In matrix organization project managers and functional heads may or may not have a lot of power. It depends on the "Strong Matrix" or "Weak Matrix" on whether an outcome would be successful. Give two scenarios in which a project was successful in an matrix organization or unsuccessful.
The first successful example of a "matrix" organization I have seen was when I was a co-op at an ultrasound transducer manufacturing facility. The project was a migration of upstream components to a supplier. In this example, manufacturing (which acted in more of a functional manner) and the projects organization (which acted in more of a project manner) were able to communicate well and not "silo" while also not fighting to divert work to each other.
The second successful example of a "matrix" organization was the execution of a plant startup. Here, manufacturing, supply chain, the business operating unit, and the project managers all had equal say on the execution of the project. The infighting among the groups I witnessed previously was absent, leading to the project progressing much faster than what I have seen previously.
In my personal experience I have only experienced a "Weak Matrix" organization, so I can only speak to that scenario from experience, but I can assume how it might work in a "Strong Matrix" organization.
From my own experience, I was part of a project team as a quality representative. This project went very well because of how experienced both the project manager and my department's functional lead are. Although it was clear that the functional lead had more power in deciding exactly how much of my time and effort I would be resourcing to this project, they were able to communicate their perspectives very well to each other. The project manager was effective in conveying how important this project is, and the functional lead was very aware of the other work that I was doing. The project manager was also effective in communicating the project clearly to the project team and explicitly outlining the timeline and deliverables from each member. This made it very simple to complete the project in a timely manner.
In a strong matrix, I would assume that a lot of the staff members under each functional lead might be very overburdened. If project managers are able to endlessly demand the use of people from each department, I would imagine that they would not really care about how many other projects you are handling, making way to poor time management and prioritization by individual members of each project team.
I will say that I must be a little biased because this is based off of my own experiences and I have no idea how the concept of a Strong Matrix would translate into real life, this is only based on my assumptions.
Depending on the balance of power between project managers and functional heads, matrix companies can generate both special opportunities and problems. In a weak matrix company, one instance of an ineffective result would be functional leads keeping most of the power but failing to give projects top priority. Under such circumstances, team members may be overburdened across several projects, resulting in delays or compromises in quality from poor prioritizing or miscommunication between functional leads and project managers.
In a strong matrix company, where project managers make most of the decisions, another situation emphasizing the possibility for failure is present. Although this system might help to concentrate on project objectives, it can also lead to problems if functional departments feel their requirements or knowledge is disregarded. For example, reallocation of resources by a project manager without engaging functional leads could lead to operational inefficiencies or conflict amongst teams, therefore influencing the course of the project.
Conversely, a major success element in every matrix company is the capacity to promote teamwork and preserve openness. Using well defined escalation procedures is one often disregarded tactic that might help outcomes. These systems guarantee that conflicts won't throw off the project by giving a disciplined approach to handle differences. Shared technologies for workload balance and resource tracking can also let project managers and functional leads better allocate team members' time, hence fostering efficiency and lowering burnout. The power of a matrix company is ultimately found in its capacity to balance authority and adaptably.
