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Matrix Organizational Structure: Optimize Cross-Departmental Relationships

By: Daiv Russell

Prior to 1970, big organizations were usually arranged in a "silo" formation. In this organizational scheme, line or functional managers were held accountable for different divisions of workers in the company. Since those times, businesses have tried to revamp their organizational structures into something that works better. The result is called a matrix organization.

For example, one Information Technology company may have software programmers in the customer service department, the finance department, and on development teams because each of those divisions has needed computer programmers to fulfill their job requirements.

The 1970s signaled an evolution in business. Organizational operations were improving at a dramatic rate in many ways. One of these was the innovation of the Matrix Organizational Structure.

The information technology company described previously illustrates the operation of a matrix organization. All computer programmers are assigned to the same department and report to the same department head or supervisor. This manager oversees most if not all of the company's programming functions and with respect to the matrix organization is known as a functional manager as he or she supervises individuals who perform a specific general function.

In this type of organization, workers are categorized by skill sets and grouped in silos, in a fashion similar to the columnar organization of a matrix. Each silo, then, has a single dedicated manager to whom the workers report and are accountable. This manager is usually responsible for promoting his or her workers, departmental budgeting, and administrative oversight of the silo.

By now, it may appear that matrix organizations are structured much like a traditional company, except that they categorize workers in a silo based on similar job descriptions. Another significant distinction between matrix and traditional organizations is that a matrix is also organized by rows, or lines, that go across every column.

The old fashioned organizational approaches were reasonably effective but highly inefficient. There was a great deal of unnecessary duplicated effort, which was particularly obvious when it came to project management. Sadly, there was no recognition of the beehive or anthill functionality observed when a team is assigned to a single project. Here, team members were assigned to different functions and reported to different supervisors instead of reporting to the PM. As you would expect, disorganization resulted and eventual failure was all but ensured.

A matrix organization works like an excel spreadsheet. It involves columns with co-workers that have the same responsibilities and the functional manager is the lead supervisor. With rows that stretch with each column, the project manager is the supervisor. The project manager is usually at the top left side of the template with a single leading row. All workers are subject to when every row collides with every column. The row can manifest into the worker assembly that will function separately and single project manager will lead them.

Workers that are shared between project managers and functional managers can add to the tension that already exists. These workers have different jobs to perform which can cause conflicts of interest between the managers.

There are numerous varying types of matrix organizations, but they all have the common goal of trying to create each manager's specific functional needs with a balance of power.

[Article Source: http://www.positivearticles.com]

Prior to 1970, big organizations were usually arranged in a "silo" formation. In this organizational scheme, line or functional managers were held accountable for different divisions of workers in the company. Since those times, businesses have tried to revamp their organizational structures into something that works better. The result is called a matrix organization.

Daiv Russell is a management and marketing consultant with Envision Consulting in Tampa, Florida. Get more information on matrix management structure at project-management-course.info. Choose the right Project Management Software and improve your Gantt Charts

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