Matrix organization chart: advantages and disadvantages

In a matrix organization chart, the company can be organized by means of two criteria at the same time, these are the functions and the product or project. This type of structure tries to combine the best of both criteria.

Thus, the Matrix organization can be used frequently by various groups of employees who are those who perform the work, in order to take advantage of the strengths and compensate for the weaknesses of the functional, divisional and bureaucratic structure where if it is defined that carry the responsibility it can generate a controversy.

The most important thing about this structure is the teamwork, this is because the hierarchy is on a second level, due to the responsibility carried out by the specific activities. If the company is well organized in its work, it does not need to go to the authority to make decisions.

Advantages of a matrix organization chart

In this kind of Organization chart, employees must respond to two immediate authorities, which are the functional supervisor, who is in charge of inspecting employees who perform your work in departments such as marketing or engineering and the project supervisor who manages and supervises workers to carry out the themselves.

All this operation leads to a series of advantages, such as the following:

Resource coordination

In this specialized area, functional supervisors focus on the concentration, management and training of workers in their field, as opposed to project supervisors who focus on tracking the goals of their products or projects specific.

Specialization

In this case, employees must be placed in the appropriate areas to be able to specialize in a certain function in particular. Which means that instead of being efficient in various activities, they will specialize in defined concentration tasks.

Breadth of skills

When employees focus on a single area, it can be difficult for them to acquire new knowledge and experiences in other activities. In this type of structure, workers have the opportunity to contact other participants who perform other areas through project teams.

By having access to these project teams, employees will be able to expand their skills, allowing them to develop within the structure.

Communication

Since workers have constant communication with participants from other functional areas, information and resources, they will be able to develop more fluently. There will be greater collaboration between the areas and in turn the challenges and objectives of the projects will be better managed.

Flexibility

The functional areas maintain a stock of efficient workers, who comply with everything that is needed to adequately develop a project, therefore, the human resources of this type of structure will be shared flexibly in the execution of the products or Projects.

Disadvantages of a matrix organizational structure

Disadvantages include:

• Difficulties in controlling projects, in case teams have too much freedom.
• Conflicts of loyalty between levels of command authority and project managers regarding the allocation of resources.
• Increased costs if more managers are created through the use of project teams.

Matrix organization structure

Is Matrix organization relates some characteristics of the designs of a functional organization and by product, this will help to improve the efficiency of the informational processes between managers and employees.

Functional managers and product managers must report to a matrix manager, since It must coordinate the tasks of these authorities and is the one who strengthens and integrates the activities carried out.

The design of this structure can achieve integrate activities and eliminate duplication of functional tasks, which is favorable for each product line.

The responsibility of the functional manager is to recognize the resources that are needed to carry out a job, and that of the manager of product is to identify which are the products that can be made in the company to attract and satisfy the needs of the customers.

The job of the matrix manager is to find a general balance, he must coordinate the functional activities and the execution of company products, you also have to ensure that the product is delivered on time and does not get out of the budget.

These organizations require competent managers who know how to communicate, work in a team and know how to control a group of employees. They achieve coordination, which can take place through formal and informal meetings or also through direct conversations.

All teams thatrely on product managers and functional managers In this type of structure, they have to assume when and what they will do when carrying out an activity or developing a project or product.