My case is Amazon.com

Steps: 1. First you will pick a case of virtual organization. 2. Then you will collect all the necessary information on that virtual organization. 3. While doing your research your aim would be to find information that would explain following issues (see next page): When to go virtual? Economic factors When to go virtual? Economic factors GO VIRTUAL Products are standardized (no special installation requirements, after-sales services etc) Depends on the nature of goods & services: In manufacturing, components & parts that require physical shipment & sourced locally X DONT GO VIRTUAL but specifications, delivery schedule etc eliminate middleman 1 GO VIRTUAL (wholesalers, travel agents): booking airline flights via Internet Technically possible, but customers prefer more personal mode X GO VIRTUAL Banks: ATM, online services, call centres yet most banks still retain their branches X DON'T GO VIRTUAL consultancy and media promotion X DONT GO VIRTUAL Support services tailored according to the needs of a particular firm: Require personal interaction bet, the supplier and the org Technically impossible (some services cannot be delivered virtually or might have limited appeal) Hairdressing, dentistry X DONT GO VIRTUAL Though web 1) Relations with customers how important is to maintain f2f contact? do customers expect high level of personal contact? 1) Relations with suppliers: How tangible are the items? Do suppliers need to physically located close to customers? When to go virtual? Technological factors Depends on the technological nature of activities, type of market inputs required & kind of work sales teams GO VIRTUAL advanced research design creativity & tacit * DON'T GO VIRTUAL knowledge fimplied but not expressed through group work) When to go virtual? Organizational factors Depends on the degree of What form of integration is Low GO VIRTUAL internal integration: required between different High X DONT GO VIRTUAL relations between units, people/units? & those between management & Can employees be motivated Yes GO VIRTUAL employees enough to work apart? No X DONT GO VIRTUAL What is the risk of loss of Low GO VIRTUAL control? High X DONT GO VIRTUAL To what extent Creative Low GO VIRTUAL interaction needed & can be on High X DONT GO VIRTUAL a virtual basis? Balanced working on a non-virtual mode to promote creative process, and then bring together appropriate but dispersed resources on a virtual basis Er work is relatively routine & easy to make adjustments GO VIRTUAL Depends on the degree of uncertainty & speed in dealing with new requirements To what extent the work require creativity and innovation? To what extent can employees carry out their work separately from their colleagues! org frequently face new problems & have to solve them Quickly VIRTUAL OR NOT depends on the type of problemet