Question 4 (b) part ii
Project organisation and matrix organisation compared (short note)
3.75 marks
- Time to write
- About 8 minutes
From an older CBCS paper
Question
Question 4 (b) part ii · 3.75 marksWrite short notes on any two from the following:
- Project organization 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
- any twoThe paper asks for any 2, and this is one of them. Only 2 are marked: a third earns nothing.
- short notesA 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 Meaning and use of project organisation 1 mark 2 min
- 2 Meaning of matrix organisation 1 mark 1 min
- 3 Points of comparison, with example 1.8 marks 4 min
Easy marks
- Meaning of matrix organisation (step 2, 1 mark): a definition in one or two lines. A minute or two.
Try it first. About 8 minutes for 3.75 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 brings together a team of specialists to complete one particular project. The team is separate from the functional staff and works under a project manager, and while the project lasts the functional managers give up their authority over the members lent to it; a team formed for a one-time project is disbanded at the end and its people return to their departments. It suits well-defined, technical, time-bound assignments that need heavy capital, as in shipbuilding, construction and aircraft manufacture.
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 a project structure over the permanent functional structure, so that members of a project team answer to two bosses, the functional head and the project head, forming a grid. This breaks the principle of unity of command, so each boss's authority has to be clearly marked out. The project manager shares resources with the functional managers instead of holding full authority over them.
Project and matrix organisation compared
| Basis | Project organisation | Matrix organisation |
|---|---|---|
| Use of resources | Each project manager has resources for the project's exclusive use | Resources are shared between the functional head and the project head |
| Line of command | One boss for each member | Two bosses for each member |
| Structure | A self-contained structure set up beside the functional one | A blend of the functional and project structures |
| Number of projects | Suits a few projects | Suits many projects at once |
| Power struggle | Little scope for it | Possible between functional heads and project managers |
The comparison rests on the study text. A metro-rail contractor building one large viaduct might set up a stand-alone project team; an engineering consultancy running twenty client jobs at once would more likely draw engineers from its departments into a matrix.
Where the 3.75 marks sit
| # | Component | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meaning and use of project organisation | 1 |
| 2 | Meaning of matrix organisation | 1 |
| 3 | Points of comparison, with example | 1.75 |
| Total | 3.75 |
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