Role as a Supervisor in a Virtual Organization Essay

Role as a Supervisor in a Virtual Organization - Essay Example Likewise, these same traits have to be maintained when carrying out the role of trust building as no method of socialization is present; managers should substitute socialization with consistency and high responsiveness. Having an atmosphere is sharing and frequent feedback is critical in carrying out the role of a cultural facilitator within a virtual firm, as well. Virtual organizations consist of members who work in geographically disparate locations through technology with the aim of achieving common goals; such firms are usually cross-functional and tend to dwell on client needs. Virtual organizations have increased exponentially over the past decade owing to proliferation of the internet, travel restrictions arising from political or economic upheavals, and increased competitiveness. Supervisors carrying out this role have to contend with certain challenges and circumstances that are unique to the virtual environment; these issues shall be examined in detail subsequently and their relation to the supervisor role outlined. One thing that virtual supervisors must confront, which is almost absent in non - virtual organizations, is the issue of trust. When carrying out one’s responsibilities with other organizational members, it is critical to have trust amongst one another; usually, this is established through face-to-face interaction. Since virtual organizations have eliminated this form of contact, then supervisors have the additional duty of building trust among their subordinates using other methods. Research shows that effective supervisors are able to create trust in virtual environments by encouraging organizational members to become highly responsive to each other (Bradley, Benson, Gibson, Tesluk and McPherson, 2002). Feedback is the key behind sustaining a positive attitude towards one another even when people rarely get to meet each other. Additionally, since it is not possible to share meals or discuss personal matters through this