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

by Alfred D. Chandler

Overview

"It is impossible in a bare outline to do anything like justice to the subtlety (if also, sometimes, the prolixity) of the argument and to the wealth of telling instances with which it is illustrated. The argument is not dogmatic or rigid and allows plenty of room for deviations, variants, and exceptions.... There is no doubt that this is a book of first-class importance...significant, not only for its substantive conclusions, original though these are, but as an example of the way in which fruitful relations can be established between economic and business history."
-- Journal of Economic History

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781587981982
Publisher:	Beard Books, Incorporated
Publication date:	01/28/1962
Pages:	480
Product dimensions:	1.07(w) x 5.00(h) x 8.00(d)

Table of Contents

	Introduction--Strategy and Structure	1
	Motives and Methods	1
	Some General Propositions	7
1	Historical Setting	19
	The Beginnings of Business Administration in the United States	20
	The Coming of the Integrated, Multidepartmental Enterprise	24
	Integration via Combination and Consolidation	29
	Organization Building	36
	Further Growth--The Coming of the Multidivisional Enterprise	42
2	Du Pont--Creating the Autonomous Divisions	52
	The Centralized Structure	52
	The Strategy of Consolidation	53
	Creating the Multidepartmental Structure	57
	Structural Modifications--1903-1919	62
	Further Centralization--1919	67
	The Strategy of Diversification	78
	Initial Steps Toward Diversification	79
	Intensified Pressures for Diversification	83
	The Final Definition of the Strategy of Diversification	88
	New Structure for the New Strategy	91
	New Problems Created by New Strategy	92
	The Problems Analyzed	94
	A New Structure Proposed and Rejected	96
	A Compromise Structure Adopted	100
	Crisis and the Acceptance of the Multidivisional Structure	104
3	General Motors--Creating the General Office	114
	The Durant Strategy	114
	The Sources of Durant's Strategy	115
	The Creation of General Motors	118
	The Storrow Regime	120
	Durant's Return and Renewed Expansion and Integration	122
	Du Pont Contributions to Durant's Organization	125
	The Crisis of 1920	128
	The Sloan Structure	130
	The Sources of Sloan's Structure	130
	The "Organization Study"	133
	Minor Modifications	140
	Putting the New Structure into Operation	142
	Defining Divisional Boundaries	142
	The Development of Statistical and Financial Controls	145
	Defining the Role of the Advisory Staff	153
	The Role of the Executive Committee	157
	The Finished Structure	158
	A Comparison of Organization Building at General Motors and du Pont	161
4	Standard Oil Company (New Jersey)--Ad Hoc Reorganization	163
	Structure and Strategy Before 1925	164
	The Strategy of Vertical Integration and Continued Expansion	170
	Vertical Integration and the Creation of New Functional Departments	172
	Expansion and the Older Departments	175
	The Growth of Staff Departments	177
	The Board	181
	Initial Awareness of Structural Weaknesses	182
	The Initial Reorganization--1925-1926	185
	Teagle's Troubles	186
	The 1925 "Program"	188
	The Coordination Department and Committee	189
	The Budget Department and Committee	193
	Reorganizing the Marketing Department	196
	Reorganizing the Manufacturing Department	199
	The Creation of the Multidivisional, "Decentralized" Structure	205
	Continuing Difficulties	205
	The 1927 Changes	208
	Working Out the New Structure	216
	Some Final Considerations	221
5	Sears, Roebuck and Company--Decentralization, Planned and Unplanned	225
	Changing Strategy and Structure	225
	Initial Strategy and Structure	226
	The New Strategy	233
	Structural Strains Created by the New Strategy	237
	Abortive Decentralization	241
	The Frazer Committee	242
	The Committee's Proposals	243
	Carrying Out the Committee's Proposals	249
	Frazer Reviews the New Structure	252
	Continuing Conflict and Resulting Proposals	253
	The Territorial Organization Scrapped	260
	Evolutionary Decentralization	261
	The Centralized Retail Organization	261
	Decentralization of the Retail Organization	265
	The Growth of Local Regional Administrative Units	267
	The Return to the Territorial Organization	268
	The Final Structure	276
6	Organizational Innovation--A Comparative Analysis	283
	The Adaptive Response	284
	Building the Functional Departments	285
	Building the Central Office	290
	The Creative Innovation	299
	The Conditions for Innovation	299
	The Process of Innovation	303
	The Significance of the Innovation	309
	Organizational Innovators	314
	An Organization Builder's Personality and Training	315
	Sources of Information	320
7	The Spread of the Multidivisional Structure	324
	Industries Not Accepting the New Structure	326
	Copper and Nickel	327
	Steel	331
	Aluminum	337
	Materials	340
	Industries Partially Accepting the New Structure	342
	Processors of Agricultural Products	344
	Rubber	350
	Petroleum	352
	Industries Widely Accepting the New Structure	362
	Electrical and Electronics	363
	Power Machinery and Automobiles	370
	Chemicals	374
	Variations on Structural Change	378
	The Merchandising Enterprises	378
	Summary of the Process of Structural Change within the Enterprise	380
	Conclusion--Chapters in the History of the Great Industrial Enterprise	380
	The First Chapter--Accumulating Resources	386
	The Second Chapter--Rationalizing the Use of Resources	387
	The Third Chapter--Continued Growth	390
	The Fourth Chapter--Rationalizing the Use of Expanding Resources	393
	References	397
	Notes	399
	Index	455

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"There is no doubt that this is a book of first-class importance...as an example of the way in which fruitful relations can be established between economic and business history."Journal of Economic History

The MIT Press

Editorial Reviews

"There is no doubt that this is a book of first-class importance...as an example of the way in which fruitful relations can be established between economic and business history." Journal of Economic History

From the Publisher

There is no doubt that this is a book of first-class importance...as an example of the way in which fruitful relations can be established between economic and business history.

Journal of Economic History