Introduction to E-Management

Question : Explain How You Will Implement the virtual E-Management? Answer : Introduction (Source: zendesk, 2017) Virtual management is the maintenance, leadership and supervision of the various virtual teams which have been dispersed in various working groups which do not met or very rarely meet. With the increased development in the information technology companies now take use of virtual management and virtual teams for accomplishing their objectives. There is extensive use of virtual management for having overseas market reach. There are several diverse actors which affect the management of the virtual teams such as cultural, economic and political factors but with a good management approach the teams can be managed efficiently (Bergiel,Bergiel and Balsmeier, 2008). Implementation of Virtual Management There can be implementation of virtual management by following five major steps i.e. preparations, launching, performance management, and team development and at the last disbanding. There should firstly be defining of the general purpose of implementing virtual management in the preparation phase. Secondly there should be made virtual teams for effective execution of the virtual working. In the launch phase, there should be formal meeting of all the team members through video calling and conferences. There should also be communication regarding the tasks and responsibilities of each member. In the performance management phase, the performances of the team members should be managed and in the team development phase, all the teams should be developed through various strategies. After the task or project is completed there is disbanding of those teams and again the team members are unglued (Lee-Kelley and Sankey, 2008). Managing the US team The teams in US are culturally, politically, and economically different from the domestic country. To manage the teams in US there will be taken use of virtual management only. Following are the ways in which the teams in US will be managed through virtual management: Defining work systems There is extreme diversity among the people so the way of performing tasks is also different. If there will be defining of work systems as well as setting of standards then it will result into attainment of desired results in a shorter time period. These defined work systems will help in providing efficiency in the work as well as giving freedom to the employees to tailored things as per their abilities (Turban, Liang and Wu, 2011). Establishing multiple channels of communication Due to the difference in cultures, economies and various other things it is necessary that for managing the team there must be effective communication. Thus, it is essential that there must be establishment of numerous communication channels so that the employees can discuss each and every thing. Scheduled meetings on a regular basis There must be fixed schedule on which the meetings should be held and these meeting are required to be take place on a regular basis such as once in a week. These meetings can be done through video calls. It will help in bringing consistency as well as reducing the differences among the people related to their cultures. This will result into development of informal association and enhanced communication among the employees (Kimble, 2011). Working of virtual teams (Ferrazzi, 2014) To have effective working of the virtual teams it is essential that all the team members should clarify their processes as well as their tasks and must not only share the organizational roles and goals. By having a clear understanding of the tasks and processes, it helps in the effective allocation of the teams as well as sub-groups so that there can be achieved better coordination. The most essential element in the effective working of the virtual team is to set a common and shared language fir the communication among the teams. It will help in making an equality as well as broader range of individuals will understand the things effectively. There must also be development of trust and encouragement of open conversation among the teams. It will help in effective flow of ideas, thought and opinions. It will also help in effective resolution of any kind of issue taking place among the teams (Siebdrat, Hoegl and Ernst, 2009). Use of tools There are required effective and potential tools in managing the virtual teams. Following are those tools which have significant importance in managing teams: For video meetings For the virtual teams there is essential requirement of regular video meetings among the virtual teams. There are two effective tools for making video calls i.e. Skype and Google Hangouts. Both of them are well recognized tools for making video calls. The basic purpose of them is to support the business meeting through video calling (Choi, Lee and Yoo, 2010). For document storage and file sharing For the virtual teams, document storage and file sharing is also of utmost importance. There are few effective tools for fulfilling this purpose which includes Google Apps and Dropbox. These two well-known tools will effectively support the faster sharing of files and safe storage of documents so that virtual teams can use them. For project management and collaboration For sharing information amongst each other there is a need of a central hub. There are few tools which provide efficient management to the employees. It includes Hipchat, Slack, Trello and Skitch. These tools help in providing a safe and secure platform for effective video calling, team chat and file sharing. By taking use of all these tools the company can have effective management of virtual teams (United Methodist Church, 2017). Advantages of virtual management Cost Saving The primary advantage of virtual management is cost saving as all the huge expenses such as office spaces, expenses on the real estate, utilities bills etc. have been saved. Therefore, there is much cost saving by the company (Gibson and Cohen, 2003). Leverage Global Talent As there are employed people from various other countries o it provides an opportunity to have global talent and competence. This will result into increased efficiency as there are people with diverse abilities and skills. Newer opportunities The virtual management help in offering new opportunities to the people who are not able to relocate themselves from any reason. Therefore, it is very much advantageous for people who are physically challenged (Klitmller and Lauring, 2013). Increased productivity Another benefit of virtual management is that people are more involved in their work due to less rules and regulations. Therefore there is increased productivity as individuals are solely dependent work their work. Reduced time to market In the virtual management people work over different shift times and as a result 24*7 working is there in the organization which leads tofaster delivery of products and services in the market (Andres, 2008). Disadvantages of virtual management High cost of technology In virtual management the cost of technology is very high as all the work is performed with high tech equipment and tools. There is continuous use of video conferencing, emails, instant messaging and use of internet in other things (Brown, Huettner and James-Tanny, 2010). Social isolation In virtual management there is no physical interaction with other people and the communication is also completely task oriented. Thus, it negatively impacts the members of the virtual teams as they become they victims of social isolation (O'Leary and Mortensen, 2010). Lack of trust and conflicts As there is lack of informal interactions as well as people do not have any such association with other members so there is lack of trust among each other. This gives rise to several conflicts in the team members (Wakefield,Leidner and Garrison, 2008). Overcoming of the disadvantages Enhanced communication To overcome the issues or the disadvantages of virtual management there should be enhanced communication among the embers so that there can be developed a strong association as well as informal relationship amongst them. This will result into decreased rate of conflicts and cases of social isolation. Common Platform/ effective project management software To save the high cost of technologies the company must take use of a shared or a common platform which over which all the members of the virtual team can interact with other people as well as by taking use of effective project management software there will be reduced costs of operations (Lepsinger, 2010). Managing meeting between the teams in Gulf and US To manage meeting between the teams in Gulf and US in terms of time there will be making of separate schedules so that the time issues dont takes place. In the Gulf there is a set and established working so managing teams there is not so tough but in terms of place the US teams are required to be managed effectively. All the demographic regions of US should be analyzed and evaluate effectively, this will help in operational management of teams. In terms of language it is essential that a common language must be used for having conversation with both the teams so that people can have a better communication. English is one of those languages which can be used to communicative with the teams (Lumsden, 2008). Managing the outsourced projects Making the outsourced parties understand the business objectives It is essential that the outsourced parties must take insights of the companys goals and objectives so that they can work with a shared goal and have their greater contribution in the achievement of the organizational objectives. Taking care of that the files, playbook and information are similar In outsourced projects it is necessary that the information, playbook as well as the files used by the outsourced parties should be same as the company use. This will create a similarity in the end results (Ale Ebrahim, Ahmed and Taha, 2009). Implementing effective project management software There must be taken use of effectiveproject management software so that all the work performed should be free of errors. This will also support the efficient completion of the tasks. Sync up Another most important thing in managing outsourced projects is that there should be a regular sync between the organization and the outsourced parties so that there can be effective flow of information as well as activities can also be evaluate that they are properly lined up or not (Hoch and Kozlowski, 2014). Solving problems between two workers One to one discussion To solve the issue between two workers it is first of all necessary that there should be one to one discussion with both the tea, members so that they can explain their issues and grievances. A proper analysis must be done on the issues of both the workers. Perform reality check The second important measure is to perform a reality check. Based upon the conversation with both the workers a secret reality check should be there for revealing out the truth Explore potential solution After having results of reality check there should be implement potential solution so that the workers can resolve these issues either by communication or any other measure so that company dont lose it productivity because of internal issues of the workers (Montoya-Weiss, Massey and Song, 2001). Advice for improvement Creating potential communication The communication taking place between the virtual teams should be potential rather than just time killing so that it results into improved results and productivity. Establishing rules of responsiveness In virtual managementthere are no such rules of responsiveness and the members work freely. But many a times it creates issues in getting responses. Therefore, it is necessary that there must be establishment of rules of responsiveness so that a discipline is maintained and there are efficient outcomes (Messinger, et al., 2009). Conclusion From this above report it can be concluded that in present scenario there is essential need and demand of virtual management for having improved productivity and efficiency. There are several advantages of virtual management which help the companies in achieving higher sustainability. As Souq.com is an online merchandiser, so it is very much beneficial for the company for having an extended market reach in the US. There are few disadvantages of virtual management too but if the company will take effective measures then it can overcome those disadvantages and achieve better results. By having appropriate virtual teams and successful management the company can have a successful future and expansion ahead. References Ale Ebrahim, N., Ahmed, S. and Taha, Z., 2009. 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