Business of Information (BOI)

Puspita Kencana Sari S.Kom, M.T.I pkencana2011@gmail.com 081510365085 Business of Information (BOI) Week #6

Making The Virtual Space

Creating and Managing Virtual Space

Organization Spaces • Physical Space: defined by walls and boundaries within which business is conducted (office buildings, factories, warehouses and the like) • Information Space: defined by the way of the members of the organzation define it, think about it and act within it (organization’s culture)

Conventional Space vs Virtual Space • Conventional Space: • Large physical facilities, often centrally located • Easier coordination and control • Bureaucratic management, lack of flexibility and creativity • Their ‘space’ is real and tangible and requires no great effort to imagine and understand

Conventional Space vs Virtual Space • Virtual Space: • Having few physical activities, often widely dispersed • More of flexibility and creativity • Management tends to be center-outward rather than top-down • Have to ‘imagine’ the organization around them, and must be able to think about the network and know which parts of it to use in order to carry out their tasks

Generating Virtual Space Three spaces that are used to create virtual space: • Imaginary space, which is defined by the organization’s level of inherent knowledge and creativity • Technology space, which is defined by the organization’s technological capabilities (inc. system capacity but also human operator skills) • Cultural space, refers to ‘information space’

Generating Virtual Space • Imaginary Space • Not unique to virtual organization • Related to people do research, innovate new products, make strategy and ask ‘what if’ question • Organizations begins with an act of imagination by which managers can create mental image of organization, its purpose and its goals

Generating Virtual Space • Technology Space • Has two dimensions: • The strength, breadth and durability of the networks themselves, including issues such as bandwidth, accessibiltiy and reliability • The skill levels of the people using and maintaining the networks • It is important to provide a fit between those two elements • Has to fit with Imaginary Space • Imaginary space bigger  have to upgraded • Technology space bigger  wasted investment

Generating Virtual Space • Cultural Space • Determines how knowledge flows and the types of knowledge that are most easily used • Members of organization have to share certain common values and view the organization in the same way • Important to create a fit between cultural space and technology space • Technology is used for the same value

Generating Virtual Space • Individuals in the organization have to have 3 attributes: • They must as individuals be capable ‘imagining’ the organization both internally and externally  creative abilitiy • They must as individuals and as team members be able to manage and use sufficient technology  technical capability • They must collectively share many of the same values and practices  ability to work together as team

The Limit and Extent of Virtual Space • Span of control • Numbers of subordinates need to be limited, unless the manager will suffer from information overload • The ability of systems to handle multiple users • Networks need to be designed to allow access to all members, members of the network need the training and communication skill that will enable them to operate as a team • Knowledge resources • Organizations need continually to acquire or create new knowledge to keep its networks working • Culture • Different kinds of knowloedge influence different forms of organizational culture

Management Issues • Co-ordination vs initiative • Accountability vs empowerment • Control vs flexibility • Uncertainty vs planning • Groups vs personal

Enabling virtual space through Technology

Class of Technology • Communication technology • Most important in the circulation and dissemination of knowledge, allow coordination and control by head office, and allow employees work remotely • e.g, Internet, Intranet, broadband • Information Storage technology • Facilitate the storage of information and knowledge that have been created or acquired • e.g, databases, data warehouse • Monitoring and scannning technology • scan the organization’s environment for information that can be collected and assessed • e.g, data-gathering like EPOS (electroning point of sale) systems • Analytical technology • Those that can analyse a set of data and provide information in digestable form • e.g, expert systems

Class of technology • Modelling technology • Allows managers to create replicas of systems that can be studied and analysed, to study the alternative decision • e.g, micro-world (to study market and economies and forecast future outcomes) • Design technology • Allow initial product designs to be tested and analysed in virtual space before real prototype are constructed • e.g, aircraft design system • Production technology • Robotically controlled factory system • e.g, car-assembly work • Service delivery technology • Enable services to be delivered to customers through technology channel rather than face-to-face through human service staff • e.g, ATM, online banking

Technology Mixes For Organizations • Communication systems • Communication & information storage technology • E.g. Discussion group, e-journal, virtual learning networks • Feedback systems • Monitoring and scanning & communication technology • E.g. Market intelligence systems • Network systems • Hybrid communication systems, according to network needs and functions • E.g. MIS, marketing information system • Service delivery systems • Service delivery technology & other types of technology • E.g. With information storage technologies to built up knowledge banks, with modelling technologies to predict customer needs • Knowledge management systems • Information storage & analytical, modelling & communication technologies • To organize knowledge so as to make its rapid retrieval and use possible

Options for Organizations • Dispersed Organization • Concentrates its capital (human and others) in several different geographical locations rather than in one place • E.g. Multi-national company • Virtual value chains • Link suppliers, producers, distributors, and retailers into a common communication network with feedback, monitoring and modelling technologies to achieve timely and efficient supply • E.g. Most large business in automotive and consumer electronics • E-Commerce • Use many of the communication technologies of the virtual value chain, but collapses the value chain to reduce the number of components in the chain to two or three at most • E.g. Online retailer (as a middleman)

Options for Organizations • Learning organization • Have strong virtual elements, but not strictly classed as virtual organization • Multiple technologies are employed to support the creation and diffusion of knowledge, and have to be able to transmit their knowledge into value • Hypertext organization • The organization is preceived as existing on several levels simultaneously • Mix formal bureaucracies with informal and flexible taskforces or teams • Virtual communities • Number of different business or organizations take part on an ongoing basis • Two forms: research or other consortia formed to exchange information and knowledge; and marketing communities where a supplier is in regular contact with a small but related group of customers

Options for Organizations • Virtual Webs • A collaboration between partner firms with common interests • E.g. Car dealer and assurance • Hologram organization • Each component of the organization is a miniature replica of the whole. For example, each business unit, team, etc. replicates on a smaller scale all the core functions of the entire organization • Buying, supplying, marketing, advertising are now being partially decentralized to adopt a product mix that suits local customer.

Conclusion All organizations, even the most virtual , is in fact a hybrid of several virtual systems and conventional systems as well

Business of Information (BOI)