Virtual Work

Virtual Work

Introduction

With an increase in technological advancement every now and then, companies are relying more on technology for their business operations as it has resulted in lower cost and, better and innovative ideas that will be helpful to survive in the competitive market, by having an edge over the rivals and target customers effectively, it has also resulted in better performance by the workers and increased their satisfaction level, as it has made the work easier and more convenient for the employees and the at the same time for the management (Gregory, 2010).

Virtual work can be defined as the work done that is away or outside from the traditional physical work environment or office. This means that employees work at a place that is other than the office space, for instance it can be either at home, or in different departments or probably situated in different countries. Where we work and how we work and how we communicate with each other, has now been revolutionized electronic communication has made teamwork and mobility a reality, employees operate remotely from each other and from managers and the it is tend to become more prevalent in the near future. However this also imposes challenges on the management, as it is often difficult for them to understand how it will be possible to manage employees if managers cannot see them. As a result of information-age arrangements such as, telecommuting and virtual teams have made the job of managers even more challenging. Virtual teams are also often assigned for any particular project in which a group of employees work on the same project however these employees might be based on two or more locations and therefore they rely upon communication technologies to be able to communicate and share information and so that it will be easy for them to coordinate their efforts and collaborate their work (Kirkman, et.al, 1995).

Discussion

Virtual Work

Virtual work environment is the one that eliminates the need for a central location that is required for workers for work; it requires employees to commute to a certain location where it is possible to interact with themselves, customers and equipment to produce goods and services. Most of the organizations today rely on having their operations based on virtual work as it has brought innumerable advantages to the firm; however there are certain organizations that are reluctant to implement this new method of working (Gregory, 2010).

Advantages and Disadvantages of Virtual Work

Virtual work does not only offer benefits to the employees or employers, but to the organization as a whole. It has resulted in decrease cost of office rents since companies now do not need to have a physical place to accommodate their workers, it has reduced the travelling and recruiting costs. Effectiveness of business operations has also increased, customer services have improved since the contact procedure has been simplified and interaction cost has also decreased. Productivity has also increased due to better communication; it is easier to focus on work rather than ...