Centralization sucks

The world has become so complex that the idea of a power in which everything comes together and  can be controlled in a centralized way is now erroneous.
Ulrich Beck

Executives of big organizations arrange it all to make themselves comfortable, and that eliminates customer-facing flexibility.

It also, of course, puts the spotlight on executive decision-making. They’d better be right, often making decisions that would be better if they were handled by perfectly competent people who possess the expertise to sort through situations on the ground.

When something awful happens, it’s not unusual for executive heads to roll. Centralization can have its price. More damaging, though, is the broad, longterm reduction of the organization’s ability to actually do its job.

When you think about it, it’s pretty naive to assume that free-standing organizations, each with its own culture, self-image and clearly defined purpose, are going to smoothly integrate when their immediate, knowledgeable leadership has been replaced by a distant, one-way authority.

Jim Milliken

Make sure to read Jim’s Project Management blog 

In examining the division of powers, as established by the Federal Constitution, remarking on the one hand the portion of sovereignty which has been reserved to the several States, and on the other, the share of power which has been given to the Union, it is evident that the Federal legislators entertained very clear and accurate notions respecting the centralization of government. The United States form not only a republic, but a confederation; yet the national authority is more centralized there than it was in several of the absolute monarchies of Europe.
Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America