Vantaggi
CED has some amazing people and the potential is nearly endless. In some cases, you can truly be empowered to create, not only your own business, but your own cultural foundation. As a decentralized logistics & sales model it puts a priority on flexibility/adaptability and being close to the customer. It has the levers in place to reward people for the work they do. The individuals working at 'corporate' to support the rest of the organization are absolutely phenomenal. They 100% buy into the 'service center' concept and it's truly a great cultural concept if allowed to be properly used.
Svantaggi
That decentralized model makes certain Managers/Leaders consider themselves Kings. They run massive departments with a large number of individuals beneath them with little-to-no oversight. If someone in that position doesn't like you, they'll find a way to remove you. CED is the definition of a 'good'ol boys club' - you're expected to conform yet they preach autonomy. They write about wanted people who don't need to be micromanaged and can 'run their own businesses'. This is a lie - senior management wants you to run your 'local' business their way. And if you speak up otherwise, you'll be moved and/or removed. Ego's trump performance while they preach the antithesis. It's easy to go on and on - I was harassed, targeted, retaliated against and at the end - another manager was doing the exact same things that i was 'told' i was removed for. This manager was praised over and over again as he breaks more rules than any 'young' manager could ever dream of.