Barnes & Noble's new organizational approach

A Wall Street Journal article recently described how Barnes &
Noble Inc.—under new leadership—is 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 & Noble’s struggle to compete with the low prices
offered by Amazon.
Barnes and Noble’s new CEO, James Daunt, argues that Barnes
& Noble’s survival depends upon the company offering a highquality, in-store experience that customers cannot get from
online shopping. He is promoting major organizational changes.
Historically, Barnes & Noble’s store managers were not provided
much decision-making authority. Instead, decision-making—
including with respect to what books to order and include on the
shelves—was 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 strategy—providing local autonomy instead of
expecting company-wide uniformity—will 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?