2 If you were just starting your career, would you like to think that there were steps you could advance up to reach a higher level, rather than having a career of perpetual sideways moves? According to Adrian Furnham, Professor of Psychology at the University of London, in answer to the question of whether we have gone too far in diluting the traditional hierarchy of organisation, this could very well be the case. He is reported as saying that:

there is a backlash against US‑style management orthodoxy that has tried to tame the drive for status by flattening hierarchies. The desire for status is a powerful force, and companies should not try to suppress it. Status is all about one-

upping the next person. The ego is a very powerful thing and companies must learn to exploit it. People are willing to trade down salary if it means trading up status. It is no coincidence that American companies tend to have dozens of vice-

presidents.

John Hunt, Emeritus Professor of Organisational Behaviour at the London Business School, made the point that the ‘egalitarian impulse behind dressing down (informal dress) has been subverted by status conscious workers who outdo their colleagues with designer labels’

(Bilefsky, 2000).