Matrix Management

Title: Matrix management: The replacement of organisational hierarchy?

Section 1: Introduction

In the dynamic and changing business environment, matrix management maintains a respectable position alongside the more familiar hierarchical management. Many organisations have acknowledged the need for matrix management that will enable them to respond to the increasing competitive and complex business environment. The development of matrix management is supported by the rationale that a complex world of business requires a complex organisational structure. Therefore, the multi-dimensional matrix organisational structure enable the organisation perform better in an increasing sophisticated business environment by providing a more flexible organisational structure than the traditional hierarchical organisational structure.

Matrix management through the sophisticated organisational structure that enable the combination of the functional and other dimensions such as product, service, customer and area. It was accepted with enthusiasm since it was introduced in 1970s because it stand for an comprehensive organisational answer to the dynamic and sophisticated business conditions. Although matrix management provides greater advantages to organisation, the successful implementation of matrix structure subject to numerous drawbacks and this caused matrix management been viewed as a controversial respond in organisational design.

In the following sections, we will examine the challenges encountered by matrix management and a case study of an organisation who adopted the matrix management.

Section 2: Literature review

Many organisations are designed as hierarchies, where an employee reports to one manager at the next upper level. There are two main groupings for hierarchical structure, which are divisional and functional. The activities associated to a particular product or customer are grouped as one division in divisional hierarchical structure(Sloan, 1963). The...