Advantages and Disadvantages of Decentralization

A central command structure derives from an autocratic style of management. Autocracy is not necessarily an intention and could be incidental. For example, typically start-ups and business that have just been founded are naturally autocratic with the founding members primarily running the show. Gradually, as the business grows and the headcount expands, the organization begins to take on a different structure with departmental heads and other teams. The top management is unable to keep tabs on all organizational functions and prefer to delegate responsibility and distribute the power of making decisions.

Decentralization: Inspecting the Tradeoffs
Decentralization often comes into picture to tackle the disadvantages of centralization. Although a decentralized command structure does help to overcome the cons of autocratic management such as lack of ownership and authority, as you go down the hierarchical organization structure, it has its own unique set of pros and cons. Let us explore these merits and demerits of decentralization and put into perspective the tradeoffs involved when adopting this management concept.

Advantages of Decentralization

• The top management and promoters of the firm have distributed the decision-making authority and are therefore, left with more time to pursue the strategy for realizing the organization's long-term vision. Day-to-day problem solving is no longer the biggest concern for the higher-ups.
• Operational independence makes it easier for the organization to grow overall. Activities such as franchising, diversification and hiring of employees at the departmental levels do not need constant intervention from the top management. Consequently, expansion becomes easier, raising capital and inducting additional workforce become less time-consuming. Decentralization greatly benefits huge organizations spread over several thousand employees and geographic locations.
• Increased decision-making power directly translates into greater accountability. Local managers and even other employees further down the corporate ladder are motivated to take ownership of their work. Leadership qualities find expression outside the boardroom within the silos and cubicles as well. The overall atmosphere tends to boost employee morale leading to greater job satisfaction than the strict confines of a centralized setup. Grooming future leaders is also much easier in such an atmosphere.
• There's no longer just one center of excellence in the organization but several pockets of excellence full of talented people spread out across the organization. Authority is delegated at the local level, which means decisions are more informed and accelerated though not always strategic.
• Decentralized power means greater transparency which in turn ensures that fewer mistakes are made. A decision is usually a democratic and participative outcome and if there's a goof up in progress, chances are great that someone will spot it. While there's ownership of success, decentralized authority also ensures that there are fewer scapegoats. A mistake cannot be mapped to one single person (this can be a demerit under some other circumstances).
• Perhaps, one of the most powerful outcomes of decentralization is the possibility of open innovation. With talent spread out across all levels and locations and the resulting networking possibilities, bright minds get together with ideas, leading to innovation rapidly. There are no bureaucratic bottlenecks or hindrances to exchange of ideas.
• In a decentralized setup, it becomes easy to spot the weak links that are consistently affecting the bottom lines. Therefore, it becomes easier to plug the leaks in time and make sure that the lessons learned are effectively conveyed to all other subunits within the organization.
• The adoption of organizational standards and best practices is also facilitated by a decentralized setup. Transparency in process ensures that it is easy for the various local teams to emulate and adopt the methods and processes that brought success to a team located elsewhere.
• One of the major advantages of decentralized way of taking decisions is witnessed during a sudden change in the local business environment such as the onset of recession or currency devaluation, etc. Businesses are able to respond and adapt quickly to these changes when authority is decentralized.
• Retail businesses like Walmart and hotel chains often benefit from having a decentralized style of management. Businesses, where quick decisions amidst fast-paced changes in environment are the order of the day, stand to benefit from decentralization.

Disadvantages of Decentralization

• Too much emphasis on localized way of taking decisions may end up blurring the bigger picture. As you go down the corporate ladder, employees seem to lose sight of the organizational vision.
• A highly decentralized organization can be the battleground for unhealthy competition between local managers leading to lack of co-operation and coordination. As a result, interdependent functions may suffer and resolving interdepartmental conflicts is difficult when authority has been delegated. In addition, there is costly duplication of work (activities, processes and outcomes) that may impact economy of scale.
• Decentralization is not always a good strategy to begin with, especially when the organization is still to find its footing in the market. Pushing decisions down the hierarchy without assessing if those levels in fact have the required skills and capabilities, is a mistake that could prove to be costly.
• While decentralization promotes the spread of standards and best practices, different managers perceive them differently. Therefore, implementation of uniform organization-wide consistent policies becomes problematic. In case of emergencies that require adoption of organization-wide standards, the diffusion of authority and independent opinions and actions pose a major hindrance.
• Decentralization often gives rise to an employee population composed mainly of generalists and very few specialists. External specialist consultants often need to be sought when the need arises, further adding to the costs.
• Work allocation and performance evaluation are not consistent in a strongly decentralized establishment. A subunit that is a cost center ends up getting a raw deal, whereas revenue generating units reap the benefits of a good performance by their subunit. It is difficult to measure the performance of cost centers and the associated employees as they do not generate profits.
• Businesses like fast food chains such as McDonald's where specialization is important and consistency in service is vital, stand to benefit from a more centralized work culture.

We have seen both the advantages and disadvantages of decentralization. That hopefully makes clear what the tradeoffs could be in adopting this concept in an organization. However, most disadvantages of decentralization can be overcome by controlling the degree of authority delegated to the lower levels of the organization. Both centralization and decentralization have their extremes which is why, the key is to avoid those extremes and take the middle road. A combination of both concepts and a conscious deviation from the autocratic management style is recommended as a plausible strategy. Striking a balance between how much independence is given to individual business units and what kind of decisions remain under the central command could lead to a successful strategy.

How to File a Tax Extension

As April 15 draws closer, many taxpayers clamber to file their federal tax return every year. For the year 2012, the deadline to file your tax return is April 17, courtesy April 15 being a Sunday, and April 16 being Emancipation Day. If you think you will be unable to file your federal individual income tax return by this deadline, it is advisable to file for an extension. However, remember to apply for an extension before the due date of April 17, as you will not be allowed to do so after this date.

What is a Tax Extension

The term 'tax extension' is a source of great confusion for many. The word 'extension' often dupes many into believing that it gives them extra time to pay their taxes. This is simply incorrect. When you file a tax extension, you just get an extra six months (as an individual taxpayer) to file your return. It does not extend your tax payment due date, which remains April 15, or April 17, as it is this year. This means that you have to pay your taxes in part or whole, before the April deadline. Having filed a tax extension, you can file your return anytime before October 15. Ideally, you should pay your complete taxes by the April due date. Not doing so will leave you with the burden of paying interest or penalties on the amount.

Filing a Tax Extension

This is the easiest part. You would need to fill up Form 4868 either on paper or electronically. E-filing is the easier option, but if you choose to fill it on paper, you can have it delivered to the address corresponding to your residence as mentioned on the form.

Note: If you happen to be a fiscal taxpayer, you must fill Form 4868 on paper only.

If you decide to electronically file Form 4868, just access the IRS e-file on your own or seek the assistance of a tax professional. Once you file the extension, you will receive an electronic acknowledgment. You can pay your complete taxes due or in part using your credit card when you use the e-filing option. If you are unable to pay by credit card, print the e-file and send it along with your check or money order.

What are Your Payment Options

Option 1: Payment by Credit Card/Debit Card/EFTPS
Log on to www.irs.gov/e-pay. In case you choose the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS), you must enroll for it prior to paying taxes. Logging on to www.eftps.gov will give you further details. After the payment is made, you will receive a confirmation number. Please make sure to note it down and preserve it.

Having paid your taxes electronically, you must not file a paper form.

Option 2: Payment by Check/Money Order
When you send a check or a money order, make it payable to "United Nations Treasury". Mention your SSN, phone number and "2011 Form 4868" on the check or money order. Sending cash is not permitted. Make sure not to staple or paste your check or money order to Form 4868. Mail it along with your form to the address corresponding to your residence as mentioned in the form.

Tax Extension Rules

✔ You cannot utilize the tax extension service, if you have been issued a court order asking you to pay taxes on a certain date and also if you want the IRS to figure your amount due.
✔ If you are deemed as a citizen or resident living outside the country, or if you are an individual serving in the armed forces, and happen to be posted out of the country on April 15, you are due for an automatic two-month extension. You need to attach a statement, which proves your eligibility along with your return.
✔ Filing an extension application is not allowed after the April due date.
✔ A return must be filed even if a refund is due to you, and if you've delayed filing it because you were expecting a refund, do think of filing a tax extension.

Points to Remember

✔ Filing a tax return on time is crucial in avoiding penalties. It goes a long way in reducing or limiting your tax burden.
✔ Filing a return on time makes it easy to claim any tax refunds that are due.
✔ Individuals who delay filing returns cannot get credits of Social Security retirement or disability benefits.
✔ If you do not file a return, it could indicate that you are concealing your self-employment income from the Social Security Administration.
✔ In case you are not in a position to pay your taxes by the due date, file for an extension and talk to the IRS, who will assist you by putting an installment option in place.
✔ The benefits of filing a tax extension can be reaped by citizens who live abroad, citizens or residents who think they cannot meet the tax filing deadline, and even citizens residing in combat zones.
✔ The IRS does not ask for any explanation when you file for a tax extension.

A delay in filing your tax returns attracts penalties. No one would consider it wise to pay penalties when you have the option of deferred filing. So, if you think you cannot file your return in time this year, be prudent and file for a tax extension.

Lead the Way to the Top

Getting ahead in business is no longer about brown-nosing and being related to the boss. In this tough job market, companies are promoting from within - while that’s good in the sense that you have a shot at a promotion just by virtue of the fact that you work there, it also means that you must constantly come across as promotion material.

Leadership skills are the number one thing employers look for when a management position opens up, even more so than experience. An inexperienced leader can be groomed for the job, but an ineffectual leader will be a dismal failure no matter how experienced he is. By polishing your leadership skills and putting them out there for everyone to see, you’ll catch the eye of the powers that be, and your name just might come up in the next board meeting.

Don’t be Bossy

Showing off leadership skills does not mean bossing people around. You probably don’t have actual authority over your coworkers (yet), so don’t pretend that you do. You’ll come across as an officious jerk, and you’ll be the opposite of an effective leader. Think of yourself as the office cheerleader, guide, and keeper. Your goal is to make people care about what they’re doing, give them what they need to do it well, and put out the fires that arise along the way.

Learn to Listen

Don’t assume you know what someone else is about to say, and don’t just mentally rehearse what you’re going to say next when someone else is talking. Whether it’s a team meeting or a one-on-one conversation, focus on what is being said. Repeat it back to the speaker if necessary, both to straighten it out in your own mind and reassure the speaker that you understand the issue. When you reply, don’t just jump in immediately with empty jargon and verbal stalling - if you don’t have a good answer ready, say something like, "That’s a good question. I’ll look into that and get back to you this afternoon." And do so.

Learn to be Business Social

Everyone knows the saying about mixing business with pleasure, but there’s a fine line to tread. Gossiping is a no-no, as is sharing personal details. Never share something with a coworker that you wouldn’t want divulged at a board meeting. On the flip side, don’t be an emotionless drone, either - leaders must be able to connect with those they lead, and doing your best android impersonation won’t allow that to happen.

Avoid gossip and intimate conversations, but know the milestones. Set up calendar alerts for birthdays and anniversaries, and keep an ear out for who has a new baby, who just lost a family member, etc. Send a card or a brief email on these occasions - just enough to offer congratulations or condolences. People will appreciate the effort, and it will reinforce the notion of you being on top of everything.

Mind Your Manners

Chances are you fall somewhere in the middle of the corporate ladder. Too often, people make the mistake of only turning on the charm when dealing with someone from an upper rung, and dropping the manners act with those below. Wrong. A bad attitude never impresses anyone.

A good leader treats everyone with the same courtesy and respect, from the janitor to the CEO. Appreciate the value in every employee in your company, and recognize that each piece makes the puzzle. You would be surprised how those on the lower rungs can influence the top brass, and being the only middle-management type who greets the doorman by name makes you stand out in a good way.

Delegate Well

If leadership is the most important trait to cultivate, successful delegation is the most important leadership skill to have. It’s what makes your team effective, drawing on the talents of each to produce a stellar finished product. Don’t delegate based on personal feelings or because someone "really deserves the chance" - know the strengths and weaknesses of each person on your team.

Your job as leader is to play up the strengths so well that the weaknesses disappear. If Jane is really great at client relations but not so great at tracking expenses, make her the public "face" of your team and hand the expenses over to Sally, who minored in accounting. Chris has great ideas that need a bit of grounding, so pair him up with John, who thinks logically if a bit stodgily. Play your team members off one another, and fill in the gaps yourself. It’s an instant recipe for success.

Forbes Rich List 2012

Carlos Slim Helu from Mexico has once again topped the list of the richest people in the world. His businesses range from telecommunications to construction, and are at present worth $69 bn. Bills Gates takes the number two spot with a net worth of $61 bn, while Warren Buffet remains on third spot with a fortune of $44 bn. The same trio took the top three spots in the Forbes Rich List 2011.

When Forbes started the Billionaire Rich List around 25 years ago, there were 140 individuals who made it to the coveted list. As of today, there are 1,226 billionaires worldwide, with a combined net worth of $4.6 trillion. 128 made it to the list for the first time, 17 made a re-entry, 12 from the list of 2011 passed away, 117 got knocked off the list, 460 billionaires upped their net worth, 441 became poorer, and around 175 remained as rich as they were a year ago. The United States is home to the most number of billionaires, with 425.

Here are the top 10 richest people as of 2012.

Rank	2011	Name	Age	Country	Net Worth in USD
1	1	Carlos Slim	72	Mexico	$69.0 bn
2	2	Bill Gates	56	USA	$61.0 bn
3	3	Warren Buffet	81	USA	$44.0 bn
4	4	Bernard Arnault	63	France	$41.0 bn
5	7	Amancio Ortega	75	Spain	$37.5 bn
6	5	Lawrence Ellison	67	USA	$36.0 bn
7	8	Eike Batista	55	Brazil	$30.0 bn
8	13	Stefan Persson	64	Sweden	$26.0 bn
9	11	Li Ka-shing	83	Hong Kong	$25.5 bn
10	12	Karl Albrecht	92	Germany	$25.4 bn

Stefan Persson, Li Ka-shing, and Karl Albrecht move into the top 10 this year. Mukesh Ambani and Christy Walton have dropped out of the top 10 group. But one of the biggest fall in positions is that of India's steel boss Lakshmi Mittal, who with a net worth of $20.7 bn, has fallen from last year's sixth place to the twenty-first spot in the Forbes Rich List 2012. His net worth reduced by over $10 bn as a result of steeper costs of steel, combined with lower demand.

Business & Finance

At the heart of successful business management is efficient and effective finance management. Whether you are a small business owner or a finance manager at large corporation, you must keep up-to-date on the current trends related to business and finance. This business and finance section can be an invaluable source of information for any level business manager. Use the information below to stay abreast of the complex world of business and finance.

Art’s Power Over Time and Space

A visual work of art does never produce its entire effect all at once. First there is a general, global impression created into the mind of the audience, an aesthetic reflex. Even before we can understand the whole picture, we can sense a certain presence and a certain action beyond the visible realm.

Painting has its special kind of emotions. There is a certain impression resulting from a certain specific arrangement of colors, of lights, of shadows, etc. It is what we might actually call the music of the painting. Even before knowing what the painting represents, we get caught into this magical accord. Baudelaire used to say about Delacroix that from a distance that is too long for us to be able to analyze and decipher the subject, a Delacroix painting has already made its wonderful impression on us, be it happy or melancholy. Maurice Denis also draws our attention upon the fact that when we enter a beautiful cathedral we feel overwhelmed by an irresistible excitement even before studying its architecture, its harmonious assemble made of windows, good proportions, ornaments, height, well-chosen colors, etc.

We are all familiar with the privileged freshness and the fascinating power of the very first glance. A singing voice can touch us before our fully perceiving the melody or the musical details of the piece of art. And poetry also touches us quite in a similar way, if we consider the fact that it starts by a musical impression, by plunging us into an atmosphere of rhythm and sonority. We usually search for the meaning of this rhythmical movement and composition, to which we like to abandon ourselves. And we look for the development of its meaning in the presentation that is given to our voice and ears. Each stage of this psycho-sensorial display seems to contain all the others so that in the end, we may find the whole work of art standing there in front of us.

Delacroix says that this can be most true if the poem touches us deeply. The lyrical poet can suggest to us his attitude by means of his composition, by the choice and processing of his rhythms and sonorities, so that all of a sudden, we find ourselves where we ought to be. Or at least that is the feeling we have. Time and space are strongly related and they are simultaneously displayed in front of the consciousness they are carried by, since time implies the differentiation of its own moments. So the time of art’s aesthetic contemplation is the time which is built, stylized, the docile, rhymed, spiritual kind of time. Art begins to liberate us from the confused time, from the anguish and boredom of time, always too short, always too long.

Art can also open up to us extraordinary depths. Time and space grow deeper; the feeling of existence is intensified by art. In certain almost supernatural spiritual states of mind, the deepness of life is revealed to us through the show displayed before our eyes, hence the impression of time standing still, of eternity. Delacroix asserts the idea that eternity is the time of ecstasy. When we have an overwhelming artistic perception, we can lose any notion of time and space, they do not matter anymore, all that counts are the beatitude and supremacy of the moments of perceiving such amazing work of art. Thus, art can do the miracle of setting us free from time and space limitations imposed to us by life itself.

Maine de Biran once said that a bunch of violets contains the fragrance of several springs. Beauty is self-sustaining but it is also rich in elements that are a stranger to its essence, to its nature. A beautiful work of art has no limits of meaning. It is surrounded by all that it used to be, all that it ought to be and all the "ghosts" of what it could have been but which the strict, limiting form calls forth and chases away at the same time. Delacroix stresses the idea that the aesthetic impression is always emotionally overcharged and multidetermined. But a powerful spiritual presence is not necessarily a declaration of identity.

Biographical Facts about Mircea Eliade

Eliade was a major interpreter of religious experiences. He established religious studies’ paradigms that are kept up to these days. He developed some influential theories such as that of the hierophanies as the elements that actually constitute the basis of religion, and which can split the human perception of reality into the sacred and the profane time and space. He had some other major contributions to the study of religions, such as his famous theory on the myth of Eternal Return. This theory holds that rituals and myth are not only merely commemorations of hierophanies, they actually get involved in them.

In his literary writings, Eliade went for the autobiographical and fantasy genres. Among his best-known novels we could mention: Maitreyi ("Bengal Nights" of "La Nuit Bengali" in French), Noaptea de Sânziene ("The Forbidden Forest"), Isabel şi apele diavolului ("Isabel and the Devil's Waters"), Novel of the Nearsighted Adolescent, plus the novellas entitled Domnişoara Christina ("Miss Christina") and Tinereţe fără tinereţe ("Youth Without Youth"). Eliade also authored the short stories Secretul doctorului Honigberger ("The Secret of Dr. Honigberger") and La Ţigănci ("With the Gypsy Girls").

During his early career, Eliade was a prominent journalist and essayist. He was a follower of the far-right journalist and philosopher named Nae Ionescu; he was a member of the "Criterion" literary society. He also had the position of cultural attaché to Portugal and UK. During the 1930s, Eliade often expressed his sympathy towards a Romanian fascist and anti-Semitic political organization called "The Iron Guard." These early political involvements became the subject of criticism towards Eliade after the 2nd World War. Despite his controversial early-life political views, Eliade was and still is highly appreciated all over the world due to his vast erudition, fine intelligence and deepness of spirit. Eliade knew very well 5 languages - Romanian, English, French, Italian and German. He could also read in Hebrew, Persian and Sanskrit.

His prodigious memory enabled him to acquire such impressive amount of knowledge. But his memory also helped him remember many childhood episodes that he referred to in some of his writings. Here is a quotation of his referring to such unusual childhood episode: "I practiced for many years [the] exercise of recapturing that epiphanic moment, and I would always find again the same plenitude. I would slip into it as into a fragment of time devoid of duration - without beginning, middle, or end. During my last years of lycée, when I struggled with profound attacks of melancholy, I still succeeded at times in returning to the golden green light of that afternoon. [...] But even though the beatitude was the same, it was now impossible to bear because it aggravated my sadness too much. By this time I knew the world to which the drawing room belonged [...] was a world forever lost." Indeed, this understanding of the impossibility to return to the childhood and adolescent state of mind and experience might have inspired his myth of Eternal Return.

When the Communist regime began to show signs of taking hold of Romania, Eliade decided not to return to his native country. Thus, in 1945, he moved to France also taking his adopted daughter Giza there. Arrived there, Eliade came again into contact with Dumézil, who enabled him to recover his academic position. Following Dumézil's recommendation, Eliade began teaching at the École Pratique des Hautes Études (Practical School of High-Studies) in Paris. At that time, he is said to work even 15 hours per day. In France, Eliade married the second time to Cristinel Cotescu, a Romanian exile. There in France Eliade rallied with some Romanian expatriates including Emil Cioran and Alexandru Busuioceanu, who helped him publicize his anti-communist point of view to the eyes of the Western European readers. Eliade also got briefly involved in the publication of "Luceafarul" ("The Morning Star"), a magazine written in the Romanian language.

As a historian of religions, M. Eliade laid his accent on the concept of sacred time and space. The sacred space is, in Eliade’s vision, the center of the universe while the sacred time is a repetition of the elements from the origins of the world, the world being considered the "horizon" of a certain religious group.