BUSN 630 Mid-Term Exam

Question 1

Managers engage in "Planning" activities at all organizational levels, from strategic planning at the executive leadership level, to budgeting and other resource planning at middle management levels, to project, product, staffing, etc. (operational planning) at lower levels. How do these planning activities in a virtual organization differ from more traditional approaches?

Planning in virtual teams involve giving the employees an increased level of flexibility and autonomy in the plans that are made. The leader must accommodate the teams that are working remotely. They are working in different time zones therefore there is a difference in the type of work that they do and the amount of time they have available for the jobs unlike in traditional organizations where planning is done in a central way with more physical coordination and more face to face interactions. In the virtual organizations, planning is depersonalized, there is the reduction in the level of physical connection between colleagues at work (Vesovic, 2022). More technology tools like Zoom and time scheduling tools may be used in the virtual organizations compared to the physical firms.

References

Vesovic, B. (2022). 9 tips for effectively managing virtual teams. Clockify Blog. https://clockify.me/blog/business/managing-virtual-teams/

Question 2

Managers engage in "Organizing" activities to control resources at all organizational levels. How do organizing activities in a virtual organization differ from more traditional approaches?

In virtual teams, organizing focuses on clarifying the roles and setting priorities and the team member will have to know each other, bond and then they are given their own activities to work on. There could be some form of specialization but generally in these virtual teams, there is a huge focus on organizing activities based on the need to create an effective communication platform and constant follow ups to see if the workers are carrying out their duties In the physical teams, the organizing activities are mainly focused on creating a chain of command and division of labor (Watkins, 2013). When the division of labor is being carried out, the supervisors in the organization play a huge role.

References

Watkins, M. D. (2013, June 27). Making Virtual Teams Work: Ten Basic Principles. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2013/06/making-virtual-teams-work-ten

Question 3

How do leadership challenges and activities in a virtual organization differ from more traditional approaches?

The key leadership challenges in the virtual teams can range from lack of motivation. Supervision is already a challenge for the virtual organizations, now when there is no motivation, the organization greatly suffers. (Norwich University Online, 2020) Sometimes the expectations of leading can actually overwhelm this leader. Other challenges include poor connectivity and inability of the organization to fully communicate clarity of goals.

The key leadership challenges in the traditional organizations can range from the leaders not getting enough out of their employees due to increased levels of conflicts within the organization. Other challenges could be lack of a shared vision between the leader and the subordinates. The leader could also be having a certain leadership style that is detested by most members of the team (Norwich University Online, 2020).

References

Norwich University Online. (2020, November 10). 4 Challenges of Virtual Teams and How to Address Them. Norwich University Online. https://online.norwich.edu/academic-programs/resources/challenges-of-virtual-teams

Question 4

Managers engage in "Communicating" activities at all organizational levels. How do communicating activities in a virtual organization differ from more traditional approaches?

Communication activities in a physical organization are more,” live,” this means that they communicate more often and they talk in a close setting. However, in the virtual firm, there is used of technology. Sometimes the leaders in the organization may create a hybrid work system where there is the combination of the physical technologies and the face to face communication is used sparingly (Panel®, n.d.). Enhanced communication in these types of organizations do focus on ensuring that the employees understand each other, they can reach to the team members in the event they get stuck with anything. Besides getting stuck ,the communication process focuses on ensuring that work flow continues even if the leaders in the organization are not meeting.

References

Panel®, E. (n.d.). Council Post: 11 Effective Ways To Support Enhanced Virtual Communication. Forbes. Retrieved April 30, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2021/10/20/11-effective-ways-to-support-enhanced-virtual-communication/?sh=19acba1a6e5e