and take their respective orders from him. Neither the Supervisor of Wheel Production nor the Supervisor of Frame Production have the authority to give the other a direct order: Therefore, they have a lateral relationship. I hope this has made things a little clearer for you and a little easier to understand.
