Virtual existence

This new form of organisation, i.e., ‘virtual organisation’ emerged in 1990 and is also known as
digital organisation, network organisation or modular organisation.

Simply speaking, a virtual organisation is a network of cooperation made possible by, what is
called ICT, i.e. Information and Communication Technology, which is flexible and comes to
meet the dynamics of the market.

An organisation that uses its own employees to do some works activities and networks of
outside suppliers to provide other needed product components or work processes.

Alternatively speaking, the virtual organisation is a social network in which all the horizontal
and vertical boundaries are removed. In this sense, it is a boundary less organisation.

It consists of individual’s working out of physically dispersed work places, or even individuals
working from mobile devices and not tied to any particular workspace. The ICT is the
backbone of virtual organisation.

It is the ICT that coordinates the activities, combines the workers’ skills and resources with an
objective to achieve the common goal set by a virtual organisation.

Managers in these organisations coordinate and control external relations with the help of
computer network links.

The virtual form of organisation is increasing in India also. Nike, Reebok, Puma, Dell
Computers, HLL, etc., are the prominent companies working virtually.

While considering the issue of flexibility, organisations may have several options like flexi-time,
part-time work, job-sharing, and home-based working.

Here, one of the most important issues involved is attaining flexibility to respond to changes –
both internal and external – is determining the extent of control or the amount of autonomy the
virtual organisations will impose on their members.
 This is because of the paradox of flexibility itself. That is: while an organisation must possess
some procedures that enhance its flexibility to avoid the state of rigidity, on the one hand, and
simultaneously also have some stability to avoid chaos, on the other.

Characteristics:

1. Flat organisation
2. Dynamic
3. Informal communication
4. Power flexibility
5. Multi-disciplinary (virtual) teams
6. Vague organisational boundaries
7. Goal orientation
8. Customer orientation
9. Home-work
10. Absence of apparent structure
11. Sharing of information
12. Staffed by knowledge workers.

In fact, this list of the characteristics of virtual organisation is not an exhaustive one but illustra-
tive only. One can add more characteristics to this list.

Types of virtual organisations:

Depending on the degree or spectrum of virtuality, virtual organisations can be classified

into three broad types as follows:

1. Telecommuters
2. Outsourcing employees/competencies
3. Completely virtual

A brief description of these follows in turn.

 Telecommuters:
These companies have employees who work from their homes. They interact with the workplace
via personal computers connected with a modem to the phone lines. Examples of companies
using some form of telecommuting are Dow Chemicals, Xerox, Coherent Technologies Inc., etc.

Outsourcing Employees/Competencies:
These companies are characterised by the outsourcing of all/most core competencies. Areas for
outsourcing include marketing and sales, human resources, finance, research and development,
engineering, manufacturing, information system, etc. In such case, virtual organisation does its
own on one or two core areas of competence but with excellence. For example, Nike performs in
product design and marketing very well and relies on outsources for information technology as a
means for maintaining inter-organisational coordination.

Completely Virtual:
These companies metaphorically described as companies without walls that are tightly linked to
a large network of suppliers, distributors, retailers and customers as well as to strategic and joint
venture partners. Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) in 1996 and the
development efforts of the PC by the IBM are the examples of completely virtual organisations.

Advantage:

1. It saves time, travel expenses and eliminates lack of access to experts.

2. Virtual teams can be organised whether or not members are in reasonable proximity to each
other.
3. Use of outside experts without incurring expenses for travel, logging and downtime.
4. Dynamic team membership allows people to move from one project to another.
5. Employee can be assigned to multiple, concurrent teams.
6. Teams’ communication and work reports are available online to facilitate swift responses to
the demands of the (global) market.
7. Employees can accommodate both personal and professional lives.
8. Virtual teams allow firms to expand their potential labour markets enabling them to hire and
retain the best people regardless of their physical locations.
 Disadvantages:

1. The lack of physical interactions with its associated verbal and non-verbal cues and also the
synergies that often accompany face-to-face interaction
2. Non-availability of Para-verbal and non-verbal cues such as voice, eye movement, facial
expression, and body language which help in better communication.
3. Ability to work even if the virtual teams are miles apart and the members have never or rarely
met each other face-to-face.

But the fact remains that despite these drawbacks; virtual organisations have become a reality
and are growing in popularity. By now, several successful cases of virtual organisations abound
in our country. It is the explicitly designed ‘Group Ware’, computer based system to support
virtual groups, enables the virtual organisations to work in order to achieve a common goal.

Features of virtual organisation:

Information is power. The absence of information and knowledge renders virtual teams to emas-
culate and ineffective. Information technology, i.e., seamless web electronic communication
media does not allow happening this and keeps the organisation going. Following are the salient
features of virtual organisations:

Technology:
New technology has transformed the traditional ways of working. In particular, the worlds of
computing and telephony are coming together to open up a whole new range of responsibilities.
Computer Telephony Integrations (CTI) will usher in a new revolution to the desktop. The
CTI has traditionally been used in all call center applications.

E-mail Integration:
Integrating Short Message Service (SMS) into the existing e-mail infrastructure allows the
whole organisation to take advantages of SMS products such as ‘Express Way’.

Office System Integration:

SMS technology can greatly enhance the existing or new office systems, e. g., phone messages
can be sent via SMS rather than returning it in a message book.
Voice Mail Alert:
SMS technology added to the existing voice mail system builds an effective method of receiving
voice mail alerts.

Mobile Data:
This enables a laptop to retrieve information anywhere through the mobile phone network.
Mobile data communications revolutionize where and how work is done. In the past, corporate
information has been inaccessible from many places where it is needed. One’s ability to link
laptop to mobile phone keeps one connected to his/her virtual organisation from anywhere.

Workface

Workface created customer-initiated engagement technology that helps companies market, sell
and support their products and services on the internet. Combining profile technology with real-
time, two-way communications like text/audio/video chat, Workface enables companies to
engage with customers and prospects live.

Work zone

An optimal work zone is the area in which an employee can perform a specific task, or set of
tasks, while maintaining a comfortable and neutral posture. Work performed in the optimal work
zone is less likely to cause musculoskeletal problems, or injuries, than work that requires the
employee to reach, or apply force, outside of this zone. The optimal work zone is sometimes
referred to as the best work zone or preferred work zone.

An optimal work zone permits an employee to perform most of his or her job tasks while
maintaining neutral posture. Each body part and muscle group should be considered when
determining the optimal work zone for a task.

When standing or sitting, an optimal work zone is one which allows the employ to maintain the
spine’s natural S-curve. Positions that require an employee to lean too far forward to reach a tool
or twist to push a button are not optimal. Additionally, employees should not need to bend their
neck or wrist awkwardly to perform job tasks. Items that are commonly used for a job, or task,
should be placed in a neutral reach zone, the optimal work zone for the arms.

Ergonomically, designed jobs that provide for performance of tasks within the optimal work
zone increase productivity and comfort for employees while reducing musculoskeletal risk
factors and injury.

Workspace

Workspace enables real-time project intelligence to replace the time consuming, costly and
inaccurate project reports that are typically outdated by the time they are produced.

To achieve more predictable outcomes and reliable forecasts, organizations are consolidating
project data into smart, AI-ready platforms like Workspace capable of producing project
intelligence that is automatically updating every minute of every day.

Staff less Organization