pecking order

hierarchy within a social structure in which aggressiveness determines domination and control

Pecking order of animals Pecking order is a system of organization among a flock of poultry discovered by Thorleif Schjelderup-Ebbe in the early twentieth century. In this system, a bird pecks another bird who is of lower rank, and submits to pecking from a bird of higher rank. It is a basic concept in social hierarchy that has its counterpart in other animal species as well, including humans. Among mammals and other animals, the term "dominance hierarchy" is used. Still, the term "pecking order" is often used synonymously as well, because the "pecking order" was the first studied example of the social hierarchy among animals.
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For the various types of hierarchy, see hierarchy (disambiguation) A hierarchy (in Greek: , derived from — hieros, 'sacred', and — arkho, 'rule') is a system of ranking and organizing things or people, where each element of the system (except for the top element) is a subordinate to a single other element.
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Peck order the order of dominance established in a flock of birds and changed only by fighting. The concept is now transposed to all species and is [more]Pecking order - Community and Resources

Noun
1. the organization of people at different ranks in an administrative body
(synonym) hierarchy, power structure
(hypernym) organization, organisation
(part-holonym) administration, governance, governing body, establishment, brass, organization, organisation

from strongest to weakest, line of authority The first thing to learn about a company is the pecking order.