concept that was pioneered in Japanese manufacturing organizations, and which, in the 1990s, is found in a number of major American organizations.
Most organizational structures are product/process or functional based (Gortner, Mahler, and Nicholson, 1989, p. 110). Mixed organizational structures, however, have long been common. The hybrid organizational structure attempts to combine the advantages of both product/process based and functional based structures "while avoiding the weaknesses of each" (Gortner, Mahler, and Nicholson, 1989, p. 110). The matrix organizational structure groups staff into functional areas, with temporary assignments to special project groups, or teams (Gortner, Mahler, and Nicholson, 1989, p. 110). Such special project teams are multi functional in character (Gortner, Mahler, and Nicholson, 1989, p. 110). This approach to the team concept "produces a matrix in which the columns represent projects and the rows represent functional departments" (Gortner, Mahler, and Nicholson, 1989, p. 110). The matrix is "a fairly complex form of organization and is generally both costly and time consuming to administer because of all of the crosscutting of lines of authority and accountability that must be coordinated" (Gortner, Mahler, and Nicholson, 1989, p. 110). The self directed, or self managing, work team (SMWT), the latest manifestation of the team based organizational structure, places such matters as personnel, training, and promotion in the hands of the team, causing the team, in effect, to become almost a separate company within a company (Owens, 1991, pp. 53 65). The self managed work team tends to affect three aspects of organizational structure. The affected aspects of structure are lines of managerial authority within an organization, responsibility and accountability within the organization, and the informal organization within the organizational structure. The development of an effective team...