A dominance hierarchy is a social structure which arises when members of a social group interact to create a social structure with a linear or nearly linear ranking system, with that ranking system directly correlated to the distribution of some underlining desired resources within the system such as economics value, social prestige etc. The conflictual relations that are an inherent part of this type of social system are a constant potential for disorder, and it is seen that there needs to be some counter prevailing force exerted in order to maintain the social structure. The order is seen to derive through the exercising of authority in a top-down fashion from some centralized control system at the top through a well-defined chain of command. The dynamics of dominance hierarchies composed predominantly of competitive relations are described within sociology by conflict theory.