Management Thought Todays Lessons To Be Learned

A matrix organizational structure is a company structure in which the reporting relationships are set up as a grid, or matrix, rather than in the traditional hierarchy. In other words, employees have dual reporting relationships - generally to both a functional manager and a product manager.

Advantages
In a matrix organization, instead of choosing between lining up staff along functional, geographic or product lines, management has both. Staffers report to a functional manager who can help with skills and help prioritize and review work, and to a product line manager who sets direction on product offerings by the company. This structure has some advantages:
Resources can be used efficiently, since experts and equipment can be shared across projects.  Products and projects are formally coordinated across functional departments.
 Information flows both across and up through the organization.
 Employees are in contact with many people, which helps with sharing of information and can speed the decision process.
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Functional Structure
In a functional structure, positions are grouped based on the type of work they do and the skills required to complete that work. Organizations employing this kind of structure divide themselves into functional areas like marketing, engineering, and accounting. Each functional area is usually led by an administrator with expertise in that field. The strengths of the functional structure include fostering, supervising, and efficiently utilizing specialized resources.

Divisional Structure
In a divisional structure, an organization divides itself not into functional areas but into divisions. These divisions, which can be created around product lines, markets, or geographic region, usually are given more independence and sometimes even act like separate companies.
This structure is usually employed by businesses whose growth into new products, markets, or regions makes the functional structure too complex and cumbersome. By creating