- "A virtual organization is a temporary or permanent collection of geographically dispersed individuals, groups, organizational units, or entire organizations that depend on electronic linking in order to complete the production process (working definition)."
An organization that operates primarily through the use of technology, allowing employees to work from remote locations and collaborate in virtual teams.
Virtual organization structure: This includes understanding the structure of a virtual organization, how it differs from traditional organizations, and the benefits of adopting a virtual structure.
Virtual team management: This topic includes strategies to manage virtual teams effectively, including communication, goal setting, and accountability.
Collaboration tools and technologies: This topic covers the various tools and technologies used to facilitate collaborative work in a virtual environment, such as video conferencing, project management software, and chat platforms.
Remote work policies: Understanding the policies and guidelines that govern remote work is important when working in a virtual organization.
Workflows and processes: This includes understanding the workflows and processes used to complete tasks in a virtual organization, including how to delegate tasks and provide feedback.
Performance measurement and evaluation: This topic covers how to measure and evaluate the performance of virtual team members, including how to provide feedback and support ongoing development.
Communication and language barriers: Working in a virtual organization means working with colleagues who may speak different languages or have different cultural norms. Understanding how to navigate these barriers is essential.
Time management and task allocation: This includes strategies for effective time management, task allocation, and scheduling in a virtual environment.
Trust and accountability: Building trust and maintaining accountability are critical components of a successful virtual organization.
Change management: Implementing virtual organizational structures and workflows can be a significant change for employees. Understanding how to manage and communicate these changes is key.
Network structure: A structure that connects individuals or organizations electronically to accomplish common goals or objectives.
Modular structure: A structure where suppliers or subcontractors provide key inputs on a modular basis, and the organization focuses on just the assembly or coordination of these modules.
Strategic alliance: A structure where organizations combine their resources and efforts to achieve a shared objective.
Consortium: A structure where a group of independent organizations collaborate to achieve shared objectives.
Joint venture: A structure where two or more organizations create a separate legal entity.
Franchise: A structure where a parent company grants independent businesses the right to use its name, trademark, and business model.
Outsourcing: A structure where an organization transfers the responsibility for a business function or process to another organization.
Telecommuting: A structure where employees work remotely from their homes or other remote locations.
Crowd sourcing: A structure where tasks or projects are outsourced to a large group of people or an online community.
Open-source: A structure where individuals or organizations collaborate on a project using a common codebase, allowing for free distribution, use, and modification of the source code.
Co-working: A structure where individuals or small organizations share a common workspace, often with a focus on collaboration, networking, and creativity.
Team-based structure: A structure where employees are divided into teams, each responsible for a specific function or project.
Matrix structure: A structure where employees report to both a functional manager and a project manager.
Hierarchical structure: A traditional structure where employees are grouped according to their function and authority flows from top to bottom.
Flat structure: A structure where there are few levels of hierarchy and employees have more autonomy and responsibility.
- "Virtual organizations do not represent a firm’s attribute but can be considered as a different organizational form and carries out the objectives of cyber diplomacy."
- "The term virtual organization ensued from the phrase 'virtual reality', whose purpose is to look like reality by using electronic sounds and images."
- "The term virtual organization implies the novel and innovative relationships between organizations and individuals."
- "Technology and globalization both support this particular type of organization."
- "Virtual can be defined as 'not physically existing as such but made by software to appear to do so', in other words 'unreal but looking real'."
- "This definition precisely outlines the leading principle of this unconventional organization, which holds the form of a real (conventional) corporation from the outside but does not actually exist physically and implicates an entirely digital process relying on independent web associates."
- "Virtual organizations are centered on technology and position physical presence in the background."
- "Virtual organizations possess limited physical resources as value is added through (mobile) knowledge rather than (immovable) equipment."
- "Virtual organizations necessitate associations, federations, relations, agreements and alliance relationships as they essentially are partnership webs of disseminated organizational entities or self-governing corporations."