Multiunit Enterprise
Jaap de Jonge, Editor, Netherlands
You'll find an indepth article by David A. Garvin and Lynne C. Levesque describing the
geographic divisional structure in HBR June 2008, p105-117). Actually the authors call this type "
The Multiunit Enterprise" and position it
versus the multidivisional enterprise.
Examples of Multiunit Enterprises mentioned in the article include Citigroup, Hertz, Home Depot, Marriot International, UPS, Wal-Mart.
Typical for the multiunit enterprise is:
- it resembles a Russian nesting doll, in that the P&Ls of one level are incorporated in those of the level immediately above.
- also they are characterized by their four levels of field managers: Store Managers, District managers, Regional Vice Presidents and Division Presidents (or SVPs).
