Organisation Structures affect the power and freedom of the Project Manager.
There are three classes of organisation structures: functional, matrix and project-oriented.
In functional organisations, the organigram shows the departments in vertical structures with the head of each department on top. This executive is the sponsor of projects inside the department that may need resources from other departments, such as IT. The Project Manager is a member of the department and is responsible for the project but has little power. Employees working in that department do part-time work for the project but must report only to the head of the department. The head of department manages team members and all other resources needed by the project in a rather “siloed” structure.
In matrix organisations, the organigram shows the vertical departments while projects are managed by horizontal teams that involve different departments to create a project multidisciplinaire teams. The matrix name comes from this structure of vertical departments feeding into the horizontal projects by providing resources, people and money. The project manager is not part of the department. She/he comes from a PMO that handles the projects in the company and must negotiate with the heads of department for the required resources. Frequently teams are formed with people from different departments and moved to another room where they can work together.
In project-oriented organisations the work is all organised in project and existing departments are shared services (eg. HR or Legal). The Project Manager has all the power to build the team and handle the project with full decision power. Team members report only to one person and the work is streamlined since the team has all skills necessary to complete the project, after all it is a multidisciplinary team. At the end of the project, the group disperses and members have to find another team to join or they may be fired if no group wants that person. It is important to have a good reputation and network with other teams to ensure some form of job security.
