Centralization/Decentralization and Shared Services Literature:
1. Centralization vs. Decentralization – The Debate – charts with brief
descriptions of benefits and costs of both. Summary: “Neither strategy is better nor
worse, the strategies are simply more or less appropriate under given circumstances.”
Ref: Cornell University Research Library (The Debate). Additional information on
Centralization and Decentralization provides basic information that explains the
implication of both with examples. It also points out that, “…decentralization is not the
same as delegation… decentralization is an extension of delegation.” Ref: Management
Study Guide, a Free Library for Students of Business Studies (Centralization and
Decentralization). An added study guide from the same source provides more information
on Delegation and Decentralization – simple definitions relating to the art/skill of
delegation and that of having a decentralized decision making model/process.
(Delegation and Decentralization). The continued description and explanation of
Centralization and Decentralization providing the strengths of both and also providing
three forms of decentralization:
 Deconcentration. The weakest form of decentralization. Decision making
authority is redistributed to lower or regional levels of the same central
organization.
 Delegation. A more extensive form of decentralization. Through delegation the
responsibility for decision-making is transferred to semi-autonomous
organizations not wholly controlled by the central organization, but ultimately
accountable to it.
 Devolution. A third type of decentralization is devolution. The authority for
decision-making is transferred completely to autonomous organizational units.
Ref: 12Manage, The Executive Fast Track (Executive Fast Track).
2. Making the Decision to Decentralize (Harvard Business School – Working
Knowledge series) 3/29/2004: Starts off with an excerpt from a recently published book,
The Future of Work: How the New Order of Business Will Shape Your Organization,
Your Management Style, and Your Life by Thomas W. Malone, Professor of Management
at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and provides additional information as to the
relative advantages and disadvantages of different decision-making structures: “…that
the cheap cost of communication – e-mail, instant messaging, the Internet – is making
possible a new type of organizational structure. This organization of the future will be
decentralized, the term defined as ‘participation of people in making the decisions that
matter to them.’ Decentralization brings with it increased productivity and quality of life,
but decentralization isn’t right in every situation.” This article also provides some
excellent additional reference material. (Making the Decision to Decentralize)
3. SHARED SERVICES REPORT – An interesting report/study by the Eau Claire
City Council Shared Services Committee which was created for the purpose of studying
the services provided by the city and assessing the short and long-term opportunities for
shared services and service consolidation among area local governments and
organizations. Provides on pp. 13 Appendix C. related shared services studies from
alternatives for the delivery of government services to other partnerships and
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collaboration efforts and in Appendix D provides summary of some of the city shared
services strategies. (Shared Services Report)
4. FLATTENING ORGANIZATIONS: PRACTICES AND STANDARDS,
California Research Bureau, California State Library CRB 97-004 (September 1997),
examines public and private organizational structures, including management/rank and
file ratios (span of control), the factors that underlie optimum standards, incentives that
foster enhanced performance, and the success or failure of recent efforts to restructure
operations. It provides information on California departments and commissions relating
to span of control and the efforts in “flattening” organizations. Also provides an excellent
bibliography. (Flattening Organizations)
5. DRIVING HIGH PERFORMANCE IN GOVERNMENT: MAXIMIZING THE
VALUE OF PUBLIC-SECTOR SHARED SERVICES (Accenture, January 2005). In
this article, Accenture aims to show how the drive toward high-performance government
can be supported through implementing shared services. Shared services help
governments be more client-centered, outcome-oriented and accountable, by allowing
governments to focus on their core responsibilities and to operate more efficiently.*
Ultimately, shared services can increase public-sector value—the return government gets
on its investments—by decreasing administrative costs by up to 25 percent and freeing up
human resources to be redirected to citizen facing front-office programs. When used
correctly, shared services can be an engine of high performance, delivering significant
cost reductions and dramatic service improvements, both of which result in improved
value. Article describes Methodology, Four Key Findings and Leading practices of the
innovators. (Driving High Performance in Government)
A footnote in the forward of the report may say it all: “Accenture research suggests that high performers
in the public sector base the value they create on two criteria: the outcomes they deliver for citizens and the
cost-effectiveness they achieve. By focusing on both outcomes and cost-effectiveness, high performance
government organizations strive not only to do the right things, but also to do them in the right way”. Pp 2
*
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