Multi-skilling is not appropriate in some types of work (research and development projects/organizations, specialized service functions and the management of enterprises). The usual response to this is to propose project or matrix management, crossfunctional teams and teambuilding to resolve the coordination issues that arise in functional areas where multi-skilling is not possible. Such efforts have been described as pockets of open culture, trust and understanding within bureaucratic structures.
Changing to a modified democratic design is the more effective solution. In this model, while control, the vertical dimension, cannot be shared, there is no reason why a senior management team (R&D project team, new product design team, temporary project or problem solving team) cannot accept group coordination of the common objectives to be achieved. In this design, functional managers are judged as much for their effective coordination to achieve common objectives as for their policy making ability in their specialized area. This can eliminate most cross functional issues in an organization.