There is no perfect organization type which will be the gold standard. In addition, there is a lot of factors that can affect efficiency as well. Therefore it is important you discuss the method that has previously worked before to determine which method will work the best. One big factor, I would like to discuss is the person's personality as well. Depending on the type of person they may excel better if they just focus on one task or others may deem that boring hence needs to do multiple tasks at the same time. Also, I believe it is okay to have different types of organization type for each company. I believe it is important to be flexible to increase productivity and efficiency. Not being flexible can affect the company's effectiveness and productivity significantly, especially nowadays.
I don't have an abundance of experience operating in different organization types, however I do feel that the most effective in my opinion would be a rigidly organized structure. While the "everyone does a little bit of everything" sounds good in theory, in that there will be a great system of checks and balances in order to minimize error. However, without specific divisions of the company in charge of a single aspect of the product development process, it would be easy for things to get unorganized, and in turn cause the project to take much longer to be completed properly.
I agree that a composite organization will be best suited since it allows a company to blend the functional, matrix, and project-based types of organizations to help suit the company requirements. This can also be done in various combinations as per the need for particular projects. 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.
In my opinion, the best organizational structure is the functional structure Because:
Employees are grouped by their knowledge in each area and this allows them to achieve high performance, having fixed roles and responsibilities which create less complications.
There is only one manager in charge of the project that is knowledgeable in all areas, which reduces the number of communication channels and conflicts between managers.
Work is not duplicated as all departments have defined responsibilities
Since employees don’t have to deal with more than one manager for the project, they feel more secure and perform well at their tasks.
Cooperation is excellent within the department and the project will have everything that it needs in one department, having knowledgeable employees for every area.
I don't think there is one best and most effective organizational structure for a company, but there is a particular organizational structure that works best for an employee at the company. Some may argue that a matrix organization is the most effective, but if an employee works poorly in a matrix organization, then it would lose its effectiveness. Therefore, the most effective organizational structure differs from individual to individual. However, not only does effectiveness depend on the individual, but it could also depend on the company and how many resources the company has. For example, if the company is not able to spend on many resources, then a project-based organization may not be the most effective choice, since it tends to have duplicate resources.
I agree that the size of the company and the product being produced plays a large role in deciding which is the best organizational structure. For smaller companies, I can see the benefits of having a functional structure because the disadvantage of forming silos of information and culture should not be as drastic with a smaller group. I also do not believe it would be as difficult to coordinate between departments because if there are not as many people within the company, there may be a better general understanding of what each project is and who is working on what. Whereas a larger company, I believe, would benefit most with a matrix structure. This would work well because there is access of information between departments, as well as project teams. As for project-based structures, I feel this would be most beneficial when there is a high volume of projects that need a fast turn over rate. In this type of structure, there may be duplicates of the same resources, but in such a case, this could move each individual project along faster depending on the capabilities of each team and its members.
In my opinion, it is tough to say which organizational structure is best and which one is the most effective. I believe it depends on the type and size of company that is being used. If they are the same type and size company, I believe that the best organizational structure would be the project-based organization structure because there are no silos of departmental information, the project runs well after team adjusts, and knowledge transfers well from project to project. Also all things go through the project manager. It is because of these reasons that I think that the project-based organizational structure is the best. In terms of which would be the most effective, I would say matrix organization because the information is transferred smoothly, there are good management resources and there are no department silos. I believe these are reasons why the matrix organization structure would flow the best and be the most effective in terms of performance.
There are a variety of factors that can determine which organization type is best for a company. The major factor I believe would be the size of the company. Smaller companies would probably do better with a functional structure while larger companies would likely do better with matrix organization. However, in terms of being broad and probably the most versatile, a composite organization would probably be best. This way, the positive aspects of each organization type can be utilized while the disadvantages could be minimized. In terms of most efficiency, I believe that the matrix-type organization would be ideal. It would allow for more projects to be completed in a shorter time span. The experienced staff that result from that organization type would also benefit the projects greatly as well.
It's difficult to tell which of the three organization styles discussed in the presentation is the most effective. I believe it is largely determined by the company's size or other variables. Even though it was said that departments in functional organizations operate in silos, this is not always the case.
@rowel2202 I think that is a fascinating perspective to take on organizational efficiency. I think the most effective organization is the one that allows the easiest communication routes and regulates the number of projects the staff has so the team won't be overwhelmed. A combination of some organization types may prove to be beneficial for some company cultures.
The type of organization that works best is the one that maximizes management effectiveness. My preference is a matrix organization. The matrix organization has a lot of benefits. I believe it provides a strong team environment where people take on different roles and responsibilities in different projects. It allows for growth and development of more people; therefore strengthening human capital within the organization. I believe that a culture that focuses on team leadership that does not put a focus on a hierarchy will make a matrix organization stronger because it can mitigate power struggles. It is within a matrix organization that creativity and innovation can thrive.
It is hard to pinpoint which functional structure would be the best because of many different factors. Each structure comes with benefits and risks, and certain companies might find this useful. In the functional structure, there are levels of command that make the decisions for everyone else. This functional structure describes the common structure of a company with a position of power that directs the needs of others. Each building in the district reflects its own individual functional structure, just on a smaller scale. The advantage to this structure is having a group of individuals that specialize in specific departments to help with the flow of power. The speed of decisions and understanding of the flow of power is an advantage of functional structure because it is defined clearly. In a project-based organizational structure, planning and execution are carried out as a team. There are individuals that are heads of the project, but the completion of a project relies on the team. Progress can only be made as a team This structure will require individuals to bring together their different specialties for one goal. The matrix functional structure has many moving parts that seem confusing when reading about it. It seems that everyone has a part that does not require much interaction. A disadvantage would be a lack of communication. Communication can easily lead to the success or failure of a project.
@shereenmurrah I have worked in a functional organization structure mostly and I see the many benefits of this setup. This functional structure describes the common structure of a company with a position of power that directs the needs of others. Each building in the district reflects its own individual functional structure, just on a smaller scale. The advantage to this structure is having a group of individuals that specialize in specific departments to help with the flow of power. The speed of decisions and understanding of the flow of power is an advantage of functional structure because it is defined clearly. There are a few drawbacks when only one person makes the decisions on the behalf of others. It can work for some companies, but not all would benefit.
When deciding which organizational structure is ideal for a company, the size of the company must be taken into account. The organizational structure largely impacts departmental communication, which in turn determines a project's success. The matrix structure appears to be the most effective of the organizational structures mentioned. There is more variation in viewpoints using the matrix structure. There is better communication between projects, allowing for more effective project knowledge transfer. The use of a matrix organization helps to ensure that resources are properly managed. However, since this organizational structure involves a significant project, it is not suitable for many businesses.
A matrix organization appears to have to the most utility to allow a team to be successful. By having departmental resources and cross-progression of projects from one department to another, future work can be completed more smoothly and efficiently. One of the downsides of a matrix organization is that each person has two or more bosses. While this may seem daunting I do not feel it would be all that stressful or complicated to work under different supervisors. If your project aligns with a certain manager, then you should be able to work with them rather than forcing one manager to know the ins and outs of many on going projects.
