The Matrix System at Work - Independent Evaluation Group - World ...

APPENDIX G
PROFILES OF THE BANK’S SIX REGIONS
control of sectors which makes it difficult to exercise quality control over the work of
the unit.
13. Regions have adapted to address some of these span-of-control issues, although
none has increased the number of sector managers. Early on, Latin America and the
Caribbean created sector leaders for each network of sectors in each country
grouping who serve several purposes. First, they act as shadow managers by
mentoring junior staff and fulfilling quality assurance functions; this serves to
address the problem of a large span of control of direct reports. Second, sector
leaders are responsible for coordinating the various operations of the covered
sectors in their country grouping, developing future business, and serving as the
face of the sectors for government counterparts. The time of sector leaders is fully
funded for these functions.
14. In more recent years, other Regions have adopted a similar structure, but
without the same level of budget and responsibility. Europe and Central Asia and
South Asia have assigned country sector coordinators (CSCs) to oversee network
coordination in each country grouping. In Europe and Central Asia, 25-40 percent of
CSC time is devoted to the task; in South Asia 20 percent. But South Asia expects
CSCs to provide a quality assurance function whereas Europe and Central Asia does
not. This may not be manageable given the wide range of sectors and the limited
amount of time allocated to the assignment (although South Asia does have three
CSCs in India for the SDN sectors).
Arrangements for Quality Assurance
ACCOUNTABILITY
15. In 2009, President Robert Zoellick requested that the Regions clarify the
accountabilities for various activities and decisions. Four Regions—Africa, East Asia
and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North
Africa— completed comparable “accountability matrices” that formally identified
the roles and responsibilities of management within each Region.
16. The matrices are very similar across Regions; an aggregation of the four is
depicted in Table G.4. For decisions on strategy, country directors are accountable for
the country strategy (although in Latin America and the Caribbean, the vice
president holds primary responsibility). Sector directors are responsible for sector
strategies, which are developed Bank-wide, except in the Middle East and North
Africa, where this falls to the sector manager.
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