The Virtual Organization: The Pros And Cons Of Virtual Organizations

In the new digital age, global partnerships and communication is key. However, traveling to keep these relationships thriving is not always possible financial and/or time management. Which is why virtual organizations are utilized more and more. Virtual organization is "a flexible network of independent entities linked by information technology to share skills, knowledge and access to others ' expertise in nontraditional ways." (Pang) Although virtual organizations are more prominent now and moving forward, there are both pros and cons associated with this new way of collaboration. A traditional work environment is typically in an office building with set hours and work days. In both traditional and virtual organizations, trust and communication

Because there is little to no face-to-face interactions and communication is based on phone calls, instant messaging, and e-mails, sometimes the vocal inflections and absence of body language can change the delivery of a message causing confusion, misinterpretation, and frustration. "Moreover, a receiver can misinterpret the tone of the message because of the way the message was constructed (e.g., use of capital letters, e-mail slang and icons, setting the level of importance as urgent)." (Pang) The lack of face-to-face also makes it harder to remember a lot of what is being communicated since our minds are less engaged because we cannot read the emotional subtext. "Your unconscious mind handles the chore of sensing other people 's attitudes and intents from body language. And because the way the brain remembers things is to attach emotion to them, if there 's no intent or emotion, we don 't remember much." (Morgan) In virtual meetings, social cues are also lost; the cues to indicate if the audience is confused, not interested, or lost in the conversation is eliminated. "Human face-to-face interaction is, and will continue to be, the most effective form of communication. It 's simple. Live meetings deliver the rich, potent experiences that virtual meetings can 't. They deliver motivation along with messaging, and inspiration with information." (Jarrett) However, since

The lack someone in the office who is able to check in and ensure work is getting done in a timely manner, employees in a virtual environment could focus on non-work activities. Organizations are also open to hackers because all work and communication are through technology as well as the loss of control for managers because work is completed remotely. Some strategies to transition from a traditional working environment to a virtual team are designate a capable individual, establish a task force, identify a vision, identify business requirements, provide training and user awareness, and set a face-to-face kick off meeting if possible. (Pang) The biggest factor in a new management mind set is collaboration happens in an ongoing boundaryless