Organizational Structure

Organizational Structure

XXXX

XXX University

PROJ586

XXXX, 2014

Organizational Structure

Determining the extent of authority and level of responsibility delegated to project managers is defined by the organizational structure level: Functional, matrix, or project based. In a functional based project, the project manager’s authority remains in the program focus or area within the organization and projects are typically in-house. On the opposite end of a functional structure is the projectized structure which gives the project manager total authority over the team and project. The team is solely focused and hired to work on the specific project and is “rarely integrated into an organization” (Williams, “Types of Organizations,” 2014). The projectized structure is the only type that the project manager has complete authority over the team, project, and costs. The matrix based structure is between the functional and projectized structures because both the functional manager and project manager share in the management responsibility. It is here that the Flinn Park project finds its fit with a matrix-type organization structure.

It will aid in understanding why the matrix structure works best for the Flinn Park project by identifying the functional manager’s responsibilities versus the project manager’s and substantiates the reasoning behind the use of the matrix. First, the functional manager, also referred to as the resource manager, oversees human resources needed for the project. The role of the functional manager handles the business portion of the project. One of his or her primary responsibilities is to provide human resources to fill the project team’s requirements, manage those resources to ensure they have the proper skills and expertise to do the work, and adjust the roles of the team as the project moves through various stages, e.g. part-time to full-time, moving a resource out because the skill requirement has changed for the next activity,...