Matrix Manage

Posted by Barney on May 21, 2000

In Reply to: Matrix Manage posted by ESC on May 21, 2000

: : : Can anyone provide specific business meaning to "Matrix
: : : Manage" employees? Thanks for the help.

: : I don't think you can specifically define matrix management in a few sentences so I found a link to follow which may help you. Good Luck!!!

: Oh, no. What fresh hell is this? We've been through "customer service," "team building," "Total Quality Management," "Empowerment," etc. Is this some new toy for management to annoy us with?

I picked up the following definition from the website referred to above and was so impressed by it's opacity that I thought it should be shared widely.

"Cross-Functional Teams - As organizations flatten and "break down the functional silos," the practical application of these macro-concepts is found in the development, nurturing, and use of cross-functional teams. A cross-functional team can be a powerful organizational vehicle that brings together diverse talents to solve a whole business problem, i.e., achieve a Key Result Area for the full organization. However, getting to the place where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts requires planning and intervention. Success won't happen by memorandum or the "Magic Management Method."

The person who wrote the above no doubt deserves some recognition but rumour has it that a Nobel Prize awaits anyone who can understand it; and bankruptcy may be the fate of those who try to apply it.