Strategy and Structure Chapters in the History of the American Industrial Enterprise

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Edition: Reprint
Format: Paperback
Pub. Date: 1969-08-15
Publisher(s): The MIT Press
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Summary

This book shows how the seventy largest corporations in America have dealt with a single economic problem: the effective administration of an expanding business. The author summarizes the history of the expansion of the nation's largest industries during the past hundred years and then examines in depth the modern decentralized corporate structure as it was developed independently by four companies--du Pont, General Motors, Standard Oil (New Jersey), and Sears, Roebuck. This 1990 reprint includes a new introduction by the author.

Author Biography

Alfred D. Chandler, Jr., received an A.B. in 1940 and a Ph.D. in 1952 from Harvard University. He is the Isidor Straus Professor of Business History, Emeritus, at Harvard Business School, where he has taught since 1970.

Table of Contents

Introduction--Strategy and Structurep. 1
Motives and Methodsp. 1
Some General Propositionsp. 7
Historical Settingp. 19
The Beginnings of Business Administration in the United Statesp. 20
The Coming of the Integrated, Multidepartmental Enterprisep. 24
Integration via Combination and Consolidationp. 29
Organization Buildingp. 36
Further Growth--The Coming of the Multidivisional Enterprisep. 42
Du Pont--Creating the Autonomous Divisionsp. 52
The Centralized Structurep. 52
The Strategy of Consolidationp. 53
Creating the Multidepartmental Structurep. 57
Structural Modifications--1903-1919p. 62
Further Centralization--1919p. 67
The Strategy of Diversificationp. 78
Initial Steps Toward Diversificationp. 79
Intensified Pressures for Diversificationp. 83
The Final Definition of the Strategy of Diversificationp. 88
New Structure for the New Strategyp. 91
New Problems Created by New Strategyp. 92
The Problems Analyzedp. 94
A New Structure Proposed and Rejectedp. 96
A Compromise Structure Adoptedp. 100
Crisis and the Acceptance of the Multidivisional Structurep. 104
General Motors--Creating the General Officep. 114
The Durant Strategyp. 114
The Sources of Durant's Strategyp. 115
The Creation of General Motorsp. 118
The Storrow Regimep. 120
Durant's Return and Renewed Expansion and Integrationp. 122
Du Pont Contributions to Durant's Organizationp. 125
The Crisis of 1920p. 128
The Sloan Structurep. 130
The Sources of Sloan's Structurep. 130
The "Organization Study"p. 133
Minor Modificationsp. 140
Putting the New Structure into Operationp. 142
Defining Divisional Boundariesp. 142
The Development of Statistical and Financial Controlsp. 145
Defining the Role of the Advisory Staffp. 153
The Role of the Executive Committeep. 157
The Finished Structurep. 158
A Comparison of Organization Building at General Motors and du Pontp. 161
Standard Oil Company (New Jersey)--Ad Hoc Reorganizationp. 163
Structure and Strategy Before 1925p. 164
The Strategy of Vertical Integration and Continued Expansionp. 170
Vertical Integration and the Creation of New Functional Departmentsp. 172
Expansion and the Older Departmentsp. 175
The Growth of Staff Departmentsp. 177
The Boardp. 181
Initial Awareness of Structural Weaknessesp. 182
The Initial Reorganization--1925-1926p. 185
Teagle's Troublesp. 186
The 1925 "Program"p. 188
The Coordination Department and Committeep. 189
The Budget Department and Committeep. 193
Reorganizing the Marketing Departmentp. 196
Reorganizing the Manufacturing Departmentp. 199
The Creation of the Multidivisional, "Decentralized" Structurep. 205
Continuing Difficultiesp. 205
The 1927 Changesp. 208
Working Out the New Structurep. 216
Some Final Considerationsp. 221
Sears, Roebuck and Company--Decentralization, Planned and Unplannedp. 225
Changing Strategy and Structurep. 225
Initial Strategy and Structurep. 226
The New Strategyp. 233
Structural Strains Created by the New Strategyp. 237
Abortive Decentralizationp. 241
The Frazer Committeep. 242
The Committee's Proposalsp. 243
Carrying Out the Committee's Proposalsp. 249
Frazer Reviews the New Structurep. 252
Continuing Conflict and Resulting Proposalsp. 253
The Territorial Organization Scrappedp. 260
Evolutionary Decentralizationp. 261
The Centralized Retail Organizationp. 261
Decentralization of the Retail Organizationp. 265
The Growth of Local Regional Administrative Unitsp. 267
The Return to the Territorial Organizationp. 268
The Final Structurep. 276
Organizational Innovation--A Comparative Analysisp. 283
The Adaptive Responsep. 284
Building the Functional Departmentsp. 285
Building the Central Officep. 290
The Creative Innovationp. 299
The Conditions for Innovationp. 299
The Process of Innovationp. 303
The Significance of the Innovationp. 309
Organizational Innovatorsp. 314
An Organization Builder's Personality and Trainingp. 315
Sources of Informationp. 320
The Spread of the Multidivisional Structurep. 324
Industries Not Accepting the New Structurep. 326
Copper and Nickelp. 327
Steelp. 331
Aluminump. 337
Materialsp. 340
Industries Partially Accepting the New Structurep. 342
Processors of Agricultural Productsp. 344
Rubberp. 350
Petroleump. 352
Industries Widely Accepting the New Structurep. 362
Electrical and Electronicsp. 363
Power Machinery and Automobilesp. 370
Chemicalsp. 374
Variations on Structural Changep. 378
The Merchandising Enterprisesp. 378
Summary of the Process of Structural Change within the Enterprisep. 380
Conclusion--Chapters in the History of the Great Industrial Enterprisep. 380
The First Chapter--Accumulating Resourcesp. 386
The Second Chapter--Rationalizing the Use of Resourcesp. 387
The Third Chapter--Continued Growthp. 390
The Fourth Chapter--Rationalizing the Use of Expanding Resourcesp. 393
Referencesp. 397
Notesp. 399
Indexp. 455
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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