Leadership in Business: Operations Management Strategy at CSIRO

This report analyzes leadership within the context of operations management strategy, using the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) as a case study. CSIRO, an Australian organization dedicated to scientific research and innovation, employs a matrix organizational structure to facilitate collaboration and efficiency across its various projects. The report discusses the advantages of this structure, such as resource sharing, effective communication, and the development of team spirit, while also acknowledging its potential drawbacks, including employee confusion, work overload, and high operational expenses. Ultimately, the report argues that the matrix structure is well-suited for CSIRO due to its ability to facilitate the sharing of skilled resources, provide flexibility in resolving issues, and ensure job security for employees. The analysis draws upon various sources to support its claims and provides a comprehensive overview of CSIRO's organizational structure and leadership approach.

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Operations Management Strategy
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The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, abbreviated as
CSIRO, is a Canberra based organization responsible for scientific research. The organization’s
main role is to use science as a method of solving real issues (Csiro.au, 2019). The organization
has been advancing Australia with innovation and inventions hence ensuring a positive impact
on societies and communities across the world. In addition, the organization works with other
leading organizations across the world in order to promote quality research (Csiro.au, 2019). The
company is headquartered in Canberra and has over fifty branches across Australia as well as
other European countries. The organization is funded by the Australian government and has
managed to bring forth notable developments including the inventions of the essential
components of the Wi-Fi technology, atomic absorption spectroscopy, and the 1st commercially
successful polymer banknote.
CSIRO has adopted a matrix organizational structure since employees report to specific
bosses depending on the project or situation. CSIR handles large scale projects; therefore, the
matrix organization structure allows for more collaboration and integration among employees.
The organization structure also enhances efficiencies as well it provides a stable working
environment for the teams in the organization.
The matrix organization structure has both advantages and disadvantages. To begin with
the advantages, the structure promotes easy access to resources across different functional
departments (Westland, 2019). Two, the structure promotes effective coordination and
communication across businesses. Three, the structure allows for the better coordination of
shared technologies within an organization. Four, the structure promotes the clear articulation of
project goals and objectives as well as the efficient use of limited human resources. Lastly, the
structure allows for the development of high morale and team spirit.
On the other hand, the disadvantages of the matrix structure include; One, we have
employee confusion due to reporting to two or more managers that have equal authority. This
creates unnecessary conflicts among the employees since they may not understand their roles and
responsibilities (Westland, 2019). Two, employees or team members in a matrix organizational
structure may feel overstrained of work since the workload can be too heavy. This is because
they are tasked with additional work as well as regular assignments that lead to burnouts. Three,
the structure presents difficulty in establishing priorities relating to both project and functional

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management. Four, there is a high requirement of a high degree of cooperation relating to both
project and functional management. Lastly, there is overall expense in the structure since
multiple managers add the expense of adding on resources that may not be used at all times
(Westland, 2019).
Figure 1.1 Source: https://www.csiro.au/en/About/Our-impact/Reporting-our-impact/Annual-
reports/14-15-annual-report/Part1/Org-structure
In CSIR, the matrix organization structure is the best structure for the organization due to
different reasons. To begin with, the structure allows for the sharing of highly skilled resources
across the organization (Gleeson, 2018). Since CSIR focuses more on innovation, sharing of the
skilled resources allows better productivity that results in extraordinary innovations. Secondly,
since functional departments within a matrix structure incorporate highly skilled people, more

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flexibility to resolve issues is assured (Jones, 2013, pg. 54). Therefore, CSIR is able to handle
different issues more flexibility. Lastly, the structure provides a stable environment where job
security is assured. Therefore, CSIR employees remain loyal to the company.

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References
Csiro.au (2019). About us - CSIRO. [online] Available at: https://www.csiro.au/en/About
[Accessed 15 Jan. 2019].
Gleeson, P. (2018). Advantages & Disadvantages of Matrix Organizational Structures in
Business Organizations. [online] Smallbusiness.chron.com. Available at:
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-matrix-organizational-structures-
business-organizations-26350.html [Accessed 15 Jan. 2019].
Jones, G.R., 2013. Organizational theory, design, and change. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
pp. (11-78).
Westland, J. (2019). Matrix Organizational Structure - A Quick Guide. [online]
ProjectManager.com. Available at: https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/matrix-organizational-
structure-quick-guide [Accessed 15 Jan. 2019].