superior (hierarchy)
{{Short description|Position at a higher level in the hierarchy}}
{{Expand language |langcode=pl |otherarticle=Przełożony|date=August 2021}}
In a hierarchy or tree structure of any kind, a superior is an individual or position at a higher level in the hierarchy than another (a "subordinate" or "inferior"), and thus closer to the apex.
General
A superior generally has the power to approve or deny requests from subordinates, within the scope of the relevant organization. The superior may control the careers of subordinates; for instance, they may have the authority to give raises or promotions.{{cite journal |last1=Thompson |first1=Victor A. |title=Hierarchy, Specialization, and Organizational Conflict |journal=Administrative Science Quarterly |date=1961 |volume=5 |issue=4 |pages=485–521 |doi=10.2307/2390618 |jstor=2390618 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2390618 |access-date=1 February 2024 |issn=0001-8392|url-access=subscription }}
Superiors are given sometimes supreme authority over others under their command. When an order is given, one must follow that order and obey it or punishment may be issued.{{cn|date=January 2024}}
By organization
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Superiors in different organizations may have different titles, roles, and responsibilities.
=Business=
In business, superiors are people who are supervisors.
=Military=
In the military, superiors are people who are higher in the chain of command (superior officer).
=Catholic Church=
{{further|Hierarchy of the Catholic Church}}
A {{vanchor|religious superior}} is the person to whom a cleric is immediately responsible under canon law. For monks, it would be the abbot (or the abbess for nuns); for friars, it would be the prior, or, for Franciscans, the guardian (custos), for Minims, the corrector; for diocesan priests, it would be the local bishop. In religious orders with a hierarchy above the local community, there will also be superiors general and possibly provincial superiors above the local abbot, prior, or mother superior. The priest in charge a mission sui iuris is called an ecclesiastical superior.
See also
{{wiktionary|Superior}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Catholic consecrated life}}
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