A Wall Street Journal article recently described how Barnes & Noble Inc.under new leadershipis changing its organizational approach. The bookseller has over 600 stores across the U.S. and has been in decline for years. This has been in no small part due to Barnes & Nobles struggle to compete with the low prices offered by Amazon.

Barnes and Nobles new CEO, James Daunt, argues that Barnes & Nobles survival depends upon the company offering a high-quality, in-store experience that customers cannot get from online shopping. He is promoting major organizational changes.

Historically, Barnes & Nobles store managers were not provided much decision-making authority. Instead, decision-makingincluding with respect to what books to order and include on the shelveswas concentrated among corporate executives at headquarters in New York. Mr. Daunt is now giving much more power to stores, for example by leaving most decisions regarding which books to order up to local managers. Store managers also now have flexibility concerning the manner in which they arrange their stores as well as display and organize books. Mr. Daunt believes this strategyproviding local autonomy instead of expecting company-wide uniformitywill help the stores better serve customer needs.

Utilizing course concepts, please analyze Barnes & Noble's new organizational approach described above. What are the potential benefits and potential costs? What do you think is important for leadership to keep in mind as they try to change Barnes & Noble?