Functional Mgmt Vs Project Mgmt

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Colorado Technical University Functional Management vs. Project Management Essay 1 Dr. Don G. Schley, PMP Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for PM 600 CSHA1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROCESSES IN ORGANIZATIONS By Rick Adams; 09B2994493 Colorado Springs, Colorado July 2009 Functional Management vs. Project Management To understand the differences between functional management and project management, it helps to have a foundational knowledge of the two types of management. This knowledge includes historical information, organizational structure, and the functions/goals of each of the management types. In 1916, Henri Fayol proposed the following five functions of management (Fayol, 2009, para. 6): • To forecast and plan • To organize • To command • To co-ordinate • To control Functional Organizations Functional organizations follow Fayol’s five functions of management using a top-down hierarchal organization. Functional organizations operate well to develop, produce and sustain products and services which exist over long periods of time. Examples of products which exist over long periods of time are large industrial products; cars, boats, airplanes. The basic design and construction of these products remain the same over many years. There may be cosmetic differences in color, body style and other inconsequential items, but overall, the basic design remain the same. Soft product types can also fit into a long term production environment. Examples of soft products are accounting products; payroll and tax services fall into this category. Functional organizations focus on the functions, or departments within an organization. In addition, functional organizations are hierarchal in nature. In other words, power flows from the top to the bottom of the organization within a
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