Thursday, April 21, 2011

Project Management Structure in an Organization

One aspect of project management used to receive some attention in the years 1950 and 1960 was the proposed organizational structures. A myriad of new organizational structures have appeared on the scene in the last couple of decades, but still lack many of the qualities desirable in traditional methods. Ultimately, project management organization seeking ways to facilitate teamwork, can maximize use of limited resources, efficiency and quality in the way they completed a project and how the goals and objectives are achieved. This article examines the three major traditional organizational structures for project management. These three structures are the functional organization, project organization and parent organization.

The functional organization structure is by far the oldest methods of organization, but remains one of the most successful. This method works best when used for routine work functions and maintenance of quality standards and work. Functional organization structure to allocate the projects in two different ways. One way is the project that is assigned to a specific functional manager then coordinates with other departments so that everyone contributes. Moreover, projects can be mixed around to different departments where each department head ensures that parts of the work has been completed.

This method does not work very effectively when used in the facilitation of complex projects. One of the main criticisms of this organizational structure is the absence of a function of employee recognition, measurement and reward for the performance of the project. Similarly, there is little individual accountability for project management tasks to be carried out.

Project Organization Project Organization is a structure that is designed specifically for project implementation. That is designed specifically to meet the demands of complex projects by isolating single work and maintain a strong focus on completing the project. After completion, this structure is dissolved. This structure is effective in maintaining dedicated resources throughout the project life.

The main criticism of this structure is that it is inefficient in the transfer of technology and the use of resources. Furthermore, when the members actually begin to act as a cohesive team, the project has ended and dissolve the organization. Since this project has dedicated resources throughout their lives, the vast inefficiency occurs when there are underutilized employees during certain parts of the project.

Matrix Matrix Organization Organization is a project management structure that evolved from the recognition of the flaws inherent in the functional organization and project organization structures. Created in the 1970's, this structure combined the best parts of these two structures. This model works very well when there is co-ordinating multiple projects at once. Functional managers oversee the staffing, training, work assignment and evaluation of project staff. Functional specialists are assigned to one or more projects and oversee these individual projects "to achieve its objectives have been completed through maximum resource efficiency.

Despite its recognition and prevention of defects involved in another structure, matrix organization still has some problems of its own. individual employees report at least two directors who often can lead to ambiguity and conflict. These problems can be avoided through good communication and strong leadership among administrators.

This article simply provided an overview of various project management structures of the organization. Functional organization, Project Organization and Matrix are the three traditional structures of project management that are still used today because of its effectiveness. However, keep in mind that there are plenty of other methods available that best suit your business situation. However, the type of organizational structure to be chosen by your company depends on the type of project and the objectives and goals that ultimately aims to achieve.