This can be headed off by not rewarding bad behavior in peer reviews/manager reviews. In addition, such behavior could be used to lay off the offending person.

This can be headed off by not rewarding bad behavior in peer reviews/manager reviews. In addition, such behavior could be used to lay off the offending person. Not that I'm a fan of completely flat organizations. It should be noted that the right way to be productive in a flattish organization is to influence people - this is no different in a big company from a small company.