An interesting writeup. However the conclusion seem a bit off since a large area of organizational design has been ignored. Namely those involving kinship groups.
As a result, I have also become more agnostic about general structure mattering so much. Although Tullock sought a guiding principles, I am suspicious that they cannot be found.
See the British East India Company. They managed huge operations, using early 1800s technology, with an efficiency far greater than any public organization of even 2022. As they managed it all with only a few hundred employees at headquarters in London, at their peak!
They recruited exclusively from a tiny pool, by modern standards, who were all at least distantly related. It also helped that the frontline managers were given immense individual leeway due to the communications lag of several months.
An interesting writeup. However the conclusion seem a bit off since a large area of organizational design has been ignored. Namely those involving kinship groups.
See the British East India Company. They managed huge operations, using early 1800s technology, with an efficiency far greater than any public organization of even 2022. As they managed it all with only a few hundred employees at headquarters in London, at their peak!
They recruited exclusively from a tiny pool, by modern standards, who were all at least distantly related. It also helped that the frontline managers were given immense individual leeway due to the communications lag of several months.