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Matrix Structures

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Matrix Structures
Matrix Structures
Natalie De La Hoz
Liberty University

Abstract This research paper will discuss matrix structures and matrix organization. It will go through a series of examples explaining the organizational levels a company must go through to complete a task. This paper will be explaining divisional, functional, and team structures and how each one has a different duty to attend to in order to fulfill a task and complete it to satisfy their customer’s needs. Pixar Animation Studios is going to be the company that will be an example of how matrix structures work to better a company and how it can take a company from the bottom to the top when done correctly.

Throughout the course of this paper it will be discussing the strengths on having a matrix structure executed in a business. There are many positives a matrix structure can do to a company such as changing the business environment, achieving a higher degree of readiness and market adaptation, and it can also have the ability to react to new customers demands. If a matrix structure is done and applied correctly it can change the whole company in a constructive way and may even potentially decrease lead-times of new products which can give the company more time to create a new product and make it better with all the time they are saving. There are many companies that have made a matrix system to better their corporations’ income, and produce new products to satisfy their consumers. In this paper it will explain matrix systems using Pixar as an example and how they started from the bottom to get where they are today. A matrix structure is a form of a matrix organization. It is an organizational design that groups employees by both function and product. According to our book Organizational Management and Leadership, matrix organization is, “a matrix is a coordinative structural device which constructively blends the program orientation of project staffs with the specialty orientation of



References: Capodagli, B. (2010) Pixar’s Eight Beliefs That Vreate a Culture of Passion. HRM Today. [online] Available at: http://www.hrmtoday.com/featured-stories/pixar%E2%80%99s-eight-beliefs-that-create-a-culture-of-passion/ [Accessed: 28 Feb 2013]. CNET (2011) With Pixar, Steve Jobs changed the film Industry Forever. [online] Available at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20116912-37/with-pixar-steve-jobs-changed-the-film-industry-forever/ [Accessed: 28 Feb 2013]. Melnic, A., & Puiu T. The Management of Human Resources Projects: the Structures of the Project Team, the Responsibility Assignment Matrix. Economy Transdisciplinarity Cognition, 14(1), 476-484. Morgeson, Frederick P., Scott D. DeRue, and Elizabeth P. Karam. "Leadership in Teams: A Functional Approach to Understanding Leadership Structures and Processes." 5-39 36.1 (2010): 11. Jan. 2010. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. Schlender, B. (2004). The Man Who Built Pixar’s Incredible Innovation Machine. Fortune, 150(10), 206-212.

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