Virtual organization
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Virtual organization is created on a voluntary basis. It is based on mutual trust between organizations that engage in all sorts of cooperation in order to achieve greater benefits than if they had to work in the traditional way. Possibility of entering into such relationships is provided by global information networks and large databases.
Features
The main features of virtual organizations are:
- technology: necessary to connect and cooperation with other companies and people, ability to communicate through computer networks and telecommunications,
- excellence: each partner brings the best competences,
- seizing the opportunity: main reason for the cooperation (or dissolution) is the desire to use a particular a chance,
- mutual trust: low formalization and lack of "hard" tools of coordination increases the need for trust and sense of common fate,
- lack of boundaries: it is increasingly difficult to determine where one ends and the other begins, this also applies to the process of globalization,
- fuzzy identity: in the world of virtual organization roles are not as clear as in the traditional model, which clearly specifies who is a competitor who is a supplier and who is the customer.
Role of Internet
Often virtual organization it identified with company actively using the Internet in business. The Internet is a global network that allows you to connect to computers and exchange of information. Its main qualities essential for businesses include:
- low-cost communication,
- global reach for products and services offered,
- lower agency costs,
- lower transaction costs,
- interactivity, flexibility and ability to adapt to customer needs,
- easier sharing of knowledge.
See also:
References
- Mowshowitz, A. (1997). Virtual organization. Communications of the ACM, 40(9), 30-37.
Author: Krzysztof Wozniak
