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THE MATRIX ORGANIZATION 17

brought on board and had to be indoctrinated into the ways of doing things in that
particular project group. And by the time that they became a cohesive team, they
were let go.

However, there was no doubt about where the focus was. There was no con-
flict. There was only the one job. But because there was only the one job, re-
sources might sometimes be out of work to do. It is close to impossible to plan
and execute work so that the demand for resources is exactly level. But with ded-
icated resources, there is no place to put the underutilized people during the
slack periods.

The Matrix Organization

Recognizing the limitations of both the classic Functional Organization and
the pure Project Organization, it is understandable that a new type of organi-
zation would emerge. The Matrix Organization, which gained popularity in the
1970s, offers the best-of-both-worlds solution—but not without problems. See
Figure 1.2c.

These problems might involve leadership, communication, understanding
roles and expectations, and personal rewards. Individuals report to (at least) two
managers—solid line to the functional manager and dotted line to the project
manager. This can lead to confusion, conflict, and ambiguity. Most of the poten-
tial problems involve people, and can be avoided with good orientation and lead-

Figure 1.2c The Matrix Organization

General
Manager

Manager – Purchasing Engineering Field
Projects Supervision

Project Systems Materials Design Engineering Civil Mechanical/
Control Electrical
Specialist

PM – Alpha
Project

PM – Beta
Project

PM – Omega
Project