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endured for centuries. The advantages of a functional organization include the
following:
Growth potential and a career path for employees
The opportunity for those with unique skills to flourish
A clear chain of command (each staff member has one supervisor—the functional
manager)
The typical disadvantages of a functional organization include the following:
Project managers have limited to no authority.
Multiple projects compete for the same limited resources.
Resources are generally committed part-time to the project rather than full-time.
Issue resolution follows the department chain of command.
Project team members are loyal to the functional manager.
The Matrix Organization
The next organizational structure covered is a matrix organization. There are three
types of matrix organizations, as discussed in a moment. Figure 1.2 shows a balanced
matrix organization.
FIGURE 1.2 The balanced matrix organization
Matrix organizations typically are organized along departmental lines, like a functional
organization, but resources assigned to a project are accountable to the project
manager for all work associated with the project. The project manager is often a peer of
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