A Projectized organizational structure takes on the following appearance:

A projectized structure is very effective for working on projects. The people working

on the project are loyal to the project because the project structure is their

organizational structure. However, it is less efficient using resources because they are

owned by the project. This can create duplication of functions. It can also create a

problem when the project is finishedpeople dont necessarily have a home. This type of organizational structure is common in software companies.

A Functional organizational structure takes on the following appearance:

The functional structure is the typical way organizations are structured in the United

States. The advantage of a functional structure is that it is easier to manage specialist

as similar resources are centralized. Funtional areas in the above diagram would be

Finance, Marketing and Manufacturing. Team members report to one supervisor and

career paths are clear. People have a home. The problem for a project manager in

this environment is that they really dont have any power.

A Matrix organizational structure takes on the following appearance:

A matrix organization provides a project manager with improved control over

resources. Good matrix organizations have strong coordinations and projects have

more support from functional areas than a functional organization

provides. However, matrix organizations need to have good governing policies and

there can be a lot of red tape (overhead) with all of the bosses.

There are several types of matrix organizations. A strong matrix means the project

manager has significant power. A weak matrix means the power tends to reside in the

functional areas. A balanced matrix means the project manager and the functional

manager have equal power. Of course, the reality is that there can never be two equal

managers in charge of a project. Someone has to ultimately call the shots and there

isnt always agreement. You may also read about a tight matrix. This simply means the everyone in the project team is located in the same general office area.

Some companies also use project expeditors to help in coordination. Im not going to go into more detail though. Certainly I havent covered every organizational structure and alternatives, but this is the guts of it.