Many researchers have established the relationship between organisational structure, culture and success of projects. Every organization employs particular structure and culture in undertaking their project activities and the success of such projects relies on the effectiveness of the structure and culture being employed. Organisational structure refers to how project activities such as allocation of tasks, supervision, and coordination are organized with an aim of achieving the Organisational objectives (Ginevičius & Vaitkūnaite, 2006). The success of every activity undertaken by an organization largely depends on the work processes that the organization puts in place. Similarly, Organisational culture refers to a system that comprise of beliefs, values, and assumptions that outline how people are expected to conduct themselves in the organization (Mochal, 2003). This study seeks to examine the implications of Organisational structure and culture in project success.
The common values in an Organisational culture greatly influences how people act, dress, and do their assigned jobs. Organisational culture culminates into a belief system that consequently influences the structure and the firm’s expected output in handling project management issues and project success (Morrison, Brown & Smit, 2008). Despite having well laid down project plans and responsible team, the success rate of a project depends on how the organization promotes its structure and culture. An organization that values and builds its structure and culture to ensure that the desired results are achieved will always experience success.
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The differences observed regarding success of projects is as a result of proper training of project managers to equip them with more knowledge in the project management discipline. The culture of an organization influences the project success through process orientation, governance, training, and assigning of roles and responsibilities (Brooks, 2006). Organizations that have good processes in place will in most cases achieve project success. Adoption of project management processes that are scalable is one of the best means of achieving project success. In such a case, the whole project team is made competent in creating and sticking to work plans (Chockalingam & Ramayah, 2013). They also use universally accepted processes to efficiently handle changes in scope, issues, and risks. Such competent staff reduces the workload of the managers and fasten the activities that results in beating project budgets and gaining project success by attaining the main goals.
In regard to governance, successful organizations have follow ups on the processes that are in place. Many organizations, however, fail to follow up these processes and this has detrimental effects on the success of their projects. Every organization that has well laid down processes must ensure that people are made to work according to the organization’s culture and structure. Project managers must always ensure that all the employees follow the organization’s processes and work as a team with other members. Failure to adhere to these routines will automatically lead to collapse of the project (Shore, 2008). Every team member should be enlightened on their roles and expectations at every stage of the project. This should be done before the project begins so that committed members can be taken to work in the project.
Training project managers is one of the greatest steps that every successful organization values. It is however, important to note that good training is essential in building the capacity of the managers that will subsequently be passed to the junior employees. A well trained project manager is a big asset that can bring enormous change in an Organisational project management setting that ensures more than 99% project success within the scheduled budget and time limits. Project managers who do not possess on-the-job skills are deemed to lead a failing team and experience high unsuccessful project rates. Organizations should therefore, ensure that their project managers have the required skills and knowledge to carry out project supervision to success.
Good organizational structure defines proper roles and responsibilities for all the employees in an organization. People who work in successful organizations know their responsibilities when handling projects and the outcome expected from them throughout the lifespan of the project. The major role of any sponsor for example, is to ensure that quality assurance is performed and that project managers are not left to be the only leaders in undertaking a project. The management style employed by the project managers portrays the culture of the organization. Those who use the autocratic style will show that the organization has a well organized hierarchy and the culture entails strict control of financial and human resources (Creasy & Anantatmula, 2013). On the other hand, those who use a democratic leadership style brings out a sense of democracy to the team members and shows a culture where employees are encouraged to come up with solutions using their own innovative approaches (Dasanayake & Mahakalanda,2008). In combination with management style, a good Organisational culture that enhances project success will ensure that teams involved in a project reach compromises. Autonomous decision making or allowing project leaders to undertake major decisions with use of open-door policies is essential in achieving project success.
The kind of culture employed in an organization influences projects’ time management. Although many organizations prefer traditional ways of carrying out their operations, cultures that are geared towards innovation promote creativity. People have however, argued that companies that are innovative are always inefficient and they are overtaken by traditional companies who manage to give large output as a result of stern scheduling practices (Fong & Kwok, 2009). It is evident that culture plays a major role in successful execution of projects and failures to achieve project targets can be associated with poor culture. Project managers who obtain support from other Organisational leaders need to regularly evaluate their Organisational culture so as to boost projects success rates.
Organisational structure has great influence on the success of a project that an organization undertakes. Organizations that have good structure experience positive influence on the work process, resource management, and development of human capital to achieve the objectives of the firm. Torres et al (2007), points out that a project Organisational structure facilitates the implementation and harmonization of project activities. They also said that organizations put down structures so as to reduce uncertainty and chances of confusion that are normally experienced when a project is at initiation stage. Organizations employ different forms of structures and each has different influence on the project at hand. Kloosterman (2013) outlines three Organisational structures, which include projectized, functional, and matrix structures.
Functional Organisational Structure is employed by firms that organize their units into functional departments according to their main roles. The functional divisions work independently and every member in the department is responsible to a functional manager who is seen as the head of that department (Hyväri, 2006). The role of the department manger is to allocate and supervise the work that each member is tasked with. In most cases, this type of structure is used in firms that already have running projects rather than projects that need to start. Proper use of this Organisational structure ensures that the project meets its objective and both time and budget schedules are met.
The other Organisational structure that is employed in project undertakings is the Matrix Organisational Structure. In this structure , control of resources among other roles is shared between the project manager and the functional managers. The functional managers make the final decision on individuals allocated specific tasks in the project as well as carrying out administrative roles (Morrison, Brown & Smit, 2008). The projects managers are responsible for allocating and systematizing the duties of the assigned project team. Lastly is the Projectized Organisational Structure. In this structure, the project manager has power over the whole project and makes decision on resource application, setting priorities, and taking charge of the work that the project team members are assigned. All the team members are responsible to the project manger and upon completion of the project; available resources are transferred to another project. This Organisational structure is widely used in the construction industry where the projects being undertaken are big and long-term.
Handy (2007), defined six factors that determine the kind of Organisational structure that an organization adopts. These factors include size of the organization, its history and ownership, Technology being used in its operations, desired goals and objectives, the environment in which the organization operates in, and the people working in the organization. These factors make good variables that can be used to come up with a model that can be used to develop best approaches that enhance positive culture. This will also improve the expected profits and customer/stakeholder satisfaction
Having a particular Organisational structure does not limit the organization’s way of operation. This is because once an organization realizes that the structure does not work as expected, it can easily change to a more suitable structure (Stare, 2011). Most companies regularly change their Organisational charts to avoid stagnation. Unlike structure, culture cannot be easily changed. Before achieving an excellent culture, a company will need to put more efforts over a considerable length of time. It is common to come across Organisational structures that negatively affect the ability to execute projects. In organization where the project teams are tasked with support work without the help of the project organization, support issues are likely to be experienced and this takes away the team’s focus from the project hence its failure.
Multitasking between support and project work makes it difficult to come up with proper estimates and scheduling commitments. Some organizations are however, forced to adopt this structure if they have small staff that need to perform all the tasks involved and this may hinder the success of the project (Belassi, Kondra & Tukel, 2007). Some Organisational structures may hinder the firm’s resource sharing ability among departments as a result of a culture that does not support resource sharing. Cultures that encourage resource hoarding may not be appropriate in organizations where the final output requires interdisciplinary involvement (Robbins & Sanghi, 2007).
In conclusion, it is advisable to consider the various factors that hinder the success of projects. Since culture is a broad factor, it plays a major role in the managers’ ability to successfully complete projects. Addressing cultures that have consistently led to project failure should be done in a comprehensive way so that all fine details can be handled. Organisational structure may also hinder or help to attain project success. A good structure can help in focusing on projects and resource sharing among organizations. Resource sharing reduces expenditure and enhances team work that leads to successful completion of projects. Project managers can, therefore, take advantage of good structures and the role of culture to achieve their projects’ goals and meet the expectations of the stakeholders. Proper application of these factors results in many benefits although many projects have been found to bring fewer benefits compared to the initial intended purpose. Some of the negative effects are elongated time plan, increased cost, among others as a result of neglect or lack of enough experienced employees. Organizations should frequently assess their Organisational structure and ensure that the culture fosters projects’ success.
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