Question. Should the UUA continue as a vertically integrated corporation?

Early in the last century, the model of efficiency was the the corporation with a central headquarters and subordinate operating departments.  The corporation had a Board of Governance and a chief executive officer who oversaw the subordinate operations.  The model was recommended because of "integration" of diverse operations and economies of scale.

It is not surprising that the American Unitarian Association adopted a corporate model, and that the merged Unitarian Univeralist Association presented itself as a hierarchal, departmentalized corporate culture.  Congregational polity presumably was not affected, because the UUA provided services to autonomous congregations who function as the "owners" of the U.U.A.  Some have argued that this model undermines congregational governance by conditioning the congregational leaders to see their association as an instrument to deliver services rather than involving them in associational governance.  The argument asserts that this turns lay leaders into passive recipients of expertise, that they would be more responsible for the Association and its mission if they were involved in making the decisions that will shape the movement.

Whether or not this is the case,  I think that it is time to question whether the vertically integrated corporation continues to be an effective form of organization.  In an age of the internet can we produce educational materials, credential ministers, publish books and magazines, provide training in skills, advocate for justice and peace through a network of working groups rather than a hierarchy of departments?

The Association of Congregations would continue, and we could devolve some of department structures into a network of project oriented working groups.  The most innovative corporations have embarked on this journey toward less centralized learning organizations, while those corporations that have chosen to continue hierarchy and centralization are having difficulties.  Can we utilize the emerging technologies with old forms of organization?