Managing Virtual Information Research Essay Help

Introduction

Virtual organizations can be defined as flexible networks of sovereign entities linked by information technology in order to allocate talents, knowledge, and access to the expertise of others in a non-convective manner. According to Davenport (1997), virtual organizations can also be characterized as a sort of collaboration involving corporations, institutions, or individuals providing produced goods or services based on a broad business perspective.

Participating in the collaboration, the components show themselves as an integrated organization. Grenier (1995) demonstrated that virtual groups need not involve the entire population in a single area in order to provide services. Typically, the organization is present, but it cannot be observed. In essence, it is a network and not an office.

Supportive Technologies for Virtual Organizations

Internet, World Wide Web, telephony, and electronic mail are some of the prevalent technology that support virtual organizations. According to Gascoyne (1997), these technologies have been substantially developed in recent years. The final visual technology kind is knowledge management. Additionally, this technology supports virtual groups. The global center for applied studies in information technology defines knowledge management as the process of acquiring accurate information from the right people at the right time and assisting with the dissemination of data. In addition, the global center for applied studies defines it as the implementation of information in ways that aim to enhance organizational performance.

Mutual technologies, extensible rack up language such as XML, Intranets, and extranets are examples of the knowledge management technologies that support virtual enterprises. Personal devices, wireless technologies, virtual reality, and portals are more examples. There are two categories of mutual technologies: asynchronous and synchronous. Examples of asynchronous tools are manuscripts and newsgroups.

Virtual meeting spaces and shared whiteboards are examples of shared tools. In addition, there are request sharing and video or audio conferencing. According to Nonaka (1995), extensible rack up language is essentially a meta-markup language used to recite structured data in a given situation. In contrast, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is used to display data and images on the World Wide Web.

Intranet is a system of networks contained within a business and protected from outside interference by firewalls. Intranet facilitates the distribution of corporate information and computing resources among directors, department managers, and subordinate employees. Examples of intranet applications include manuals, events, contributions to internal jobs, documents, employee information, and programs. In addition, there are date books, records, and scheme management. Extranets enable supplemental accessibility. Within an extranet, the intranet is expanded to include external parties. For instance, clients, suppliers, and trading partners. Extranet applications examples include association, data allocation, scheme management, information, and education.

Personal devices include digital assistants and other accessories for Internet connectivity. These devices enable personnel to have a bureau everywhere and to maintain extended communication with administration and clients. Bluetooth is part of wireless technologies.

Bluetooth is a computing and telecommunications concept that demonstrates how cell phones, PCs, and personal digital assistants can wirelessly connect to one another using a radio frequency link. There are numerous types of virtual reality that offer immersive experiences. The user traverses a globe through a wearable device, such as goggles or a data glove, and interacts with it as if he or she were an integral part of it.

Desktop systems are the second form of virtual reality. They are inexpensive in terms of price. The third type of technology is telephone presence technology. Using this, the client manipulates a mechanical manipulator in an imprecise manner to perform a variety of operations or uncover a variety of world aspects. CAVE is the final virtual reality technology. This refers to a scenario in which a person is encircled by multiple displays that form a cave. It consists of a variety of screen settings that surround the user. Portals are the starting point for users to find the information they require. Examples of information resources that can be merged and accessed through a portal include search engines, electronic mail, online links, records from many sources, and task lists.

Principal Traits of Virtual Organizations

The first essential characteristic of virtual organizations is that they are separate networks of talents and skills. According to Lespang (2001), a virtual organization's organizational structure is scattered over multiple locations, resulting in the possibility of communicating a broad spectrum of talents and skills. Utilization of telecommunications and computing technology is the second quality.

These technologies serve as the facilitator that enables the presence of a visual organization. It is relatively simple to assert that visual organizations have always existed. For example, express sales staff, outsourced employees, and even home-based workers are included. However, the novelty is that technology has substantially aided the maintenance of geographically distant work groups. This is owing to the increased speeds it offers. Geographical distance and temporal constraints have been overcome through technology.

According to Nonaka (1995), further characteristics of visual organizations include adaptability, vivacity, and impatience. Organizations are no longer constrained by the traditional obstacles of location and time. Visual organizations do endure dynamic alterations to the business, including the staff member's environment and distribution structures. Integration is another feature of visual organizations.

When varied individuals, teams, and organizations come together in a visual organization, they must collaborate to achieve a certain objective. This indicates that there are more partnerships, collaborations, and believers. Integration affects the synergy of individuals.

Management Opportunities and Challenges Presented by Virtual Organizations

Due to changes inside organizations and the nature of the activities they perform, the distinctiveness of virtual teams has experienced substantial modifications. Organizations have become increasingly geographically and organizationally fragmented. Relations between persons within an organization and those historically considered external, such as clients, suppliers, and organization administrators, are becoming increasingly significant.

Organizations have discovered the value of collaborative efforts. Virtual teams have shifted from having a predetermined group membership to one that fluctuates. The majority of teams operate in a variety of ways and hold face-to-face meetings whenever possible. Managing a virtual team entails overseeing the complete spectrum of communication policies and scheme management techniques, as well as personal and communal activities that support the team. Additionally, teams have evolved from groups administered by a single administrator to teams with several coverage relationships with various organizational components at various times.

According to Schrage (1996), there are numerous forms of virtual teams, including administrative teams in which administrators are integral members due to their organizational role. These groups are often semi-stable and are responsible for specific organizational roles. Project teams, which are organized around a specific task, are another sort of team. Members of the team are selected based on their task and knowledge regarding that task.

These teams are constituted primarily for the project's life. The final type of teams is the community of practice teams, which consists of persons working on broad responsibilities or in a comparable skilled field who can benefit from allotment expertise. The membership requirements for these teams are benevolent. These teams typically lack specific objectives because they are primarily focused on knowledge development.

Among the benefits that the organization may derive from virtual teams are the faster expansion and dissemination of improved processes. The second benefit is the integration of the island of facts into the individual-organization and facts distribution networks of professional groups. The third benefit is the development of cross-purpose and cross-share partnerships. The final advantage is the growing capacity to initiate and implement projects beyond organizational boundaries.

There are a number of conditions that must be met for management to effectively utilize virtual teams. Procedures for group management and advancement must be created, made clear, piloted, tested, and developed. In addition, McMaster (1996) recommended that team managers receive training in innovative team management strategies. Second, group members should be taught on new organizational operational procedures. Thirdly, the organization's traditions must be revised to support new configurations and processes.

Customize organizational arrangements to expose novel group dynamics. The compensation mechanisms must be updated to reflect the most recent team arrangements. In order to sustain teams, cutting-edge information technology solutions must be built. Plan the most recent administration, measurement, and management strategies.

Case Studies of Businesses Employing Virtual Technologies

Aventis, a French-based manufacturer specializing in the production of pharmaceuticals and agriculture chemicals, built a virtual organization comprised of five tactical service units and a single technology set. This new structure is highly adaptable, customer-centric, and aligned with company objectives. It separates technology, information, and the most important practices. Another corporation based in the United States of America is Dell Computers. It is rapidly transitioning away from self-sufficient, formally constituted firms to virtual units that rely on business partners to complete critical components of their supply chains.

This means that a company must subcontract all of its procedures to organizations that can perform the work competently, stably, and cost-effectively. British Telecom is another excellent example of a corporation that has implemented the virtual organization component.

In April of 2000, the company announced a reorganization of its operations into new, autonomous businesses that permit a broader organizational focus. Initiating process improvements necessitated a review of the manner in which company-wide guidelines were implemented. The arranging task was completed by virtual teams comprised of British Telecom experts and its own specialists. British Telecom was able to successfully link the ordering system to all of the company's existing bequest programs through the usage of the internet and extranet.

The United States Department of Defense is an example of a public sector institution that has implemented virtual organization. Every military responsibility in this department has been transformed into virtual battlegrounds. As a result, they have been integrated into their military strategy. In addition to training and experience, these war laboratory testing weapons have not yet been built. These battlefields are frequently dispersed and interconnected.

Participants in war games, for instance, are located in far areas and use high-bandwidth communications technology and high-performance computation to simulate a violent conflict. Participants can provide online interaction with real-time responses. The second example of perfection is the United States Army. According to Norton and Cathy (1997), the online Army technology serves as a doorway for military personnel to personalize material and access web e-mail and newsgroups. In addition, it enables them to track down other military guards, review reports, execute Internet functions, and search all websites relevant to their service.

Conclusion

According to Lespang, the implementation of an effective virtual organization is hindered by numerous technical drawbacks (2001). Among these disadvantages is the capacity of the communications infrastructure. This has the consequence of sluggishly advancing the necessary route and network between the units of a virtual organization. Inconsistencies in hardware and software are the second detriment.

These inconsistencies frequently result in slow or even difficult-to-use programs. The third flaw is computer security. Due to the many customer demands inside a web-based case, there are several potential points of intrusion into an organization's internal applications and data sources. The final flaw is the vivacious nature of technology. This dynamic nature of technology has made the business's hardware and software improvement process exceedingly difficult for any information technology administrator in a virtual organization.

References

Davenport, T., 1997. Information ecology: mastering the environment of information and knowledge. Oxford University Press, London.

Gascoyne, R., 1997. Guide for corporate internet planning: connecting internet strategy with company objectives. Amsterdam: Van Nostrand Reinhold.

Grenier, R., 1995. Bringing your firm into the 21st century by going virtual. The New York location of Prentice Hall.

Understanding virtual organizations, Information Systems Control Journal, 6(2), pp. 2-10, R. Lespang, 2001.

McMaster, M., 1996. The advantage of intelligence: arranging for complexity. London: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Nonaka, I., 1995. The knowledge-creating organization. Oxford University Press, London.

Norton, B., and S. Cathy, 1997. A comprehension of the virtual organization. Hauppauge, New York

Schrage, M., 1996. Mastering the dynamics of creative collaboration. Doubleday, Chicago

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