The number of reporting authority levels between a given job position and the top authority level in the sequence.

• A. Chain of Command
• B. Span of Control
• C. Hierarchy Level
• D. Organizational Pyramid

Answer: (A)

Chain of command describes the flow of authority and who reports to whom within an organization. The item asks for the number of levels of authority between a given position and the top level. That count is the depth of that position in the chain of command—the number of supervisory steps separating you from the highest authority. This differs from span of control, which concerns how many direct reports a manager has. It also differs from a simple hierarchy level or an organizational pyramid, which are more about labeling levels or visually representing the structure rather than counting the steps up to the top. So the idea being tested is how many levels lie between a position and the top in the reporting chain.