Functional organizational structure - management, which is carried out using a combination of specialized units to perform certain types of work that are necessary for decision-making.
Basic concepts
Organizational structure is a special form used in the division of labor in the process of production management. Each individual unit is created to perform specific management functions or work. 
For the effective performance of their functions, units and their officers are vested with certain rights. This is necessary both for the rational management of resources, and for the distribution of responsibility for the performance of functions assigned to a particular unit.
Organizational Relationships
Each business entity has its own functional organizational structure, the scheme of which should reflect both the static position of structural units and the nature of their relationships.
The following relationships are known:
- linear, expressed in administrative subordination;
- functional, which can be determined without direct administrative subordination in the field of activity;
- cooperative (inter-functional), represented by relations between separate units of the same level.
There is a slightly different classification of organizational structures:
- functional;
- linear
- linear-functional;
- divisional;
- matrix;
- plural.
Linear-functional organizational structure of management
In this type of management structure, the head provides guidance to subordinate structural units in absolutely all types of economic activity. Linear Functional Organizational managment structure has the following advantages: profitability, simplicity and ultimate unity of command. However, there is also a drawback - quite high requirements for the qualifications of managers. Today, such a management organization in modern business entities cannot be found.
Features of some types of management structures
Functional organizational structure is able to connect the administrative and functional branches of management. 
However, in a structure of this kind, cooperation is often hindered and the principle of unity of command is violated. Therefore, it is very rarely seen in practice.
The linear organizational and functional structure of the organization has a hierarchical step form. With such a management organization, managers must be one-man managers. Assistance is provided mainly by various functional organs. Moreover, the leaders of the lower levels are not directly subordinate to the leaders of the higher hierarchy. This kind of control has the most widespread distribution in enterprises. Such a functional organizational structure is also known under a different name - “staff”, due to the fact that the leadership of one level makes up the corresponding headquarters of its line chief.
Branch and matrix management structures
A branch (divisional) structure has this name due to the fact that branches (divisions) must be allocated either geographically or by field of activity.
The matrix functional organizational structure is characterized by the presence of two or more bosses in an executor.For example, one is a line manager, and the other is the head of a certain direction or program. The indicated scheme was quite common in R&D. Today it is used in modern companies operating in several directions simultaneously. It can completely displace the linear-functional organizational structure.
As for the multiple structure, then in this case we are talking about combining different structures at different management levels. For example, a divisional management structure is used for the company, and in its branches - matrix or linear-functional.
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantages of a functional management structure include:
- the presence of highly qualified personnel responsible for the performance of functions;
- exemption of lower managers from making decisions on special issues while expanding their capabilities related to the operational management of production;
- creating a base for applying the experience of specialists with a decrease in the need for specialists of a wide profile.
The organizational and functional structure of the enterprise has some disadvantages, among which the following can be distinguished:
- certain difficulties in maintaining constant relationships between structural units;
- long period when making decisions;
- there is no unity and mutual understanding in actions between divisions of a business entity;
- reducing the level of responsibility of performers for the work performed, as a result of which each individual performer can receive instructions from several heads at once;
- inconsistency and duplication of orders and instructions that employees receive due to the fact that each line manager considers his question to be the most important.
