MBA 580 Organization Overview
(Processes, Structure, Culture)
Your company manufactures and distributes automobiles across six continents. The structure is very
complex and it is difficult to accurately count the levels of hierarchy. The company operates under a tall
matrixed structure design.
Tall structures can be cumbersome, and decision makers are often those farthest from the customer.
Communication can be slow and difficult, also slowing down decisionmaking speed. The specialized
functions and organizations, often referred to as centers of excellence or centers of expertise (COE),
allow for deep knowledge and expertise. Your company has many functional COEs where increased
structure, governance, and control allow for resource and process efficiencies. Resources are
centralized, reducing duplication of effort across the organization. These efficiencies can, however,
result in rigid, inflexible processes. In addition, COEs can create functional silos or reduced cross
functional coordination and lack of connectedness, where each function is striving toward its own
unique objectives.
Your company follows a centralized and standardized approach where enterprisewide decisions are
often made centrally and at the top of the hierarchy. This centralization makes it easier to implement
common policies and practices, prevents parts of the organization from becoming too independent, and
capitalizes on specialization.
Matrixed organizations are often associated with this specialized COE structure. Rather than having
permanent crossfunctional teams or organizations working on specific projects or product launches,
matrixed organizations pull teams together from the various functional departments. Specialists are
pulled from functional areas to work on a specific project or product design. In essence, they report to
two managers at the same time and may work on multiple projects simultaneously. Although the project
manager, who is on the same leadership level as the functional vice president (VP), supervises the
project, the true management authority still resides with the VP.
Specialists supporting specific product launches generally remain “seated” with their functional team
but meet regularly with their product team to advance the project. They may be fully dedicated to the
project or still work on other unrelated projects.
Finally, product teams are pulled together at the enterprise level and are not regionspecific. Although
they may produce differentiated projects for unique regions, their primary focus is on enterprisewide
initiatives.
Organization Structure Chart
Product A Product B Product C
Functional VPs: Project Manager Project Manager Project Manager
Design
Technology
Hardware
Electronic Systems
Safety
Engineering
Sustainability
Quality
Strategy
Finance
Procurement
Marketing
Specialists are pulled from functional area
to work on specific project or product
design. In essence, they report to two
managers at the same time and may work
on multiple projects simultaneously.
