Management principal and practice in concern with Control; Technology; Virtual organisation; Empowerment

Control, virtual or reality? Abstract This paper is concerned with an emerging trend in business today: the materialisation of the virtual organisation, and analyses practices and possible solutions to the problems experienced in relation to control in such an environment, with particular reference to the banking (call centre) sector and teleworking. Keywords Control; Technology; Virtual organisation; Empowerment. The business environment is in constant flux and transformation, and in recent years the globalisation movement has been …

…ndamental in the failure of the transition. APPENDIX 1: Traditional business structures versus 'virtual' organisation structures CharacteristicsTraditional organisationVirtual organisation StructureHierarchicalNetworks ScopeInternal/closedExternal/open Resource focusCapitalKnowledge, relationship, technology management StateStatic/stableDynamic, changing HRMManagementSpecialists DirectionManagement directivesEmpowerment/intrapreneurship Basis for actionControlEmpowerment MotivationMeet corporate management directivesAchieve team goals LearningSpecific skillsBroader competencies CompensationPosition/seniorityAchievement RelationshipsCompetitiveCo-operative/collaborative Information communication among partners'Need to know' basisOpen & transparent (Adapted from Tapscott & Caston, 1993, cited in Walters, 2000) APPENDIX 2: Distinguishing characteristics of virtual and traditional teams