How Can Virtual Teaming Improve the Business Process - Essay Example

Virtual Team The technological revolution over the past decade has amazingly shaped the way businesses conduct their operations. Advances in technology irrefutably modifies the value chain of business organizations, thereby representing changes it organizational process. The development of more technologically advanced way of communication lead to the creation of virtual teams or geographically dispersed teams (GDT). Virtual teams or GDT is defined as "a group of individual who works across time, space, boundaries, and organizational boundaries with links strengthened by webs of communication technology (Geographically Dispersed Team 2006, pg. 1)." As a group, they have complementary skills and are committed to a common purpose, have interdependent performance goals, and share an approach to work for which they hold themselves mutually accountable. The emergence of virtual teams has undoubtedly brought a huge impact in business organizations. According to IBM (2006), virtual team brings together various expertises in company disciplines such as product design, manufacturing, supply chain management and logistics. As GDT works together they can share ideas, experience and technical information to create better solutions which leads to the improvement of the organization's internal operations. Taking the aforementioned information into consideration, this paper will look at the positive effects of having a virtual team in the operation of a warehouse distribution center. This will be done by utilizing Michael Porters famous business tools-value chain and competitive forces. Value Chain In the value chain model, Michael Porter classified business activities as either primary or support activities. Primary activities include: inbound logistics, production, outbound logistics, sales and marketing, maintenance. Meanwhile administrative infrastructure management, human resources management, R&D, and procurement comprise the support activities. Appendix 1 shows the primary and support activities in the typical value chain of a business organization. Primary activities involve those activities which start in the procurement of raw materials from suppliers to bringing them to customer. Meanwhile, the main goal of support activities is to facilitate the primary activities. All these activities in the value chain are designed to add value that the customer derived from the company's products or services (Value Based Management 2006). Virtual teaming in the value chain of a warehouse distribution center can bring about more efficiency in the functioning of the entire firm. Locating the warehouse distribution center in the value chain, we can see that it is after the production and before marketing and sales. Establishing a virtual team within the company can integrate the processes within the company. Due to technological innovation, communication within the value chain is more capable of transmitting information to different departments. For instance, the warehouse distribution center can closely collaborate with the other team members in the other departments through the company's intranet. Thus, from the procurement of inputs to the after-sales service, a virtual team can be organized to regulate each process in the value chain. The presence of virtual team makes it easy to monitor the inventory level in the warehouse distribution center and regulate production. It also becomes relatively easier to track inventory levels and replenish stocks to maintain them at the optimum level. Also, delivery from the warehouse distribution center to the customers can be best facilitated if there is a virtual team which oversees the transaction from the warehouse to the customers' doorstep. Of course, some of the functions mentioned above can be carried out by a physical team. However, it should be noted that the presence of virtual team is not hampered by geographic boundaries. It is most important for warehouse distribution centers which are located in two different continents. As information can now be exchanged through the internet, warehouse distribution centers can now track and monitor the inventories top and from the warehouse. Illustrating an example, warehouse which has a product to be delivered in another continent can directly track the delivery without the limitation of posted by time and geographical borders. Summing up, the effect of virtual teams is the integration of the value chain processes. In the case of warehouse distribution center, virtual teams ensure that each department knows what's going on in each process real time, without hassle. Competitive Forces While the value chain involves the internal operations of the business entity, the competitive forces is concerned with the external environment and the various stakeholders of the firm. According to Porter, there are six competitive forces in the environment of a business entity namely the suppliers, competitors, buyers, customers, potential entrants, and product substitutes (What is the Five Forces Model 2006). Thus, the virtual team created using the competitive forces model is comprised of the actors in the firm's environment. The effect of virtual teaming is very apparent in the current business arena. As the world is becoming more and more integrated, surpassing the barriers through technological advances, it is also apparent that the different competitive forces are becoming more and more integrated. Virtual teams now exist as a close collaboration between the suppliers, customers, and business organization becomes stronger. In fact, we can see that the supply chain of major companies is being modified as suppliers and customers become more involved in the company processes. One famous example is the operation of Dell Computers which integrates other competitive forces in its supply chain. Looking at a warehouse distribution center, virtual teams can play a great role in enhancing its efficiency. A warehouse distribution center is the company's direct contact to its customers. In turn, these customers can be another company which utilizes the warehouse's products as an input in their manufacturing plants. Thus, a firm can have a virtual team composed of the other departments within the organizations, suppliers, and customers. Collaboration with suppliers becomes a very essential factor in promoting advances in operation. World class manufacturing now requires the free flow of inputs to and fro the company's supply chains. This can only be aided by a virtual team, working together to inform the warehouse distribution system of its input requirements. With a virtual team monitoring component requirements, transactions between competitive forces become more efficient which translates to a leaner production system. Also, customer satisfaction is guaranteed as virtual teams assure that components or goods are delivered from the warehouse to the customers. Close collaboration between suppliers and companies has a great implication to other competitive forces. This close relationship often heightens the barrier to new entrants especially if there are only few suppliers in the market. References Geographically Dispersed Team, 2006, Retrieved 02 April 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographically_Dispersed_Team The Value Chain, 2001, Retrieved 02 April 2006, from http://www.themanager.org/pdf/ValueChain.PDF Value Based Management, 2006, Retrieved 02 April 2006, from http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_porter_value_chain.html What is the Five Forces Model, 2006, Retrieved 02 April 2006, from http://www.12manage.com/methods_porter_five_forces.html Appendix 1. The Value Chain Appendix 2. Competitive Forces Read More