Organizational Structures

Correct Answer: Escalate the issue to project management office or sponsor

In a strong matrix organization, authority is shared between functional managers and project managers. Given this scenario, the project manager's best course of action is to escalate the issue to the project management office or sponsor. Doing so allows those with greater authority to make critical decisions that could resolve these conflicts. Asking team members to resolve issues independently, while it could foster self-reliance, may not be effective if conflicts persist or escalate. Ignoring the conflicts and focusing on project completion could lead to unresolved issues that may affect the project's outcome or team cohesion. Lastly, threatening team members with layoffs is counterproductive and unethical. It can destroy team morale and lead to even more conflicts or problems in the future.

Correct Answer: Review the project's budget to accommodate the changes and ensure the least impact on project deliverables

The best approach for a project manager facing budget cuts in a projectized organizational structure is to review the project's budget in order to accommodate the changes and ensure the least impact on project deliverables. This approach is the most appropriate because it involves reassessing the project's financial requirements, considering the new constraints, and making adjustments to keep the project on track with minimal impact on the deliverables. The other choices are not the best courses of action: simply ignoring the budget cuts might lead to a situation where the project runs out of funds before completion; reducing the team size might negatively affect the project's timeline or quality, especially if the people who are let go have critical skills; requesting additional funds without a proper budget review is not professional and might not be received positively by the stakeholders.

Correct Answer: Negotiate with functional managers for additional resources, and adjust the project schedule accordingly

In a hybrid organizational structure, project and functional managers share authority and resources. Therefore, the best way to resolve a schedule delay and staffing issue is to negotiate with the functional managers for additional resources and then adjust the project schedule accordingly. On the other end, forcing the current team to work overtime isn't sustainable and would likely lead to burnout. Hiring new team members without consulting functional managers disrupts the shared authority model of a hybrid organization. Lastly, ignoring the schedule delay and hoping for the team to catch up over time is not proactive management and could cause further delay and problems down the line.