Designing Matrix Organizations that Actually Work

The book is about designing effective matrix organizations. Companies have gotten past the point where they try to avoid a matrix structure. They now know that if they have multiple product lines, do business in multiple countries, and serve many customer segments through a variety of channels, there is no way they can avoid some kind of a matrix structure. So today the question is How do we make a matrix work? Answering this question successfully is what the book is about. The Introduction explains What is a Matrix? Why would anyone choose one? and concludes with the Star Model which provides for a complete design of the matrix organization. The chapters will be divided into sections. The first section will describe the simple two dimensional matrix and all its variations. Section Two will begin with a brief guide to the more complex and more frequently occurring forms of matrix organization. Section Three is devoted to completing the design of the matrix organization. Most of the failures result from not completely finishing the design. The rest of Star Model practices are then described in the chapters. There will also be a final chapter which describes Galbraiths experiences with clients using the matrix structure.