This continues our look at the book, The Starfish and the Spider.

Here are questions that can be asked to determine if a system is centralized or decentralized:

1. Is there a person in charge? A coercive system depends on order and hierarchy. There is always someone in charge. An open system is flat. There is no pyramid for anyone to sit on top of.
2. Are there headquarters? Every spider organization has physical headquarters. Starfish organizations do not depend on a permanent location or a central headquarters.
3. If you thump it on the head, will it die? If you chop off a spider’s head, it dies. Starfish don’t have a head to chop off.
4. Is there a clear division of roles? Most centralized organizations are divided into departments, and the divisions are rather firm. In decentralized systems, anyone can do anything.
5. If you take out a unit, is the organization harmed? Units of a decentralized organization are by definition completely autonomous. Cut off a unit and, like a starfish, the organization generally does fine. In fact, the severed arm might grow an entirely new organization. In a centralized organization, every department is important. What happens if a spider looses a leg? The spider’s mobility is significantly affected, and if it keeps loosing legs, its survival will be at risk.
6. Are knowledge and power concentrated or distributed? In spider companies, power and knowledge are concentrated at the top. In starfish organizations, power is spread throughout. Each person is assumed to be equally knowledgeable and has power equal to that of any other member.
7. Is the organization flexible or rigid? Decentralizations are fluid. Because power and knowledge are distributed, individual units quickly respond to a multitude of internal and external forces - they are constantly spreading and growing, shrinking and mutating. Centralized organizations depend more on structure, and that tends to make them more rigid.
8. Can you count the employees or participants? It is possible to count the members of any spider organization. Counting the members of a starfish organization is usually impossible. Anyone can become a member of,or leave, an open system at any time.
9. Are working groups funded by the organization or are they self-funding? The units of a decentralized organization are almost always self-funding. Centralized organizations receive funding from the top.
10. Do working groups communicate directly or through intermediaries? Typically, information in centralized organizations is passed through corporate headquarters. In open systems, communication occurs directly between members.