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FROM THE FOUNDER
AEC firms today still struggle with the same old organizational issues that undermine clarity, accountability, and leadership. A few thoughts on organization structure
M ost people probably don’t know it, but my undergraduate degree is actually a management degree with a specialization in organizational behavior. And yes, it proved to be relevant and useful. I have been working with AEC firms on organization structure issues for my entire 45-year post-MBA career and employed every bit of this knowledge over the years.
Mark Zweig
That said, some of the issues and problems I was helping companies deal with as far back as 1980 – as hard as that may be to believe – are STILL issues in firms today. Let’s take a look at some of these common problems, several of which are unique to firms in our industry: 1. Project managers working in a matrix organization structure who have no one permanently assigned reporting to them. This is the most common problem I see with organization structures of firms in our business. PMs are supposed to deliver quality work on time and within budget, yet the people they rely on
to do the job don’t report to them. They have no control over their time and no ability to reward or punish. Not to mention the fact that any individual could have six different PMs they are working for plus their department manager at the same time. Who sets the priorities? Not the PMs. The matrix organization is a big problem. 2. Individuals who report to more than one person. I see this frequently in our business, also. It doesn’t work and violates a principle called “unity of command,” one that says each individual reports to only one person. It really creates problems if the two people someone reports to
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THE ZWEIG LETTER MAY 26, 2025, ISSUE 1587
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