Organizational Choices and General Management Influence Networks in Divisionalized Companies

The development of big businesses has been manifested in organizational structures which are based upon semi-autonomous operating divisions. Studies which have been developed to analyze the development of these organizations analyze such factors as division self-containment, complexity of coordinative devices, the average size and number of divisions, and product scope. Studies on the evolution of divisionalized companies show that most companies change to more complex organizational structures. This tendency is usually characterized by more self-containment which requires more complex coordinating devices such as planning and budgeting. Secondly, the studies show that the level of management which exerts the most influence upon organizational changes has shifted from divisional general managers and below to the corporate officers and staff.