Three main structures in project management - Essay Example

? Write my Essay Write my Essay This essay seeks to analyze the three main structures in project management, their strengths and weakness and which structure an organization should select based on its’ organizational structure. The paper will review various resources so as to elaborate on the subject. The Functional Organization Structure Businesses that produce and sell standard products utilize functional organization structures. A company that manufactures and sells video recorders and players, for example, may have a functional organization structure. Groups are a common aspect of functional structure in an organization. Individuals make up groups that perform the same functions, have the same expertise or skills. Each group focuses on performing its own activities. This is with an aim of supporting the business decision. The focus is on the cost, technical excellence and competitiveness of the company’s products. The groups also focus on the contribution of each of the functional groups to the company’s products (Gido and James, 2012). The companies that make use of organization structure periodically form project teams. These teams work on the internal projects within a company. The projects focus on developing new products, redesigning office floor plan, improving the manufacturing process, implementing a new information system or updating the business policy and manual procedures. Various project teams are formed from some of the projects listed. The company management selects members of the teams from the appropriate departments (Gido and James, 2012). The team members may be assigned to the project either on part-time or full time for a section of the project or during the entire project. Individuals continue to perform their regular company duties as they dedicate their part time to the project time. The project leader or manager comes from the team members, functional managers or vice president. The project manager in a functional organization lacks complete authority over the project team. This is because the team members still retain their administrative and technical authorities over their respective functional managers who appoint them to the team (Gido and James, 2012). The Strengths of the Functional Organization Structure To begin with, it clearly defines the responsibilities and roles of each person assigned to the project. This is because projects do not form part of the normal routine of the organization functions. The project manager also requires time to update the other functional managers in the company often on the progress of the company and thank them. This is in regard to the continued support of the individuals they have assigned to the project. It can also be used when the team members may be assigned work on a project that is strictly within a given functional unit. In such cases, a given functional manager has full authority over the project. This makes it easy for conflict to be handled more quickly as it emerges within a multifunctional project team (Gido and James, 2012). The Weakness of the Functional Organization Structure The first weakness of this structure is that if there are conflicts among the team members, it takes much time for them to be resolved. This is because the various hierarchies have to be involved. Another weakness is that when the company chief executive gives the project manager authority to make decisions in case of a disagreement among the team members, the decisions may reflect the interest of the organization functions of the project manager rather than the overall interest of the project. Lastly, the project manager relies on his leadership and persuasion skills. These skills help in handling conflicts, building consensus and unifying the team members. This is necessary to accomplish the project objective. The lack of full authority over project decisions is what causes hurdles for project managers (Gido and James, 2012). Pure Project Organization Structure The project manager is in total control of other departments in the pure organization structure. This structure acts like a small company or an independent department of a main company. The project manager has the full control of the team members and the resources assigned to the project (Nagarajan, 2005). This organization structure is suitable when a company has a complex project with large resource requirement. This structure is used for organizations with few projects that have a long duration. The functional managers do not report to the General Manager, but report to the project manager. The company manager selects all the functional departments needed for the project and assigns them responsibilities. The project manager controls the functional departments. Every project is treated as a separate entity (Nagarajan, 2005). Strengths of Pure Project Organization Structure The first strength is that the structure offers flexibility in determining cost, schedule and performance trade-offs. This is because all the needed resources are at the discretion of the project manager. Secondly, it can ensure good work performance. The functional heads and other personnel involved the projects should be qualified and committed towards achieving a good performance. This makes them dedicate themselves to the projects without having to share the services with other projects within the organization. Lastly, the response time to problems is quick since there is no ambiguity of relationships within the authority (Nagarajan, 2005). Weakness of the Pure Project Organization Structure The main problem is that it is costly for the company. This is because separate resources have to be assigned and maintained for separate projects. The resources also remain unutilized as the projects commence before their execution. The human power also remains idle after completion of the project not until they are deployed to other projects (Nagarajan, 2005). The Matrix Organization Structure This organization structure is a hybrid. It is a combination of the functional and the pure project organization structure. It focuses on the project structure and the customers of the products produced by a company. It also retains the functional experts within their respective functional structure. The functional and project components of the matrix organization structure have a responsibility in contributing jointly towards the success of the company and the project. The functional managers are responsible for the organization of project resources to achieve results. The project manager, on the other hand, is responsible for achieving project results (Nagarajan, 2005). The matrix structure is required when the company needs to utilize its resources effectively such as construction companies. The functional component of the company and the technical staff give the expertise required to support the ongoing projects. The project managers are appointed from existing organization project team members. The vice president of a project assigns a project manager to a new project when a company comes up with a new project. A project manager may be assigned a small project when he is already managing other several small projects. A large project is assigned to a full time manager (Nagarajan, 2005). The project manager arranges for meetings with the appropriate functional managers after being appointed. The project manager negotiates with the functional managers the assignment of the project team members from the functional roles to the project responsibilities. The individuals within a project team are assigned duties for the period they are required. This can be either full time or on part-time and depends on when their expertise is required. In a matrix structure, it is common for an individual from a functional component to be assigned part time responsibilities to several concurrent projects (Nagarajan, 2005). The sharing of individual’s time among several projects in the matrix structure results into proper utilization of resources. This also minimizes the overall cost for the company and on each project. As assignments and projects are being completed, the available individuals are being assigned to new projects. The aim is to optimize the number of functional hours and persons needed to work on projects and reduce the unutilized time. This is in contrast to the pure organization structure where individuals remain idle (Gido and James, 2009). The Strengths of the Matrix Organization Structure The first advantage is that it provides an environment for check and balances. The potential problems are identified by both the project manager and the functional structure. This helps to solve the problems before they jeopardize the success of the project. The matrix structure also facilitates immediate response when problems are identified. This is because the structure has both horizontal and a functional path for the flow of information (Gido and James, 2009). In matrix structures, the conflicts between two or more projects within an organization can be resolved based on priority. This is made possible by the project manager reporting directly to the vice president of the projects. The last strength is that the vice president, through his administrative function, can devise procedures that are consistent with each other for the management of projects. This includes planning and budgeting, using information system, data gathering and project reporting (Gido and James, 2009) The Weakness of the Matrix Organization Structure The weakness of this structure is that it is not appropriate for the organization that produce few products and that are operating in a stable market. Secondly, its structure is bureaucratic and clumpy. Many meeting s may be required which reduce the progress of the projects. Finally, the two hierarchies that make the structure may lead to conflict and power struggle among the various individuals involved in the project (Aswathappa, 2006). In conclusion, every organization needs to evaluate its appropriate organization structure as this will determine success of the projects. This can be done by comparing the three aforementioned organization structures and selecting the one that meets the company needs and wants. This is because choosing the wrong organization structure ends up in failure of a project. The matrix structure is for projects requiring efficient utilization of resources. It is a combination of both pure and functional structures. The project team is headed by the project manager and the functional manager. The functional organization structure is the most adopted project organization structure. It is suited for organizations that manufacture and sell standardized products. Lastly, the pure project structure is for organization pursuing fewer numbers of projects that have long duration. Thus, after a company compares the organization structures and select the appropriate method to manage its project and project team, then success will be inevitable. References Aswathappa, A. (2006). International Business. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill. Gido, J. and James, P. C. (2012). Successful Project Management. London: Cengage Learning. Gido, J. and James, P. C. (2009). Successful Project Management. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Nagarajan, K. (2005). Elements of Project Management. New Delhi: New Age International (P) Ltd. Read More