Tall or flat: Organizations may be like tall pyramids in which there are many levels with a person at each level controlling as few as three people, while flatter organizations will have fewer levels, but with as many as 30 people reporting to one person. Too narrow a span leads to over-supervision and dampens initiative, while too wide a span leads to a lack of control and subordinates working in a misguided way or making errors that go unnoticed. The number of levels can be changed - Transco (the distribution arm of British Gas) reduced its management levels from 13 to 6 while still employing a staff of 16,000.