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Introduction
The design of a company affects every aspect of the business such as the way its members communicate, how decisions are made, and how the work is delegated, etcetera (Dictionary.com, 2006). This layout is known as the organization structure formally defined by Wikipedia (2006) as, "the way in which the interrelated groups of an organization are constructed. From a managerial point of view the main concerns are ensuring effective communication and coordination." In respects to project management there are three primary organizational break downs they are functional structure, pure project structure, and matrix structure. We will take a look into each of these structures to better identify the similarities and differences between them.
Functional Structure
In a functional arrangement, power or status is defined by a vertical hierarchy. This structure clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of its members and the chain of command is plainly outlined. (Kerzner, 2003). Functional structure is seen in large organizations such as the central government, polices forces and the armed forces. Large businesses have continuous rolling programs of similar repetitive or semi-repetitive work and this structure is typically used to improve systems, procedures, methods or products within the company. Due to the repetitive nature of the functional structure people are able to build a variety of skills that they can use from one project to the next. Projects within this structure would commonly be handled internally rather than externally. (Cogeco, 2006). When modifying systems or methods within a business it is beneficial for the company to have in-house employees who have direct contact with the work to handle the ...
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...posite of functional and may be a little more costly then the other organizational break downs. The matrix structure best suits construction projects due to its high level of flexibility and adaptability. Knowing this information will give an organization direction in regards to which structure will best fit them.
References:
(2006). Module 4 Project Management Organizational Structures and Standards. Retrieved on December 16, 2006 from http://home.cogeco.ca/~pcreighton/PMWEB/Module%2004.htm
Kerzner, H. (2003). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Plan, Scheduling, and Controlling 8th Edition. John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Organization. (2006). Dictionary.com. Retrieved on December 17, 2006 from http://www.dictionary.com
Organizational Structures. (2006). Wikipedia the free online encyclopedia. Retrieved on December 17, 2006 from http://www.wikipedia.com
The Organisation structure of a company addresses the fact that every organisation has specific units that are responsible for different roles and actions in the organisation and that no department within the organisation stands alone, they are intertwined. The organisational chart or structure should be designed to divide up the work load, responsibilities and roles to be done
Kerzner, H. (2013). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Frame, J.D., Managing Projects in Organizations: How to Make the Best use of Time, Techniques and People, third ed., San Francisco: Jossey-Bass,112-117, 2003.
Kezner, H. Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. 6th. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc, 1998. Print.
The functions include: operating core, people who perform essential work; administrative component, managers who supervise, coordinate, control, and provide resources for the operators; and techno structure specialists, technicians, and analysts who standardize, measure and inspect, and support staff who facilitate the work of others. There are basic five structural configurations. Principles of Successful Structural Change, the principles of successful structural change are: 1) clear goals and strategies, 2) fully understanding how the existing structure and processes work, 3) responding to changes in goals, technology, and environment, 4) experiment, retaining things that work. Organizing Groups, In a U.S. military unit, the planning structure resembled that of a research and development team or a creative design group, but during execution, the structure transformed to a well defined, tightly controlled chain of command. Tasks And Linkages In Small Groups, tasks vary in clarity, predictability, and stability.
Most organizations fall under one of three organizational designs: simple structure, bureaucracy and matrix structure. The organizational design of a company suggests who makes executive decisions and how they are enforced. The organizational design is typically decided based on the size of the company and market place.
Matrix structure is first introduced in the aerospace industry in the 1960s and become one of the popular organizational design options in today’s business and industry (Derven & Alexandria, 2010). Burns and Wholey (1993) poinited out that matrix structure were used in advertising agencies, aerospace firms, research and development laboratories, hospitals, government agencies, and universities. Matrix structure is the combination of two or more different structures and take the advantages of the pure functional structure and the product organizational structure (Robbins & Judge, 2011, p. 497). The employees in the matrix may have two bosses: their functional department managers and their product managers. For example, all engineers may be in one engineering department and report to an engineering manager, but these same engineers may be assigned to different projects and report to a project manager while working on that project. In many organizations, a matrix structure is implemented to address the requirement to do more with less and become more agile. The matrix structure, which focuses on horizontal as well as vertical management, has become more widespread as a result of globalization and the...
Staffers report to a functional manager who can help with skills and help prioritize and review work, and to a product line manager who sets direction on product offerings by the company. This structure has some advantages such as resources can be used efficiently, since experts and equipment can be shared across projects. Products and projects are formally coordinated across functional departments. Information flows both across and up through the organization. Employees are in contact with many people, which helps with sharing of information and can speed the decision
Organisational structure is designed to provide a structure where there are various tasks, technologies and people are grouping to delegate, control and coordinate for each. It also shows how the information is being distributed from a level to another level within an organisation. For example, it can be flowed vertically or horizontally. There are four types of organisational structures that can be used in an organisation which are simple structure, functional structure, divisional structure and international structure. This organizational structure will ensure that the resources are fully utilised in an efficient and effective manners to achieve the organizational goals. When there is an appropriate organizational design, it would lead to
The purpose of this report is to describe the three traditional organisational structures and to describe two modern organisational designs. The highlighted structures are the Functional, Divisional and Matrix structures, along with the team and network structures. Illustrations of each structure will be provided as charts along with their advantages and disadvantages. This report will also mention how the contemporary environment has had an impact on organisational structures.
Understanding the structure of an organization plays a vital role in laying the blueprint for how a company will be managed and organized. It provides a well-defined framework that outlines the roles and responsibilities of each employee in a particular company. It shows how each employee interacts and works one another in achieving the goals of a company. In other words, organizational structure is a reflection of the working relationships that govern the workflow of the company. It has a profound effect on a company’s structural dimensions, which includes formalization, specialization, hierarchy and centralization.
The Matrix Structure Sometimes an organisation needs to run according to what projects they have to do. In these situations people usually work together in a team to achieve their projects goals. A person working on a project would have two bosses, the boss of the department that they work in and the leader or manager of the particular project that they are working on at the moment. A project may cover some or all of the organisations departmental areas. For example in the aerospace industry (manufacture and development of aeroplanes and spacecraft) the government might ask for a space shuttle type aircraft to be developed and manufactured.
...ctional manager which means they have divided loyalty and must keep balanced. Employees are shifted from team to team depending on where their talents are most needed at any given time. This makes the matrix structure organic rather than mechanistic in nature.
Every organization needs a structure in order to operate systematically. The organizational structures can be used by any organization if the structure fits into the nature and the maturity of the organization.
The importance of project management cannot be overstated. For starters it is important that project management provides a flexibility and structure. Project management creates flexible and well-structured business organizations by combining two organization needs perfectly. The organizational needs are determined by making the organization adaptable due to constant changes in the business, secondly organization is extremely important for creating structure. What is most important is that