Examples of Centralized and Decentralized Organizations

Examples of Centralized and Decentralized Organizations

Derived from...
Ori Brafman & Rod A. Beckstrom; The Starfish and the Spider
Previously
Can you spot a starfish organisation? (Quiz)

RAP2: The Pendulum Swings
In the Industrial Age, the top-down controlled hierarchies of centralized organizations were dominant.
In our Information or Knowledge Age, inspired by the decentralized structure of the Internet, a swing toward loosely connected networks or cells is becoming more common.The immediate future suggests a flood of hybrid organizations that will change our view of organizational structure and leadership. Here's some examples of each type of organization...

Centralized

• Spiders
• Dictatorship
• Military
• Government
• Television
• Typical Corporation
• General Motors
• Microsoft

Decentralized

• Starfish
• Our Brain
• The Internet
• Alcoholics Anonymous
• Apache Indians
• Terrorist Cells
• Open Source Software
• Peer to Peer Software

Fusion

• Big Brother
• Wikipedia
• Craigslist
• Toyota
• Skype
• Ebay
• GE