Some of the advantages and disadvantages of a functional organizational structure are as follows. Also, you can check out the advantages and disadvantages of organizational structure to know more about it.

Pros or Advantages of Functional Organizational Structure:

1. The functional organizational structure helps in achieving the benefits of specialization in all of the work. In addition, the functional structure is easier management of specialists.
2. A functional manager is required to have expertise in only the one function only. This facilitates better executive development.
3. This structure will reduce the burden of the top executives.
4. The structure was simple and inexpensive.
5. It offers greater scope for expansion as compared to the line of the organization.
6. In this type of organization unnecessary duplication of efforts is totally eliminated.
7. It minimizes the need for elaborate control systems.
8. Team member report to only one supervisor.
9. This functional structure facilitates the training of personnel as the focus is only on a limited range of skills. For example, the employees of the finance department are given training on financial issues.
10. It ensures that all the functions and activities get equal weightage.
11. Clearly defined career paths in areas of specializations.
12. It creates a high degree of efficiency as the group of employees and the functional heads perform their limited. It also specialized in some best operations.
13. All the people working within a department are specialists in their respective jones. It makes coordination easier at the departmental level.
14. The expert knowledge of the functional managers facilitates better control and better supervision in the enterprise.

Cos or Disadvantages of Functional Organizational Structure:

1. The operation of the functional organizational structure is complicated and it is not easily understood due to its various technicalities.
2. In this structure, the functional manager tends to create boundaries around himself. It thinks only in terms of his own department rather than the whole enterprise.
3. This structure violates the principles of unity of command since the person is accountable for more than one bosses.
4. This functional system is a hurdle in the way of the complete development of the employees. In addition, each and every employee specializes only in a small part of the whole job.
5. The functional organizational structure that develops specialists rather than generalists. This may create the problem of succession on top of executives.
6. The project manager has little or no authority.
7. It creates confusion among the workers.
8. It is unsuitable for nonmanufacturing activities.
9. There is a general lack of coordination among the functional executives which causes the delay in the decision making. When some a decision problem requires the involvement of more than one specialist.
10. So in this structure, the people place more emphasis on their functional speciality to the detriment of the project.
11. No doubt this facilitates coordination within the department. But it makes interdepartmental coordination difficult.
12. Each and every departmental head wants to become a functional empire. To satisfy ego in everyone demands maximum resources for their department. This situation leads to conflicts among the various departmental heads.

Thank you for reading the article on functional organizational structure and its advantages and disadvantages.

Explore more information: 

1. Advantages and disadvantages of organizational structure
2. Advantages and Disadvantages of Divisional Structure
3. Advantages and Disadvantages of Matrix Organizational Structure
4. Advantages and Disadvantages of Product Organizational Structure
5. Advantages and Disadvantages of Horizontal Organizational Structure

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Divya Chauhan

Divya Chauhan is an expert writer with 10+ years of experience as a content writer. They specialize in making complex topics like IT, Health, and general topic easy to understand. Divya has written over thousands of articles to help people with their content. Prior to joining Way2benefits’s editorial team in 2020, Divya worked as a Professor of BCA college and freelancer blogger.

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