What are the main issues surrounding centralisation and decentralisation?
There is danger in both total centralisation and total decentralisation, therefore a widespread consensus exists that a balance must be achieved between them. Excessive centralisation makes IS provision too rigid and. incapable of coping with regional variations. Correspondingly, excessive decentralisation makes IS provision too loose and incapable of adhering to centrally-defined overall strategies. The difficulties involved are a particular case of the more general attempt to reconcile efficiency and effectiveness. Centralisation is often advocated when efficiency, i.e., the ability to produce a given output using the least resources, is the foremost concern. Decentralisation is often advocated when effectiveness, i.e., the ability to produce the right output, is the foremost concern. Centralisation tends to promote efficiency because it opens the way to reducing redundancy. Decentralisation tends to promote effectiveness because it empowers the local participants to tackle local sit
