Understanding the Organization Hierarchy
The organization hierarchy is a system for structuring records and users into departments within a business. It helps establish order, clarify relationships, streamline decision-making, and aggregate organizational data effectively.
The hierarchy is often used to control permissions for viewing or managing specific records based on a user’s position within the hierarchy. This is particularly valuable for ensuring sensitive or confidential information is accessible only to those who need it for their roles or responsibilities.
Example of an Organizational Hierarchy
In a company, the hierarchy might include levels such as:
- Organization
- Division
- Region
- Department
Access to records can be restricted according to this hierarchy. For instance:
- Regional-Level Employees: Employees at a Regional level have access to records linked to their Region and all Departments within that Region.
- Department-Level Employees: Employees in a Department only have access to records contextualized to their specific Department.
Example Scenario:
Someone in Western Europe may have access to records for HR and Finance because both Departments fall under their Region. However, someone in Finance would not have access to records related to Marketing.
Using the Context Attribute
The Context Attribute links a record to a specific node in the hierarchy. This feature ensures that only users associated with that node - or a higher level in the hierarchy - can see and access the record.
Additionally, the owner of the record will always have access, regardless of their position in the hierarchy.