Question 3 OR (b) part i
Project organisation and matrix organisation compared (short note)
4 marks
- Time to write
- About 8 minutes
From an older CBCS paper
Question
Question 3 OR (b) part i · 4 marksWrite notes on the following: (7) (i) Project Organisation Vs Matrix Organisation
Reworded from the university paper; the task is the same. The original paper belongs to the University of Delhi. See DU's question bank.
Before you write
Read off the question and its marks
Read from the question
- notes onA note opens with the meaning, then two or three key points. No long introduction.
Write it in this order
- Read; underline the asks; jot your points 1 min
- 1 Project organisation: meaning 1 mark 2 min
- 2 Matrix organisation: meaning 1 mark 2 min
- 3 Points of distinction, with example 2 marks 3 min
Easy marks
- Steps 1 and 2 opens with the meaning: a one-line definition, the quickest mark in each.
Short on time? Step 3 carries 2 of the 4 marks: guard its minutes.
Try it first. About 8 minutes for 4 marks. Write it out, then open the solution.
Solution
Hover or tap a marked figure, like 72,000, to see how it is made and where else it appears.
A project organisation is built for completing one big project or a few of them. A team of specialists is formed for each project, separate from and independent of the functional departments, and it works under the leadership and control of a project manager. While the project lasts, the functional managers give up their authority over the team members to the project manager; a team set up for a one-time project is disbanded at the end and its people return to their departments. It is used in ship building, construction and satellite launching, where a well-defined, technical, costly task must be finished on time.
1Drawn from every department, the project team huddles over one drawing.
Project organisationThe team answers to the project manager rather than to the functional heads.
2Ajay at his desk, a file arriving from each side: the project boss and the department boss.
Matrix organisationThey therefore have two bosses.
A matrix organisation lays project teams over a functional structure that stays in place. The departments form the vertical lines of authority, the projects the horizontal ones, and team members answer to both a functional head and a project head.
Project and matrix organisation distinguished
| Basis | Project organisation | Matrix organisation |
|---|---|---|
| Suitability | A limited number of projects | Many projects at the same time |
| Line of command | Single command | Dual command, which breaks unity of command |
| Use of resources | Each project manager has full authority over the project's own resources | The project manager shares resources with the functional heads |
| Structure | A separate, independent structure | A combination of the functional and the project structure |
| Power struggle | None | Likely between functional heads and project managers |
The comparison rests on the study material. An Indian shipyard building one naval vessel over several years would set up a project organisation; an engineering consultancy in Gurugram running a dozen client projects at once would choose a matrix, so that its engineers move between projects while keeping their home departments.
Where the 4 marks sit
| # | Component | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Project organisation: meaning | 1 |
| 2 | Matrix organisation: meaning | 1 |
| 3 | Points of distinction, with example | 2 |
| Total | 4 |
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