Virtual Organization: Toward a Theory of Societal Transformation Stimulated by Information TechnologyBloomsbury Academic, 2002 M03 30 - 264 pages Computers mediate between individuals by providing channels of communication in the form of messaging sytems. They act as brokers in matching buyers and sellers, employees and employers, resources and work processes, and so on. The explosive growth of electronic commerce on the Internet has made such functions commonplace. Computer-based mediation and brokerage, along with the expanding role of information technology in the continuing globalization of the economy, has tremendous political, social, managerial, and economic consequences. For managers, and for the concept of organization in general, these consequences manifest themselves most clearly in the ^Ivirtual organization,^R a new paradigm that has been evolving for decades and that is swiftly gathering steam and overtaking traditional organization. Virtual organization is founded on the separation of requirements (for example, inputs such as components) from the ways in which requirements are met, or satisfiers (for example, suppliers and distribution networks). Separating these elements allows managers to switch easily from one way of meeting a requirement to another, by, for example, laying off higher-paid workers in the United States and hiring cheaper labor overseas or south of the border. |