Читать книгу Reframing Organizations - Lee G. Bolman - Страница 85

In a divisionalized organization (see Exhibit 4.2), the bulk of the work is done in semi‐autonomous units, such as freestanding campuses in a multi‐campus university, areas of expertise in a large multi‐specialty hospital, or independent business units in a Fortune 500 firm (Mintzberg, 1979). Johnson & Johnson, for example, is among the world's largest companies (#35 on the Fortune 500 in 2020). It has more than 275 operating companies lodged in over 60 countries. Its medical device division is the world's largest. Its pharmaceutical division is even bigger. Its consumer products division markets an assortment of well‐known brands like Neutrogena, Tylenol, Band‐Aids, and Rogaine.

Although J&J's divisions often have little in common, the company's executives argue that there is a level of shared synergy and stability that have paid off over time. Despite setbacks in the Tylenol crisis of 1982 and a series of product recalls in 2010 and 2012, J&J has raised its dividend every year for more than half a century and in 2020 was one of the last two U.S. companies still carrying a AAA credit rating.

Exhibit 4.2. Divisionalized Form.

Source: Mintzberg (1979, p. 393). Copyright ©1979. Reprinted by permission of Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.

One of the oldest businesses in the United States, Berwind Corporation began in coal‐mining in 1886. It now houses divisions in business sectors as diverse as manufacturing, financial services, real estate, and land management. Each division serves a distinct market and supports its own functional units. Division presidents are accountable to the corporate office in Philadelphia for specific results: profits, sales growth, and return on investment. As long as they deliver, divisions have relatively free rein. Philadelphia manages the strategic portfolio and allocates resources based on its assessment of market opportunities.

Divisionalized structure offers economies of scale, resources, and responsiveness while controlling economic risks, but it creates other tensions. One is a cat‐and‐mouse game between headquarters and divisions. Headquarters wants oversight, while divisional managers try to evade corporate control:

Our top management likes to make all the major decisions. They think they do, but I've seen one case where a division beat them. I received … a request from the division for a chimney. I couldn't see what anyone would do with a chimney … [But] they've built and equipped a whole plant on plant expense orders. The chimney is the only indivisible item that exceeded the $50,000 limit we put on plant expense orders. Apparently they learned that a new plant wouldn't be formally received, so they built the damn thing. (Bower, 1970, p. 189)

Another risk in independent divisions form is that headquarters may lose touch with operations. As one manager put it, “Headquarters is where the rubber meets the air.” Divisionalized enterprises become unwieldy unless goals are measurable and reliable information systems are in place (Mintzberg, 1979).