Who is really at the top of the hierarchy?

As I was reading and searching for connotations for the angry white male, I often found the white male in a power struggle. The patients of the Combine often find themselves being belittled by Nurse Ratched, a white female. In the world outside the Combine, the white male usually has dominance over a white woman. In the hospital it is quite different. Harding explains to McMurphy that Nurse Ratched can insinuate anything. "She'll call a man to the door of the Nurses' Station and stand there and ask him about a Kleenex found under his bed. No more, just ask. And he'll feel like he's lying to her, whatever answer he gives, (Kesey, 61)." Most of the men feel too vulnerable to stand up to her, so when McMurphy enters the equation, it is quite interesting. Later in the book, after spending a night sleeping with Chief, McMurphy gets up early and starts walking around in a towel. When Nurse Ratched sees this, instead of blaming him, she blames her co-workers for not giving him new clothes. Does this mean that she is intimidated by him, or is afraid of being demeaning towards him?