This is a good discussion topic related to the organizational structure. According to PMBOK, organizational structure is defined as an enterprise environmental factor which affects the availability of resources and influences how the projects are conducted.
As discussed by Dr. Simon that there is the disadvantage that there is limited knowledge sharing between project teams but according to PMBOK, some organizations came up with the solution for this: Composite Organizational Structure. In this, all the structure mentioned above are involved at various levels. With the involvement of all levels there is the inclusion of every department, and also it includes advantages for all the structures.
In my opinion, this structure is the best-suited one for the organization to run. Is there any disadvantage to this structure? And why it is not the most favorable structure for the different organization.

Between each of the three organization types listed in the lecture, it is hard to say which is the most effective. I think it primarily depends on the size of the company or other factors. As a side note, even though it was mentioned that the departments in functional organizations are silos, this is not necessarily always true. The company I've been working for is a functional organization and the departments definitely communicate with each other. There is still a lot of miscommunication though so I cannot say it's the most effective.

Hi hg93, I agree that a composite organization will be best suited since it allows a company to blend the functional, matrix and project-based type of organizations to help suit the company's needs. Also,it is important to know that a composite organization does not really mandate the use of all three, any blend of the three types can be used and it does not use any set of standard procedures from the other three type of organizations so new operating procedures can be created. For example a company that uses a functional type of organization can use a project-based type of organization to handle a critical project or the type of organization that best suits the needs of the project.
Some advantagesare:
- You can use different combinations of structures for different organization.
- It creates flexibility for each organization and for each project.
- It can be organize in a way that best fits the organization's or the project's needs.
-It is effective due to its flexibility and allows for company to use the organizational approach that make the most sense for the circumstances in the project.
Some disadvantages are:
- Having a very good understanding of the type of structural organizations, how they best fit together for your company.
- Putting together or implementing a composite organization could take a long time and it can fail.
- Changes are also hard for people to adapt to, so it could be slightly hard to implement a composite organization.

I have been a part of a Functional and Project-based organization and from personal experience I believe that a Functional organization tends to run more smoothly. I agree with Anthony's comment in that it does depend on the size of the company and my company had 60 employees. The advantages were that it was easy to communicate any idea or issue we had because there was only one manager in charge. On the other hand, that same advantage sometimes caused problems because we had only one individual making all of the decisions in the end.

As others have said, the best organizational structure depends on the size of the company. Still, though, I think in most cases, the matrix organization would be best for most companies. This allows for resources to be managed properly and for departments to hold themselves accountable for the work they do. The downsides includes having multiple bosses or people to report to as well as confusion among employees. That being said, I think these downsides are almost negligible compared to the downsides of other structures, which include having too many employees and using duplicate resources

- Saad Ali

A key element in organization (and work units within an organization) success is its structure – how its work activities are organized; and how responsibility and authority are identified. Structure affects how employees – even at the very top of the organization – execute their responsibilities and authority, coordinate and work with others and achieve organization goals and objectives. Poorly designed structures, including those that do not change as the organization’s work evolves, will negatively affect its operational and financial viability. The type of structure that works best for one type of organization will not necessarily work for another.
The functional structure allows for a high degree of specialization for employees, and is easily scalable should the organization grow.

Hi Saad,

I agree with your point. However, I think it is more than just the size of the company that decides the best organizational structure. I believe it could vary based on the type of company, individuals involved and even the project itself. This being said, it may be impractical to vary the organizational structure with each product. I believe that as long as there is open and effective communication an organizational structure that will fit most projects will prove to be successful.

-Romany

As Saad has mentioned I feel for most companies matrix based organization would be the most beneficial. I say this because your resources (employees) do not become redundant and the project manager can hand pick individuals from different departments within the company for the specific project that is at hand. This will allow for better communication throughout the departments and will allow everyone to get a chance to work with each other. As a project manager you can consult with your functional head for key issues you may be on the fence about. Although the organization type is important to the company I feel what really dictates a company's success is ensuring your employees are qualified individuals that can keep an open line of communication.

-Ansel Ueshiro

I think that the functional org structure is the most effective structure. This way, you can hire experts in their respect fields who don't need to know too much about other parts of the company. Granted, it's important to understand certain basics, but in other forms of structures, each different person has to have a really good understanding of all aspects, where these types of employees are both difficult to find and usually require a higher stipend. Whereas those who are experts in just their fields are all thats required for the job at hand. For example, the services employees don't have to have a deep understanding of the market or sales strategies, and vice versa.

When determining which organizational structure is best for a company, it is important to take the company’s size into consideration. The organizational structure essentially determines the communication between the departments, which will determine the success of a project. Of the discussed organizational structures, the most effective seems to be the matrix structure. With the matrix structure, there more variety in perspectives. There is better communication between projects, which allows knowledge of the project to be transferred more effectively. Matrix organization helps to ensure that there is a good management of resources. However, with this organizational structure there is larger size involved in the project, so it does not fit for many companies.

Organizational type depends on the goals of the company. Larger companies with multiple product lines and established brands would benefit from a matrix organization. In this situation the main advantage is the information flow between departments and knowledge transfer between projects. This is key with larger companies, since the large amount of information can be spread between different departments and there is transparency on projects/products. While smaller companies may not have as much information and there is less of an emphasis on the information flow and more on driving projects. This could lead to a project based organization as the default structure, in which project manager drives the project composed of a small team.

The organizational type that is most effective (best) depends on the team members associated with the project. Coming from a matrix organization, I believe that having a strong foundation from management will allow for flexibility of scheduling, however, this is not the case when priority deadlines are due. The most effective organizational type(s) would be a mixture of project-based and matrix organization. Project-based organization allows for the project teams to run well since everyone becomes accustomed to each other. Resources then can be managed and shared throughout personnel. Perhaps, departments would also be willing to share knowledge amongst teams. All in all, a collaborative effort across departments is needed to ensure effective execution.

In my opinion the best and most effective organizational structure is Circular Organizational structure the circular structure still relies on hierarchy, with higher-level employees occupying the inner rings of the circle and lower-level employees occupying the outer rings.What I mean by that is the leaders or executives in a circular organization aren’t seen as sitting atop the organization, sending directives down the chain of command. Instead, they’re at the center of the organization, spreading their vision outward. A circular structure is meant to promote communication and the free flow of information between different parts of the organization. Whereas a traditional structure shows different departments or divisions as occupying individual, semi-autonomous branches, the circular structure depicts all divisions as being part of the same whole. however, the circular structure can also be confusing, especially for new employees. Unlike with a more traditional, top-down structure, a circular structure can make it difficult for employees to figure out who they report to and how they’re meant to fit into the organization.

I feel as though each organizational structure has its own strengths and weaknesses; however, depending on the size or needs of the company one structure may be more advantageous than the others. For example, a functional organization may prove adequate for a small company who doesn't have many employees and therefore, it can use this organization without much issues with forming information silos and coordinating projects between departments. It almost works like a project-based organization which would probably lend its usefulness to a larger company. Finally, the matrix organization may prove more useful for a massive company this type of organizations tends to lend itself to larger bodies of people. Overall, I don't believe there is a "best" organization type, but simply organization types that are best for a given situation and their effectiveness will be based on this situation.