It didn't matter all that much before the internet. A lot of the differences could be hidden because of the physical distance between the units and management. Everybody was off doing their own thing, and once the bottom line was okay, then nobody was asking the hard questions. The internet is only beginning to change this picture, but give it a few years and it will make a lot of globally-located companies look like they are being held together with tape and string. The internet is a network.
Networks lend themselves towards being open.
This results in increased transparency, which demands accountability. That cartoon had a ring of truth. Fact is, it's a hollow ring. On the internet, everybody has the opportunity to know an awful lot about you. People can search up on you.