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- All HBS Web (394)
- Faculty Publications (192)
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- April 2000 (Revised December 2001)
- Case
AirTex Aviation
By: Brian J. Hall and Carleen Madigan
Two young and inexperienced MBAs buy a virtually bankrupt company. They design a decentralized control system organized around profit centers. As a case in control systems, there is ample detail for a discussion of design issues, control of independent profit centers,... View Details
Keywords: Air Transportation; Management Systems; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Air Transportation Industry
Hall, Brian J., and Carleen Madigan. "AirTex Aviation." Harvard Business School Case 800-269, April 2000. (Revised December 2001.)
- August 1995
- Case
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: IT Organization and Architecture Challenges
By: Richard L. Nolan
Presents the outcome of Air Products ICON decentralization projects. New issues are explored, including the challenges of having a decentralized MIS staff, global network, client/server architecture, new data center issues, outsourcing, a new highly strategic customer... View Details
Keywords: Information Technology; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Organizational Design; Problems and Challenges
Nolan, Richard L. "Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: IT Organization and Architecture Challenges." Harvard Business School Case 196-017, August 1995.
- July 2004
- Article
Determinants of Control System Design in Divisionalized Firms
By: Margaret A. Abernethy, Jan Bouwens and Laurence van Lent
We investigate two determinants of two choices in the control system of divisionalized firms, namely decentralization and use of performance measures. The two determinants are those identified in the literature as important to control system design: (1) information... View Details
Keywords: Design; Organizational Design; Business Divisions; Management Systems; Performance Evaluation
Abernethy, Margaret A., Jan Bouwens, and Laurence van Lent. "Determinants of Control System Design in Divisionalized Firms." Accounting Review 79, no. 3 (July 2004): 545–570.
- May 1987 (Revised February 2000)
- Case
Codman & Shurtleff, Inc.: Planning and Control System
By: Robert L. Simons
Detailed description of the planning and control systems in use at Johnson & Johnson. Focuses on the actions of managers in one subsidiary in revising budget targets. Illustrates intensive strategic planning and financial planning process in a large, decentralized... View Details
Keywords: Strategic Planning; Planning; Forecasting and Prediction; Accounting Audits; Budgets and Budgeting; Business Strategy; Financial Management; Business or Company Management; Management Systems; Public Administration Industry; Financial Services Industry
Simons, Robert L. "Codman & Shurtleff, Inc.: Planning and Control System." Harvard Business School Case 187-081, May 1987. (Revised February 2000.)
- August 1982 (Revised January 1988)
- Case
Assuming Control at Altex Aviation (A)
Two young and inexperienced MBAs buy a virtually bankrupt company. They design a decentralized control system organized around profit centers. View Details
Churchill, Neil C., and Kenneth A. Merchant. "Assuming Control at Altex Aviation (A)." Harvard Business School Case 183-058, August 1982. (Revised January 1988.)
- January 1980
- Case
Technotronics, Inc.
Describes the problems of resolving differences between two departments in a decentralized company. Based on Voltamp Electric Co. by T.C. Raymond. View Details
Schlesinger, Leonard A. "Technotronics, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 480-054, January 1980.
- March 2022 (Revised August 2022)
- Case
LooksRare: The Decentralized, Tokenized, NFT Marketplace
By: Scott Duke Kominers, Shai Bernstein and George Gonzalez
LooksRare launched a decentralized and anonymous organization to compete against NFT marketplace leader OpenSea. By launching its own cryptocurrency, LooksRare attempted to lure users with a digital rewards program. The nature of the organization and its business... View Details
Keywords: NFTs; Alternative Assets; Blockchain; Cryptocurrency; Customer Relationship Management; Market Entry and Exit; Business Model; Marketing
Kominers, Scott Duke, Shai Bernstein, and George Gonzalez. "LooksRare: The Decentralized, Tokenized, NFT Marketplace." Harvard Business School Case 822-119, March 2022. (Revised August 2022.)
- 17 Jun 2008
- First Look
First Look: June 17, 2008
Nanda Abstract Using loan-level data from Mexico, we study the relationship between the organizational structure of banks and the terms of lending to small businesses. We find that banks with decentralized lending structures—where branch... View Details
Keywords: Martha Lagace
- December 1994 (Revised October 2009)
- Case
AES Honeycomb (A)
By: Lynn S. Paine and Sarah C. Mavrinac
Senior managers of the AES Corp., an independent power producer, must decide whether to drop the company's emphasis on corporate values and revamp organizational controls as advised by investment analysts and outside counsel. The company is recovering from an incident... View Details
Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Energy Generation; Values and Beliefs; Corporate Governance; Governance Controls; Crisis Management; Organizational Structure; Environmental Sustainability; Energy Industry; United States
Paine, Lynn S., and Sarah C. Mavrinac. "AES Honeycomb (A)." Harvard Business School Case 395-132, December 1994. (Revised October 2009.)
- 01 Nov 2010
- Research & Ideas
How IT Shapes Top-Down and Bottom-Up Decision Making
assistant professor of strategy at Harvard Business School. “If a CEO can trust his senior managers, he will be more willing to decentralize decision-making” "The bottom line is that whoever is in charge of the acquisitions and the... View Details
Keywords: by Carmen Nobel
- June 2005
- Case
Growth and Profitability at Fresenius
By: Joel Podolny, Vincent Dessain, Monika Stachowiak and Anders Sjoman
In March 2005, Mark Schneider, CEO of Fresenius, is considering the group's strategic and organizational future. The highly decentralized 7 billion euro German health care group is active in three different business units, with the largest, FMC AG, listed separately... View Details
Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Diversification; Organizational Structure; Growth and Development Strategy; Health Industry; Germany
Podolny, Joel, Vincent Dessain, Monika Stachowiak, and Anders Sjoman. "Growth and Profitability at Fresenius." Harvard Business School Case 405-083, June 2005.
- July 1990 (Revised October 1999)
- Case
Nordstrom: Dissension in the Ranks? (A)
By: Robert L. Simons and Hilary Weston
In 1989, the performance measurement systems and compensation policies of Nordstrom Department Stores unexpectedly came under attack by employees, unions, and government regulators. The case describes the "sales-per-hour" monitoring and compensation system that many... View Details
Keywords: Performance Consistency; Performance Evaluation; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Labor Unions; Salesforce Management; Retention; Growth and Development; Industrial Products Industry; Utilities Industry
Simons, Robert L., and Hilary Weston. "Nordstrom: Dissension in the Ranks? (A)." Harvard Business School Case 191-002, July 1990. (Revised October 1999.)
- May 2010
- Article
Does Product Market Competition Lead Firms to Decentralize?
By: Nicholas Bloom, Raffaella Sadun and John Van Reenen
There is a widespread sense that over the last two decades firms have been decentralizing decisions to employees further down the managerial hierarchy. Economists have developed a range of theories to account for delegation, but there is less empirical evidence,... View Details
Keywords: Product; Markets; Competition; Business Ventures; Geographic Location; Employees; Research; Programs; Decisions
Bloom, Nicholas, Raffaella Sadun, and John Van Reenen. "Does Product Market Competition Lead Firms to Decentralize?" American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings 100, no. 2 (May 2010): 434–438.
- March 1953 (Revised August 1985)
- Case
Rose Co.
An accounting executive is appointed plant manager, his first major "line" assignment. The plant is to be operated on a decentralized basis, contrary to the company's other plans. Administrative problems are anticipated. View Details
Hower, Ralph M., and Edmund P. Learned. "Rose Co." Harvard Business School Case 453-002, March 1953. (Revised August 1985.)
- October 2017
- Case
Shift Technologies, Inc.
By: Thomas Eisenmann and Nicole Tempest Keller
In 2017, management at Shift, an online marketplace that uses a “high touch,” concierge approach to buy and sell used cars, was formulating plans for the San Francisco–based startup’s next phase of expansion. One option was to preserve Shift’s current business model... View Details
Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Market Design; Multi-Sided Platforms; Marketplace Matching; Growth and Development Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Auto Industry; Retail Industry; United States
Eisenmann, Thomas, and Nicole Tempest Keller. "Shift Technologies, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 818-002, October 2017.
- August 1992
- Case
Johnson & Johnson in the 1990s
Describes the major challenges facing Ralph Larsen, CEO of Johnson & Johnson since 1989, as he strives to maintain the company's decentralized management structure and at the same time keep the company competitive in the 1990s. View Details
Pearson, Andrall E. "Johnson & Johnson in the 1990s." Harvard Business School Case 393-001, August 1992.
- 2011
- Working Paper
The Organization of Firms Across Countries
By: Nicholas Bloom, Raffaella Sadun and John Van Reenen
We argue that social capital as proxied by trust increases aggregate productivity by affecting the organization of firms. To do this we collect new data on the decentralization of investment, hiring, production, and sales decisions from Corporate Headquarters to local... View Details
Keywords: Geographic Location; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Multinational Firms and Management; Organizational Structure; Performance Productivity; Trust; Asia; Europe; United States
Bloom, Nicholas, Raffaella Sadun, and John Van Reenen. "The Organization of Firms Across Countries." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 12-005, August 2011. (Slides from 2008.)
- May 2001 (Revised May 2015)
- Case
Compagnie Lyonnaise de Transport (A)
By: Michael Tushman and Michael J. Roberts
Describes the issues surrounding the funding of a centralized research service that supports two related divisions. The company has a very decentralized and financially driven culture, and the centralized service is used unequally, setting up a conflict. View Details
Keywords: Business Divisions; Organizational Culture; Relationships; Conflict Management; Balance and Stability; Transportation Industry; France
Tushman, Michael, and Michael J. Roberts. "Compagnie Lyonnaise de Transport (A)." Harvard Business School Case 401-040, May 2001. (Revised May 2015.)
- September 2002
- Case
Seattle Public Schools, 1995-2002 (A): The Freedom Agenda
Describes efforts in Seattle Public Schools, under the leadership of Superintendent Joseph Olchefske, to replace the district's centralized budgeting process with school-level budgets. Olchefske's decentralization effort, referred to locally as the Freedom Agenda,... View Details
Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Management Practices and Processes; Operations; Education; Education Industry; Seattle
Leschly, Stig. "Seattle Public Schools, 1995-2002 (A): The Freedom Agenda." Harvard Business School Case 803-037, September 2002.
- April 1984
- Supplement
Johnson & Johnson (B): Hospital Services, James Burke, Video
By: Francis Aguilar
James Burke, chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson, discusses the decision to establish a hospital services company. The problem is that this new unit, created to serve 14 Johnson & Johnson companies, runs counter to the corporate culture where autonomy and... View Details
Keywords: Business Startups; Decision Making; Organizational Culture; Problems and Challenges; Health Industry
Aguilar, Francis. "Johnson & Johnson (B): Hospital Services, James Burke, Video." Harvard Business School Video Supplement 884-527, April 1984.