Research Assignment Centralized or decentralized management The Curious Accountant story in this chapter related how one company, The Home Depot, grew from a small business into a large business in about 20 years. Another company that has experienced explosive growth since its founding in 1971 is Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. Read the article “What’s Beyond for Bed Bath & Beyond?” by Nanette Byrnes that appears on pages 46 and 50 of the January 19, 2004, issue of BusinessWeek and answer the following questions.

Required

a. Does the management at Bed Bath & Beyond operate using a centralized or decentralized organizational style?

b. Give specific examples from the article to support your conclusion in Requirement a.

c. Some analysts think Bed Bath & Beyond may not be able to maintain its historic growth rate into the future. What are some of their concerns, and how might a centralized or decentralized management style affect these issues?

d. Based on the related article, “Like Father Like Son,” that appears next to the Bed Bath & Beyond story, what role do the children of the founders of Bed Bath & Beyond play at the company, and what are the reasons for this?