1. A method of modeling a relational database, comprising the steps of: defining a set of data tables to accommodate any number of levels of a business hierarchy, said set of data tables including: a first control table, a second table containing hierarchy nodes in a flattened format, a third table storing unique hierarchy node names, and a fourth table describing the hierarchy nodes in one or more languages; and using said set of data tables as a generic data model to handle various levels of requirements of the business hierarchy.