HYBRID ORGANIZATION STRUCTURES - A PATH TO COST SAVINGS AND CUSTOMER RESPONSIVENESS

In order to cut casts while increasing customer responsiveness, some c orporations are integrating the competitive features of small companie s with the resources of large corporations. They are adopting a hybrid type of organization by decentralizing decision-making to the busines s units and centralizing administrative functions al the corporate lev el. This article outlines the characteristics of a hybrid corporation and describes the role of corporate staffs within Jive corporations th at have evolved to a hybrid structure. Some first steps an the path to a hybrid structure and corresponding staff activities are also descri bed. (C) 1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.