Matrix Structure
Categories: Company Management
Managing upways, sideways, and criss-crossways. It can be amazing. It can be confusing. In the matrix structure, a person can have more than one boss…as in more than one boss from different departments. Instead of departments somewhat operating in a silo, they can share employees or reporting among different departments.
For example, at a university with on-campus housing, we may have an assistant director who helps manage the Housing and Residential Life department, but is also responsible for new-student orientation, so he/she partially answers to the Director of Orientation in addition to the Director of Housing and Residential Life. In the same manner, Residence Hall Directors often have Student Activities duties, and answer to that department as well.
In a matrix structure, if an employee is really good, he or she can make the bosses fight over his or her time. Well…maybe not, but it might be tempting to try.