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Matrix

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By the mid$-1990$s$,$ Asea Brown Boveri $($ABB$),$ the Swiss$-$based electrical engineering giant, had grown to encompass some $1,300$ separate companies and more than $200,000$ employees worldwide. To hold this complex collection together, ABB developed a matrix structure crisscrossing approximately $100$ countries with about $65$ business sectors $($Rappaport$,1992).$ Each subsidiary reported to both a country manager $($Sweden$,$ Germany, and so on$)$ and a sector manager $($power transformers, transportation, and the like$).$

The design carried the inevitable risk of confusion, tension, and conflict between sector and country managers. ABB aimed for structural cohesion at the top with a small executive coordinating committee $(9$ members from seven countries at the beginning of $2021),$ an elite cadre of some $500$ global managers, and a policy of communicating in English, even though it was a second language for most employees. Variations on ABB's structure$-$a matrix with business or product lines on one axis and countries or regions on another are common in global corporations. Familiar brands like Amazon, Google, and Starbucks use matrix structures to support their business $($Bradt$,2018).$

Using terms you have learned from the text:

a$)$ What are some of the advantages of a matrix$-$style organization? Explain in detail.

b$)$ What are some of the disadvantages of a matrix$-$style organization? Explain in detail.

c$)$ What types of organizations might be most likely to employ this kind of complex structure? Why? Explain in detail and provide a short answer for each questions