3.2 Understanding Organizations

In order to plan and manage a successful project, the project manager should have a clear understanding of the overall organizational 'system' of his organization, including its frame, structure and culture. The next sections will discuss some aspects related to the organizations.

The four frames of an organization

An Organization consists of four frames:

		Structural
		Human Resources
		Political
		Symbolic

	Each of these frames describes a particular way of looking at organizations and how they function.
	Successful managers rely on all four frames, blending them into a coherent mixture to form the personality of the organization. The following is a description of each frame.

3.2 Understanding Organizations

The structural frame Project manager of a structural frame will usually emphasizes the importance of formal roles and relationships by:

			Increasing efficiency and enhancing performance through specialization and clear division of labor.
			Having structures and control to fit goals and objectives.
			Adapting ways of coordination to ensure control and success.
			Specifying roles and regulations.
			Need restructuring to remediate problems and performance gaps.

The human resources frame The main task of the project manager in a human resources frame is to find an organizational form that allow employee to get the job done while feeling satisfied about what they are doing. The following are the core assumptions of the human resources frame:

			Exists to serve member needs.
			Relationship between the people and organization, as people and organizations need each others; people need careers and organizations need a reliable energy and workforce.
			Enhance the staff's ability to increase organizational effectiveness.

3.2 Understanding Organizations

Provide the needed support to the employee by listening to their views and communicating well with them.

The political frame Organizational politics arises from the diversity of the individuals that make up the organization. In order to form a successful organization whose members can work together and make reasonable decisions, : the project manager has to recognize political reality and knows how to deal with conflict. The following are the main assumptions of the political frame

			Organization is a group of players (represents the stakeholders) that constantly forming alliances and coalitions to compete for specific roles, benefits and power.
			Scarce resources which could lead to conflict and bargaining; where scarce resources may include limits on staff, time, expertise and money

The symbolic frame The symbolic frame represents the nature of the organization in terms of its values, mission and practices. People will be loyal to an organization that has a unique identity and makes them feel what they do is important. The following are the main assumptions of the symbolic frame:

Culture is symbolic and is described by telling stories about how we feel about the organization. This will help people find meaning, purpose and passion.

3.2 Understanding Organizations

			The main issue about an event is what it means.
			Events and meaning are coupled; events have multiple meanings because people interpret experience differently.
			Our life involves a high degree of uncertainty as no one can oversee the future.
			To deal with uncertainty, people create symbols to resolve confusion and provide directions.

Organizational Structures

Functional, project and matrix are the main organizational structures. The following is a description of each of these structures:

Functional organizational structure

	The functional organizational structure follows the basic hierarchical structure i.e. the upper level will be the director (general manager or executive manager), then at the next level, the project manager of each department and finally the staff (as shown in Figure 3.2).
	In the functional organizational structures, the director is in charge and project managers of different departments report back to him.

3.2 Understanding Organizations

	The organization with functional focus tries to group people according to their roles and functions to form what is known as functional departments.
	For example, the marketing department would be staffed only with marketers responsible for the marketing of the company's products.

	Functional organizations have the advantages of being simple to understand with clear lines of demand, specific tasks and responsibilities.
	The disadvantage of this structure is that the communication between different departments is complicated and as a result the problem solving process will be inefficient and slow.
	This type of organizations is best suited in stable environments with no rapid changes in strategies.

Figure 3.2: Functional Organizational Structure

3.2 Understanding Organizations

Project organizational structure

	In this type of organization structure, all the resources needed to execute a certain project are separated from the regular functional structure and set up as a self-contained unit headed by a project manager (as shown in Figure 3.3).
	Therefore, managers will have a high level of authority to manage and control the project resources and will report directly to the general manager or director.
	This form of organizational structure works well with complex projects as it isolates each project and therefore maintains focus. The main problem with this structure is that it is inefficient in transferring expertise across different projects.

3.2 Understanding Organizations

Matrix organizational structure

	The matrix organizational structure is based on forming teams with skilled individuals from different divisions of the organization.
	Each of these teams will report to a project manager, then the project manager would report up to the program manager who in turn will report to the director and/or general manager (as shown in Figure 3.4).
	The advantages of this structure are: efficient allocation of resources and allowing team members to share information easily across the unit boundaries.
	The main disadvantage of this kind of structure is that the reporting relationships are complex. The matrix organizational structure is the most flexible when dealing with changing program needs and priorities.