Convenience

Participation
Bureaucratic Control
Decentralized Control
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F I G U R E 1 4 . 6
Organizational Control
Organizational control generally falls somewhere between the two extremes of bureaucratic and
decentralized control. McDonald’s uses bureaucratic control, whereas Starbucks uses decentralized control.
bureaucratic control
A form of
organizational
control characterized
by formal and
mechanistic
structural
arrangements
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Part 5:
Controlling
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Decentralized Control
Decentralized control
, in contrast, is an approach to organizational control character-
ized by informal and organic structural arrangements. As Figure 14.6 shows, its goal is
employee commitment to the organization. Accordingly, it relies heavily on group norms
and a strong corporate culture, and gives employees the responsibility for controlling
themselves. Employees are encouraged to perform beyond minimally acceptable levels.
Organizations using this approach are usually relatively flat. They direct rewards at
group performance and favor widespread employee participation.
Starbucks allows local managers considerable discretion in the décor of each coffee
shop, as well as what merchandise is displayed. Another company that uses this
approach is Southwest Airlines. When Southwest made the decision to “go casual,” the
firm resisted the temptation to develop dress guidelines. Instead, managers decided to
allow employees to exercise discretion over their attire and to deal with clearly inappro-
priate situations on a case-by-case basis.
STRATEGIC CONTROL
Given the obvious importance of an organization’s strategy, it is also important that the
organization assess how effective that strategy is in helping the organization meet its
goals.
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To do this requires that the organization integrate its strategy and control
systems. This is especially true for the global organization.