The Functional to Matrix Transition

In order for an organization to remain successful, it must be able to fulfill its day-to-day operations without mistakes. If these demands cannot be met, a new project must be created in order to stay in business and ahead of the competition. If an organization has a problem, they can benefit from fixing it by following a formal process for identifying, selecting, initiating, and planning projects (Valacich, 2009).

The paper is divided into three sections, the first of which will establish a timeline of events. This project background will serve as a case study for the analysis in the following section that will be structured such that each of the previously mentioned facets will be independently analyzed and contrasted with project management principles. Finally the paper will conclude with a summary of the analysis and recommendations based on

In a matrix structure, each employee answers to two immediate supervisors: a department supervisor and a project manager. The department supervisor is charged with overseeing employees in a functional area such as marketing or engineering. Project supervisors manage a specific and often impermanent project. They absorb employees from various functional areas to complete their project teams. This kind of organizational structure has several advantages especially if the project managers identify their team strengths and weakness early. Directing the staff with effective leadership skills is a key role as a project manager. A clear direction of the project from start to completion is vital. Therefore, the project managers must carry top notch planning and organizational skills. To follow the WBS and have a clear understanding of the importance of remaining on budget throughout the entire project is mandatory. The experienced project manager must keep planning, staffing, budgeting and scheduling and other control techniques under wrap, by utilizing their administrative skill according to Project Management, (Kerzner, 2013). Although the administrative and other techniques are important, in this particular project, each project manager must work closely as a team member and example. Building the team and each departmental manager into a working cohesive team, could be the true

With the exceptional growth in technology, the present day projects are often large and complex involving a significant risk. So, a Project Management Methodology enables the delivery organization to handle these projects comprehensively, systematically and in an integrated manner, which results in strategic, tactical and operational benefits.

The main challenge facing Multi Project Inc. matrix structure is how the organisation communicates between the various departments. Understanding how various department heads and project managers share resources and what the shared resource roles are under the department head and within the project.

Successful organizations are always looking for ways to improve process and procedures, increase revenues and profits, while staying relevant in today’s business world. Strong leadership is the backbone of any organization and is the catalyst for driving a culture of innovation and change. Organizations looking to make small or large-scale changes typically do so through the implementation of work projects. Projects are collaborative efforts carefully planned and designed to achieve a specific goal. According to Young (2010), “projects take careful planning, and a successful project is one that is done on time and within budget” (p.344). Project management is the activity of planning, organizing, motivating, and controlling resources, while monitoring procedures and timelines, and usually has an assigned project manager (PM). Organizations such as Apple are known to have many projects in motion at any given time. This many projects happening simultaneously can be extremely complex, expensive, and taxing on resources, but somehow Apple has managed to implement project after project with huge success.

Matrix – is a permanently designed to reach detailed results using employees from other areas within the company (Chand, n.d.). This structure uses a horizontal reporting within the hierarchical function structure. Some of the advantages are distributing decision making, strong project co-ordination, and there is a fast and flexible response to change. There is, however, the cost of administration is high, authority and responsibility can be confusing, and group decision making can be exaggerated. Within this structure, there are functional and product managers. The functional managers oversee the daily task of functions to keep the business going whereas the product manager oversees getting the products

Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities in order to meet project requirements (PMBOK Guide, 2008). Using this definition, it is made evident that the parties involved in the Denver International Airport (DIA) Baggage System project in the 1990’s failed at applying basic organizational practices towards managing the triple constraint of scope, time, and cost goals. The combination of inherent risks, uncertainties, and dysfunctional decision making geared the project towards disappointment while simultaneously designating it as a text book example of what not do when taking on a complex project. By looking at the key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats we can

“A matrix organizational structure represents the middle ground between functional and project structures. Personnel often report both to a functional manager and one or more project managers” (Schwalbe, 2014). In the CDB project Corporate Banking, Corporate Trust, and Consumer banking involve to this project. Project Management Office is a good way to coordinate the contradiction between those divisions.

Transforming an organization from a sub-optimizing enterprise of independently functioning departments to an organization that embraces cross-functional teams and customer centric integrated processes that focuses on delivering quality products and services requires a well defined and implemented plan of action. In addition, transforming an

This analysis bases itself on examples taken from an organization that has a well structured and clear defined program and project management process. Despite being well structured well but has its bits of bureaucracy, can be very complicated to understand and extremely difficult to be followed.

problems of the current structure, need for change, the external and internal triggers for change, the forces resisting change and the responsiveness of the changes applied to a particular department or organization structure.

1. Discuss the project management organization on the project. Strengths? Weaknessess? Recommendations. Parks Corporation used a matrix project management organization on the Blue Spider Project. It was a multi-disciplinary team where the members came from different functional units such as Research and Development, Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality Control, Purchasing, and Finance. Gary Anderson, the Project Manager, was responsible for the project but his responsibility for performance of the individual phases of the work to be accomplished on the project remained with the functional managers. Anderson assigned, monitored, and coordinated work among the project team. But, the functional managers had

Matrix Management Structure. senior manager in a large corporation that is touting the benefits of developing software using multiple teams in order to reduce the elapsed calendar time for new software delivery:

Thamhain, H. J., and D. L. Wilemon. “Conflict Management in Project Life Cycles.” Sloan Management Review,