Virtual Organizations

Virtual Organizations

Virtual Organizations… A term that has been widely used for many years now – but which is becoming even more prevalent following the impact of the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic, is Virtual Organization.

But what exactly is a Virtual Organization? Let’s discuss.

Watching this video is worth 2 Management Courses CPD Points*.
(See below for more details)

The Nature of Organizations
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This video is part of course module number 6.1.2
Program 6: Managing within Organizations
Course 1: The Nature of Organizations
Section 2: Organizational Models

Other videos in this section include:
🎬 Edgar Schein’s Two Organizational Cultures – https://youtu.be/9C64CXJw83E
🎬 Henry Mintzberg’s 4 plus 2 Organizational Types – https://youtu.be/JmvYcskjh3E
🎬 Charles Handy’s Gods of Management – https://youtu.be/yClxu7dzmB4
🎬 Charles Handy’s Shamrock Organization – https://youtu.be/dGGKT0Mr_HA
🎬 Charles Handy’s Federal Organization Model – https://youtu.be/69AYxCvT7m4
🎬 Charles Handy’s Triple-I Company – https://youtu.be/gFRXiMkIg6k
🎬 The Matrix Organization Model – https://youtu.be/hJ9wbFgmtKM
🎬 Peter Senge’s Learning Organization – https://youtu.be/k1k2h1l2VO0
🎬 Adhocracy – https://youtu.be/7QKm0Y3_Hr0
🎬 The Agile Organization – https://youtu.be/67NVUeFQMy4
🎬 Brian Robertson’s Holacracy – https://youtu.be/hz3khhOLT5E

LESSON NOTES
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Simple form
An organization that uses IT and communications technology to coordinate the work of people across different locations around the globe.

More sophisticated
An amorphous organization with few or any fixed organizational structures, in which teams come together, do a job, and then disband.

This idea has become popular, because of how technology could enable large organizations to do away with large, costly headquarters facilities, linking together smaller satellite offices – or even individual home offices, accommodation suites, and cafés.

Virtual organizations seem less hierarchical – perhaps moving past the nightmare matrix into a fully connected network. In truth, virtual organizations can emulate any management structure.

So, what is unique about Virtual Organizations?
Maybe a Virtual Organization is just Charles Handy’s Shamrock Organization, facilitated by technology. Perhaps its constantly reforming teams are an Adhocracy, an Holacracy, or parts of an Agile Organization.

True technology enabled dispersal needs more than just a catchy buzz-phrase and clever communications software. The real problems of making it work are far harder:

1. Humanity evolved to work in teams that are in close physical proximity. We don’t yet have all the answers to effective communication, motivation, and supervision across cultures, distance and time zones.

2. Corporate IT is still largely seen as a facility: an overhead function and cost center. To make true virtual organization work, It needs to become a strategic function and a core part of governance.

3. While an established senior manager in an affluent country is likely to have suitable space in their home for virtual working, what about a newly promoted junior manager in a less prosperous country?

We may have made a lot of headway over recent years, but there is still a long way to go. And that is even supposing that a Virtual Organization is the right solution for any given endeavor.

RECOMMENDED EXERCISE
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1. To what extent is yours a virtual organization? What evidence is there? (2 MC CPD Points)
2. What is the trend and how fast is your organization changing? (2 MC CPD Points)
3. What are the benefits and risks of a more virtual organizational model? (2 MC CPD Points)

DOWNLOADS
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Free Resources
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Paid resources
– Management Courses Onboarding Kit – https://gum.co/MC-ObK ($3)

RECOMMENDED READING
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– Understanding Organizations https://geni.us/oB774Do
– Images of Organization https://geni.us/hrOemEs
– Inside Organizations: 21 Ideas for Managers https://geni.us/YwwL
– Gods of Management: The Four Cultures of Leadership https://geni.us/bpPeC5

Managers Need a Basic set of kit to do your job well. Here are my top recommendations: https://kit.co/MikeClayton/manager-s-work-kit (the links are affiliated)

Management Courses Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Points
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Each video has two levels of MC CPD points. For this video:
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