An organizational structure that had lost strength is coming back to some global companies such as IBM and GE. The matrix structure. Basically, there will be two leaders, one will be a kind of “direct leader”, who besides assigning tasks, will be responsible for the performance evaluation, and the other one who will have shorter access to reports relating to the productivity of one employee.
This kind of structure is constantly criticized for obstructing the freedom and initiative in the companies, and to be extremely bureaucratic. It is even possible to see that this division can make it harder to control when two leaders disagree about an employee production.
However an article published in the Harvard Business Review points out that this way to manage a company can bring some benefits. We should note, also, that global companies like IBM and GE wouldn’t use this organizational structure, if it didn’t bring great advantages. The main one is that through the matrix structure, companies keep their employees working focused on customers, may they be internal or external. This structure is designed so people can work together not at cross porposes.
The first and most important step to make this structue work is making managers’ ideas compatible. Nobody will agree with someone on all subjects, but it is important that the managers have at least a working philosophy aligned. Furthermore, it is important that they respect each other, and have a collaborative attitude.
Regardless on how your business works, Runrun.it can be useful. The software will make ir easier for you to establish the workflow and teams in the organization. The tool also provides several productivity reports, which will facilitate the performance evaluation of your employees.
Register for free http://runrun.it
For Harvard Business Review article, click here.
