[ken]

One partial solution to having a single power hierarchy is having multiple power hierarchies. Then no one person is the boss of me, and when someone wants something done, they can't just order me to do it. They can't be a jerk to me or they might find their work assigned to my lowest priority.

It can go horribly wrong, too ("I have eight different bosses, Bob!"). I don't think there's any power structure which can prevent selfish or malevolent people from harming the organization: "The machinery of government is always subordinate to the will of those who administer that machinery."