Centralised structures

Businesses that have a centralised structure keep decision-making firmly at the top of the hierarchy (among the most senior management).

Fast-food businesses like Burger King, Pizza Hut and McDonald's use a predominantly centralised structure to ensure that control is maintained over their many thousands of outlets. The need to ensure consistency of customer experience and quality at every location, together with a desire to exploit economies of scale, are the main reasons for this choice.

The main advantages and disadvantages of this approach can be summarised as follows: