The role and responsibilities of a project manager easily varies depending on which organizational type they are placed in along with their preferred working environment. In terms of which organization is more challenging for a project manager, a project-based organization requires project managers to bear more responsibilities within a project team while also having more control over assigned tasks and the overall workflow. A matrix organization has more than one boss and does not require as much input from the project manager, however he/she must work with and cooperate with the functional/departmental managers in order to evenly distribute resources and relay information between the project team and other units within the organization (other departments, projects, C-suite, etc).

Complications in a project-based organization can come from the strong level of cohesion within any given project team, meaning that a project team establishes itself as its own entity that is separate from other divisions within the company. This can cause conflict to a project manager when it comes to allocating resources among other projects mainly because it requires a strong level of communication with other managers, which is hindered due to the strong sense of exclusion. Complications that are known to exist for project managers in matrix organizations is having to interact with other functional managers by compromising on decisions in order to optimize the success of each project going on at any given time. This can be a challenge if resources are scarce in a company because it can delay a project if project teams are sharing equipment and having personnel jumping between projects in an uncoordinated fashion.

What are the benefits of being a project manager in a functional, project-based, and matrix organization? Do you think it is easy for team members to return to their daily function in a company when a project has come to an end and their teams are disbanded? How might the conclusion of a project differ among project-based and matrix organizations with regards to the emotions of the team members?

References:
(1)Thiry, M. (2007). “Creating project-based organizations to deliver value”. Paper presented at PMI® Global Congress 2007—Asia Pacific, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
(2)Stuckenbruck, L. C. (1979). The matrix organization. Project Management Quarterly, 10(3), 21–33