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
I think as a project manager you would want a matrix structure. Project-based structure lacks efficiency in that there can be members of the team who are specialized in certain areas, but that area is not needed for that project.For example, if you are working on a strictly mechanical device you may not need chemical or electrical engineers on the team. Also the lack of communication with other project teams is detrimental, as someone from another team may know more on the topic and be able to contribute. Matrix structure is efficient because the project manager gets to essentially draft the most knowledgeable and effective members for the task at hand. This way the team is all on the same understanding level and everyone's potential is maximized, leading to the best result.
I think it would be more challenging for a project manager to work in a matrix based organizational project. In the matrix based project you must coordinate with other functional departments more and must structure your project around other department groups. This will require the project manager to coordinate with all the other departments to see when each member of their team will be available. Then if everyone is not available at the same time the team will need to coordinate better and restructure their project. If the project manager was in a project management matrix, then they have all their team members already set and can operate within their own group without having to worry about time restrictions set by other department groups. Also, since the project manager is now in sole control of the group they will not need to meet with other group leaders to make decisions, they will not need to negotiate and they can speed up the project development process. In addition, having full control of your team and having everyone working consistently with each other will increase team chemistry and team success in the project based organization.
The matrix structure allows an efficient use of company's resources. There could be some negative impact on project due to conflict between project manager and functional manager. The most difficult challenge in matrix form is team development. Every member in team must be informed about their role in project and they must be informed about the authority. Untrained team member can cause unsuccess of a project so project manager should make sure that every team member is properly trained. In a project based structure project manager select team , allocate task , and see performance. Duplication of resources is biggest challenge in project based organization. It combines expert with skills to achieve common goal. Project manager has to deal with a large number of project at a same time so challenge is to choose the right kind of people for a particular project. The lack of learning power can be another hurdle for project manager.
That is an excellent question. Working as a project manager in a matrix organization, I feel, is more difficult since you are responsible for more individuals than normal. Instead of supervising individuals in your own department, you're now in charge of people from other departments with whom you might not have previously interacted. Another constraint is ensuring that deadlines for different departments and projects do not collide. It's possible that employees will have numerous deadlines, which might be confusing. Furthermore, if their projects are comparable, project managers may have to compete for resources.
Both matrix and project based organizations have their advantages and disadvantages as a project manager. As a project manager I feel a significant factor in finding success is being able to create a harmonious work environment where everyone is on the same page. It is easier for the project manager to create this environment when working in a matrix based organization for there is a balance in authority between the functional head and project manager. No one person will be able make or break the project, you must work as a team with all departments to help each other achieve the end goal. Although this is also the end goal in project based organizations there is no balance of power. The project is in the hands of the project manager and it is their job to hire whom ever they feel is qualified for the job. This can cause highly stressful situations when things are not going well. Department members may begin isolating themselves or avoiding the manager out of fear of losing their jobs. This is a difficult environment to work successfully in for it is much easier to accomplish a task when there are different perspectives working to find an approach to fix the problem. As a project manager I would like a functional manager I can consult and work along with when working on a project.
Great response @au45, very insightful. From a project manager perspective this is very useful knowledge. I agree that making a harmonious work environment would be easier in a matrix based organization, because of the teamwork nature and balance of authority. There are additional things to consider, like resources and project load on employees, but this encompasses some of the true differences between matrix and project based orgs.
The lectures introduce the three types of organizations. Project managers' roles are specifically mentioned in both matrix and project-based organizations. While other posts discussed the preference of working under one or the other, no one mentions what is best for a project manager. Would it be more challenging to work as a project manager in either Matrix or Project-based organization ? What complications can arise from one more than the other in the point of view of a project manager ?
- Lamiaa Abdelaziz
It would be more challenging working under the Matrix organization for the PM because you would have to think a bit harder on what staff members would be the best fit for the project and what project manager would be the best fit for the project. WIth the Project-based organization, there is less to think about, and the team is already established. The complications that arise from a project-based organization will be the potentially toxic culture of the team if the staff members don't work together easily, making projects more tedious to complete. The main complication stated in the PowerPoint with the Matrix organization would be the multiple projects each staff member would have to complete given the interconnected project teams.
It's recommended to have an organizational structure in place to accurately define the activities in a project. Projects have many activities, from task allocation to budgeting and everything in-between. Therefore, that organizational structure shouldn’t be rigid, but efficient, flexible and possibly innovative.
Every organization is structured in some way, and that structure is determined by the organization’s objectives. The way you structure an organization is going to offer a standard for operating procedures and routines. It will also determine who participates in what, and what project tools are best for the job at hand.
Matrix organizational structure is often used in project management because it speaks to both the product of the project and the function of the management producing it. Let’s take a closer look at this type of organizational structure to determine its pros and cons in project management.
The lectures introduce the three types of organizations. Project managers' roles are specifically mentioned in both matrix and project-based organizations. While other posts discussed the preference of working under one or the other, no one mentions what is best for a project manager. Would it be more challenging to work as a project manager in either Matrix or Project-based organization ? What complications can arise from one more than the other in the point of view of a project manager ?
- Lamiaa Abdelaziz
It would be more challenging to work as a project manager in a matrix organization. Seeing how your staff members can potentially have two or more bosses, the work needed to be done in your department may get behind simply because you lack workers. This here can cause conflict between you and other managers that you work with. Another challenge you may encounter would be competing for resources. Every department has a budget and spending has to be done cautiously. In some situations, a project may need costly equipment, tool, chemicals, etc. just for themselves, leaving your tasks to work under a much tighter budget.
From comparing both Project-based and Matrix organizations, I believe that Matrix organizations may be better for project managers. The matrix organization is a combination of two or more different kinds of organizational structures like project management or functional management. Some disadvantages to the matrix organization would be that the managerial roles wouldn’t be clearly defined since the power would be split between the project managers and/or functional managers. And also due to multiple people in charge, there would need to be confirmation/approval from each person which can slow the decision making process down. But despite these setbacks matrix organization has strong advantages. It can allow for collaboration and communication between different departments and this is helpful if there are any issues and if another team has done a similar project and can give advice. Matrix organizations can help to better the team members as well as the project managers themselves so long as there is constant communication and expectations are set from the very beginning.
For the project manager, it would definitely be easier to work in a project-based organization than a Matrix organization. In a project-based organization, the project manager only needs to work with their assigned project team and does not need to necessarily communicate with other project teams. However, in a Matrix organization, the project manager would need to balance their own project team as well as their communications with other project teams. This could cause complications such as marking it harder to define a project schedule. However, the challenges faced by working in a Matrix organization could be overcome through the use of multiple project managers.
