Since they first appeared in the mid-1800s, organization charts — more commonly called “org charts” — have evolved to reflect the progressively changing nature of business. Each new way of portraying companies has been meant to present the management philosophy governing them. Each new version has been intended to signal to everyone both inside and outside a company how to envision its organization.

The earliest example of an organization chart, created in 1855, portrayed the workforce, stations, and trackage of the New York and Erie Railroad. It is preserved today in the Library of Congress. Elegantly designed to look like a tree with many branches, from across the room it could be mistaken for a framed floral print on the wall in a gift shop.

In the early 20th century, the precursor for the company that became IBM pioneered an undecorated org chart more like one of today’s typical versions. It showed the company’s corporate structure based on departmental functions, which they labelled “manufacturing,” “systems,” “sales,” and so forth.

Later in the 20th century, as brand names of products like breakfast cereals became better known than their manufacturers, org charts were designed accordingly, showing the management and staff responsible for every aspect of producing, marketing, and distributing its main product lines.