Managing a Business

AOL & Time Warner:

The media referred the deal of the century as the first integrated media and communications company in history.

(Excellence in Business, Page 191)

AOL was battling cable companies to open their lines for internet providers to offer high-speed connections. AOL knew that growth for dial-up connections was coming to an end so the two biggest companies agreed not to talk to AOL without telling the other first. The deal fell apart in 1999 when AT&T admitted it was considering an AOL deal.

(USA Today, 2007)

The Company faces many challenges such as the music business is in a slump, Ad supported magazines and channels are fighting recession, Cable systems could face more competition if Satellite broadcaster Echostar completes it’s merger with Direct TV.

(USA Today, 2007)

On the Net, AOL Time Warner would face persistent challenges from Microsoft, Disney, Yahoo and a host of other enterprises jostling for attention from Web surfers.

(SF Gate, 2000)

Very poorly, thanks to the merger they owe $500 million in fines, $200 million in share or stock loss and $98.7 billion in losses.

(Excellence in Business, Page 191)

With both combined they would receive 100 million customers. The could reap scale of promoting and selling each other’s products by eliminating or duplicate operating costs.

(Excellence in Business, 191)

Predictions of the future of AOL predicted that they could be bigger than AT&T and the future is online. This was a prediction that Case refused to abandon in spite of the odds against him. AOL predicted that in the 20th century AOL would be a profitable internet giant serving 22 million customers around the globe and delivering more mail than the U.S postal service. (Excellence in Business, Page 191)

Harley Davidson

The organization structure is flat due to the frequent breakdowns that the motorcycle buyers went to the smooth running imports instead.

(Excellence in Business, page 285)

Centralized is the process by the activities of an organizations decision making or concentration by placing power and authority in a center of an organization.

(Merriam Webster, 2007)

The bringing to one being under control or in power on top of an organization with little delegation of authority. Minimum autonomy that maximize restrictions on operations of organization which grows in size and complexity.

(Answers, 2007)

Decentralization is the delegations of decision making authority to employees in lower-level positions.

(Glossary, Page G-4)

Decision making that subunits of an organization. The lower level of where decisions are made and is the greater in decentralization that is more effective in organizations where its subunits are autonomous in costs and profits can be independently measured. These measures include:

1. Decisions made by those who have knowledge about local conditions.

2. Greater