When the project is complete, managers and team members are assigned to other projects.įor a small business, projects may internal, for example marketing campaigns or charity events. The project manager chooses a team of people to work on the project based on their skills and expertise. Managers must be able to handle a variety of functions across multiple departments.Īt the top, you have a director who appoints the project manager for each project. While it’s helpful to be able to mix and match personnel based on project needs, it does mean teams have to adapt to new managers and colleagues for each assignment. The chart changes as needed for each project. If your business operates with projects that are different from one client to the next, and from one brief to the next, this structure is the ideal choice. Conflicting expectations can be confusing for bottom-tier workers and result in lower productivity. Staff and line positions have different objectives and are often at odds. The staff in this situation refers to experts advisors providing technical information, opinions, and advice, who may be allowed to authorize certain activities and assist with reports that bear weight in decision-making. This organizational structure is best for companies working in specialist fields. This type of chart establishes a hierarchy in each department while allowing for cross-communication. In a small business, you’re likely to have separate teams with a great deal of interaction the sales department may have daily interaction with administration and with shipping. It enables directors and managers to collaborate with one another over teams they don’t directly control, for better information flow and flexibility. Similar to the line organizational structure, the functional organization structure offers more lines of communication. Information flows through each layer of the organization in turn, and the structure doesn’t allow for collaboration between teams or “open door” access to upper management.įor small businesses with few employees, this type of chart is the least complicated, with the owner at the top, shift or department managers in the middle, and other employees under them. This traditional hierarchy is simple and rigid. The top of the chart features the executives, then directors (for larger businesses) followed by the department heads, and the employees each department head or manager is responsible for. Line Organizational StructureĪlso known as a hierarchical organizational chart or a top-down organizational chart, this is the most common structure due to its simplicity. Understanding the types of org charts available allows you to choose the one that makes the most sense for your business.