Three main structures in project management Essay

Three main structures in project management - Essay Example 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, impro ving 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 manag