Personal Development Planning - Essay Example

Virtual office A virtual office is a system of computer network that allows users to login and perform any necessary job from any location. It alsodenotes the tools used to perform certain functions of an office on a computer. This can be a perfect set up for many businesses if the business model and the principles of management are adapted to suit the shift of focus from managing by observation to managing by results. In this age of advanced communication technology, a virtual office is not a long shot owing to the availability of high speed internet connectivity and the prevalence of broadband connectivity in most cities of the world. Virtual offices are capable of performing various tasks and have numerous tools that allow us to run the entire office on a laptop or a personal computer. The idea is to allow a user to do tasks more efficiently, quickly and from any location and eventually letting the virtual office handle the routine chores for us and facilitate interaction with others. In the paragraphs below we will look at some of the functions available in a virtual office. A bulletin board can be used to share important information with a work group, posting announcements, giving contact information, posting messages, and list of jobs to be completed, announcing events and even conducting polls among workers about an issue. A calendar can be used to schedule events, generate reminders and can be posted on a bulletin board. Deadlines and group meetings can also be added to the calendar. An organizer can help with developing a to-do list to prioritize tasks, track the status and set reminders for important tasks. Reminders are sent when deadlines are crossed. An address book helps in organizing contact information and making it available to other users. The address book can be accessed directly to send a sms or mail or a fax A travel planner can be used to make travel plans by researching and creating itineraries. It can also be used to compare flight fares and also used to save travel data for workers and their travel plans. Search engines can gather background information on any place including lodging, site seeing and customs, weather and local maps. Document sharing is an important part of any office. Now this can also be done digitally using virtual office tools. Text document and spreadsheets are central to any business. A group of people may work on a single file for a few days. Online spreadsheet and document services are available to make this possible. This utility allows the user to post a document on the net to be viewed edited and downloaded and worked on by other designated users. There is also file management and storage service available over the internet that allows you to organize files and folders and store them on the internet to be accessed by others. There are also tools facilitating online ordering of major office supplies that provides e-commerce channels to conduct business with vendors. It also provides links to major air cargo carriers and travel suppliers. One of the most useful communication tools of a virtual office is a virtual PBX. This service offers businesses all the features of a PBX without the hardware requirement or the need to install new phone lines. These services are hosted by companies for a monthly fee. This system works by assigning a toll free number and a set of extension numbers to the client. When a call is placed, the system answers with the clients customized greeting and redirects the caller according to the specifications of the client. These services also offer features like on-hold messages, music on-hold, virtual calling card, dial by name, question and answer mailbox, virtual fax etc. The most used among the virtual office tools is the web conferencing facility. While chat technology requires participants to be online at the given time, web conferencing involves either real-time conversation or presentation that can be accessed at a given time by all the conferencing members or at different times by different members. Web conferencing also entails a meeting in which any user can take advantage of the on-screen controls of the presentation. Web conferencing requires a high speed internet connection, and offers a secure space that can be expanded to accommodate any number of users. An on line whiteboard is provided where contents, documents pictures, websites or even PowerPoint presentations can be posted by the users. Advanced web conferencing facilities also provide streaming media, in which there is a live telecast of the content, video conferencing or Voice over IP. There are also tools that allow real time meetings and discussions and polls or surveys. While all the above functions are made easy through a virtual office there are certain issues involved in setting up a virtual office. Not all businesses can set up a virtual office. Businesses that require a lot of physical space and movement need a physical place for running its functions smoothly. For example a customer site sales business cannot gain much from a virtual office since most work is done at the customer's site. Businesses that have a good chance of setting up and running a virtual office may include information services like travel, stock brokerage etc. Businesses that are considering a virtual office should take into account the legal issues and the employee union issues involved. Training and development should be incorporated keeping in mind the specifics of a virtual office. Processes for conflict resolution should be built. Operational and administrative support should be redesigned to fit the needs of the remote worker. Proper coordination should be established in the technical support department. New approaches should be introduced by the management to evaluate, educate, organize and inform workers. All these steps will ensure the smooth functioning of a virtual office. A very important consideration is information security. Companies have to gear up their security over the shared files on the network. Physical access to the user's computer may intentionally or accidentally damage the data. The availability of data over the internet also has the threat of hacking. Firewalls are the most common tool used to remedy these security issues. There is a loss of data confidentiality and integrity since the company has limited access to the user's computer. The intranet or the internet connection speed is crucial since all communication and work has to pass through them. A slow connection may hinder work and reduce the productivity of the employee. The broadband connectivity that has reached the masses is changing the situation eventually. On the human side, the telecommuter is socially isolated and has difficulty in advancing their career. The home telecommuter becomes socially isolated and further job advancement is more difficult to achieve. Works hours may become too much or too less and there are distractions at home that may not be present in the office. Certain functions like access to people, loyalty, corporate culture, and managerial control are not yet replaced by the virtual office. There are many advantages that make the virtual office an attractive option for businesses. Implementing technologies such as Voice over Internet Protocol and computer telephony integration and other collaborative technologies for meetings and sharing of files and documents aids in improving worker productivity since the burden and expense of travel is cut off. Employees can be hired virtually from anywhere across the globe. By allowing employees to work from home the company gains a competitive advantages including the availability of highly qualified workers who may not otherwise commute to work and also duplicate the office environment for employees who have to travel frequently like those in the sales department. A virtual office reduces the cost of operation through outsourcing to cheaper labor markets and also by reducing travel associated expenses. Implementation of Voice over Internet Protocol and IP PBX and Wireless LAN also reduces the cost of communication. There is a reduction in the cost of office space. There is also a flexibility of office space and thus a reduction in the cost related to the upsizing and downsizing of the workforce according to the availability of business. There is a lot of research and development effort put into the area of virtual office that these providing limitless possibilities in the future. We will look at some of the examples that will throw some light on the path that technology is taking. The cars that we use have had enough computing power as a lap top for some time now. Soon it would be possible to retrieve work files on the car dashboard. Instead of a laptop a thumb drive can be used to connect up to the work data and download them via a phone or a dumb terminal, this will eliminate the need to carry a laptop since a dumb terminal can be installed in all commonly used places like the airplane, business centers etc. Any screen may be used to view data including the cell phone. These are the promises the future of virtual office holds. The latest rends in technology is making the virtual office a very plausible option to everyone. The speed with which technology is growing and the ubiquitous nature of communication technology has made this option a very real one. In the coming years a laptop or a personal computer may not be necessary to perform many of the functions of the virtual office. The phone, refrigerator or the car dashboard may be enough. A thumb drive now allows us to carry enormous amount of information on such a small piece of hardware that can be easily plugged into most communication devices. In the future our office will function on not just a specific hardware but on any device that we may be using at that point in time. By the standards of technology available today it is obvious that virtual offices will be order of the day sooner than later, and as in any other process of change, the adaptations required will follow in the same pace as the technology does. 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