Page 245 - E2 Integrated Workbook STUDENT 2018

People and projects

3.3 When the matrix structure is most suitable

If the organisation exhibits the following characteristics, then the matrix
structure would be suitable.

 The business of the organisation consists of a series of projects, each
requiring staff and resources from a number of technical functions.

 The projects have different start and end dates, so the organisation is
continually reassigning resources from project to project.

 The projects are complex, so staff benefit from also being assigned to a
technical function (such as finance of logistics) where they can share
knowledge with colleagues.

 The projects are expensive, so having resources controlled by functional heads
should lead to improved utilisation and reduced duplication across projects.

 The projects are customer-facing, so the customer requires a single point of
contact (the project manager) to deal with their needs and problems.

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