From my limited experience, I think I would actually prefer working in a project-based organization. While a matrix-organization does allow for potentially more personal growth since I would be working with a larger variety of people, a project-based organization would allow me to work within a specified team that I could grow to easily trust and rely on (that is dependent on the quality of my team members though. Arguably if they are miserable to work with I would have very little room to move out of that project space).  I work best when I have a consistent group of people that I can rely on and refer to, and I work best when I have a specific project and goal to work around. In that, I think that the consistency and focus that a project-based organization provides would provide more of a benefit to me and out-weigh the deficits that are associated with a project-based organization. In a way, this system is actually quite similar to my current position in the academic lab I am getting my Masters in and I have found that this structure has really helped me grow as both a researcher and as an "employee". ("employee" is in quotations because I do not get paid)

Every company I've worked for has so far been a matrix organization. While I have not had experience functional or project-based organizations, I feel confident in saying that I would prefer matrix organizations.

Even in matrix organizations I've noticed politics and personal matters get in the way of good work and ideas so I can only imagine how it is in functional organizations.

In project-based organizations, it seems to me that while some individuals may be overworked others may be underutilized. For instance, in a scenario where there may be work that requires 50 hours a week from a quality engineer (QE) while there is only 1 QE for that project. The QE would ahve to work at 125% capacity to keep up. In the same project, there may be regulatory related work that would take 30 hours a week to complete so the regulatory affairs person would work only at 75% capacity which would be unjust.

Matrix organizations give individuals opportunity learn more and from various areas and have better opportunity to switch roles and projects. Moreover, a better balance of work load could be achieved.

I would like to work under matrix type of organization as it is ideal place to work in terms of  sharing talent and skills across departments. It's an handy system when developing new products ,it allows individuals from different functions within an organization to work under a project manager to create something new and unique. This gives the team the ability to draw upon diverse skill sets from multiple disciplines, strengthening the project team. Which I think would be good environment to work under and learn .

in a previous role, i had a group of supply chain project managers responsible for product launches, so you could say we were a PMO group. We developed a set of processes to manage the projects. Each project manager had to establish a team for each launch and consisted of marketing, technical, quality, regulatory and manufacturing other groups ad hoc. Since we worked on generics. clinical testing was not necessary. We learned a lot about being agile rather than traditional waterfall approach to project execution. Our biggest challenge was working with CMOs trying to obtain sufficient inventory for launch and post launch. Once launched, the wholesalers would deplete inventory and the team was continually in back order. Trying to complete the project and hand over to operations was challenging. 

'The key message here is to make sure you have the right participants on the project to deal with unexpected situations and the ability to make quick decisions.

I am currently working in a functional organization outside of the biomedical field.  I would like to work i a matrix organization because that can let me gain different experience working in different type of projects and also more soft skills working with different type of personalities which leads to more connections in the future which consider one of the important things now a day to grow in the industry.   

I worked at a company that follows the matrix organization in its projects. I can tell now it was a weak matrix organization according to definitions that we saw on the lecture. I thought it was good type of organization, but I after this lecture, I would like to work at company with project-based organization or with strong matrix organization because knowledge transferring in these two organizations will make me an expert not only in my section but also in the other departments work.

Though not current working in a medical device company, but I would classify my organization as more of a functional type organization where by each department has a functional head of that department. And as stated in the course material about the advantages and disadvantage that’s the same way this organization plays itself out.

I for one am in the quality department and I do not overstep into another department just to do their job or whatever project that they have. I could vet their process; say for example the R&D department, I could do the checks and balances on products that they develop which will be called a pilot batch, before it goes into massive production. Also, one of the disadvantages is each functional heads of different department are always at logger heads. Like my manager in quality and the manager in production never agrees. They kind of hate each other; We cannot have a meeting without both of them going at each other.

My experience currently in a functional organization and how the disadvantage kind of outweigh the advantages I did prefer to be in combined organization of both the Project-based organization and the Matrix organization. Knowledge are interchangeable between departments and projects, there are no silos or been restrictive to one department, there are supportive staffs and availability of resources are moderate to high depending on you having a strong Matrix.

I would choose a functional organizational structure because the employees are grouped by their area of knowledge and there is one manager in charge. The project will have a team with knowledge in all areas and that way, it is not required to ask for help from different departments because all the work will be done within the department. There will be less complications because the more departments that work together on a project, the more the managers will have disagreements with each other. It will be confusing to work with more than one manager for a project because each manager will set more roles and responsibilities and it will create a heavier work load on some. With a functional organization, the project team will have everything it needs to be completed without having duplications in work, and cooperation will be excellent within the department.

I would like to work in a matrix type organization, because it seems to be highly efficient, i.e. there are no departmental silos nor are there redundant resources, and knowledge transfers well from project to project and between departments. Although there are two or more bosses to report to, I wouldn't mind, since it may be valuable to gain insights from more than one person in upper management. In a matrix organization, you would be able to interact closely with both members on the project team as well as members in the same department, which is important to me. I think you learn a lot more when you can interact with people from a diverse background, and for those in the same department or background, you may learn more effective techniques which they use. Furthermore, I think it's exciting working on multiple projects, albeit a little stressful at times. I currently work on multiple projects and can apply skills learned from one project to the other, thus transferring and honing the skills learned, which is important for growth. 

The medical device development company I currently work at has a functional organization type. As Professor Simon had explained in his lectures, this is where the company is structured into departments that are each run by a manager and the projects stay within each department. As this is my first experience in industry, I have not had the opportunity to experience other types of organization types, however I do find this one to work specifically well in large companies such as the one I am currently at. An advantage to this type of organization is the access to support from members in your own department that may be able to provide some insight on a project if needed. However, a large disadvantage of this is when input is needed from departments outside of your own, who you now must find someone willing to allocate their time and resources to help you, when that may not necessarily be one of their main priorities because they also have a manager to report to with their own departments projects. From learning about these three types of organizational types Professor Simon went over, I believe the matrix organization would be the most beneficial. With this, it is easy to get input from other departments on the same project team while simultaneously having access to your department members as well. There could be conflicts between project and department managers, but if they communicate well and are considerate of your schedule and workload, I do believe this to be a better organizational type. 

I believe that I would prefer working within a matrix-type organization in the future. To start, it seems like the most efficient organizational setup and it would allow for knowledge to be transferred between departments better. From a more personal standpoint, the matrix-type organization seems to have more opportunities for advancement. As a staff member who becomes better experienced with different projects, it would be easier to make vertical moves within a company. More than this, I would prefer having some variability with projects. Although my tasks may be standard, I like the idea of having a variety of projects to work on, and the matrix-type organization would be better for this. This would help employees train soft skills while also gaining broader experiences with different projects, which is great for professional development and growth. Therefore, I personally believe that I would enjoy working in a matrix-type organization more.

I would like to work for a matrix type organization. Matrix type seems flexible to the changes in its type. The departments in this type of structure can work closely together and communicate with each other more frequently to get issues resolved. There are effective lines of communication that exist in the organization for quick decision-making. People from different departments can collaborate to implement and execute strategies. The matrix organization structure encourages a democratic leadership style that incorporates the input of project team members before managers make decisions. This contributes to valuable information that leads to employee satisfaction and increased motivation. Every decision made by the manager is based on the employees’ point of view.

I currently work for a healthcare technology solutions company that provides rental service, inventory management, and technical service for medical equipment in hospitals throughout the country. The operation of this company boils down to three core branches: sales, logistics, and technical support. Each core branch is structured as a hierarchy of professionals with varying levels of authority and responsibility. These professionals are only responsible for work related to their department, and top management provides coordination between the four core branches. This structure is known as a functional based organization.

my current job is at a company that would be considered as a matrix organization. there is a chance to move from one group to the other, cross train of many different things and get involved in different projects. being well rounded in a big company definitely comes in handy when you want to move up within the company 

The company I work for currently has a functional structure but we are starting to transition into a matrix structure. We are at the beginnings of this so I haven't experienced much of a change so far however I am very curious to see the changes once the new structure is officially launched. Right now the biggest challenge I see with a functional structure is the silos within departments and between departments. The communication could certainly improve.