ACCA BT考点：无边界组织

Boundaryless organisations

Traditionally,organisations bring people together in one or more physical locations in order to process inputs and create outputs,all within a formally defined structure.Advances in information communications technology have resulted in new approaches that have redefined where,when and how people work.The most obvious evidence of this is the reduction in reliance on the 9.00am to 5.00pm working day,the emergence of flexible working arrangements and increases in work sharing and home working.Organisations have also adopted new ways of configuring relationships.

Virtual organisation

A virtual organisation is one which operates primarily through electronic communications,taking advantage of the efficiencies made possible by information technology.It removes many of the features of the working environment that were once taken for granted,such as bringing managers and staff together at a defined location.People work together remotely,with little or no dependence on physical premises.Instead,communications take place through media such as emails,e-conferencing,extranet and intranet.This virtual aspect of the operation sometimes extends to links with suppliers(upstream),and customers(downstream).By extending the virtual concept to customer relationships,the dependence on retail premises and customer-facing staff is eliminated.Amazon is often cited as the first major virtual business in this respect.

The virtual organisation model can be adopted wholly or in just certain parts of the business.For example,one major insurance company maintains a large head office which serves as a base for functional departments,but many of the staff working for certain departments work from home and rarely if ever need to visit the office.

Some service organisations can adopt the virtual approach in its entirety,with a token physical presence at a registered office to satisfy statutory registration requirements.

The advantages of virtual organisations are:

Costs can be greatly reduced,as there is less dependence on premises.This can result in significant reductions in overheads,such as electricity,water,mortgage or rent,and service staff.

The adoption of e-business solutions can create efficiencies,such as automated re-ordering and seamless transaction processing.In fact,while the virtual organisation is a relatively new business concept,many of the technologies deployed have been available for many years.For example,electronic data interchange(EDI)was first developed in the 1960s.

Jobs with the organisation may be more attractive,as the need for daily commuting is removed.This can be particularly appealing to those with family commitments at certain times of day,and those who would be deterred from working due to the cost of transport and car parking.

The virtual organisation has a modern image which may appeal to several stakeholder groups,including customers,suppliers and distributors.Increasingly,this approach to business aligns with the expectations of such groups.

The disadvantages of virtual organisations are:

There is heavy reliance on information technology,so if things go wrong this can have a catastrophic effect.Problems can arise from lack of connectivity,hardware and software failures,malware and security breaches.

Those who lack basic IT skills,or are unprepared to use information technology equipment,have no prospect of doing business with virtual organisations or working for them.

In some cultures,there remains a preference for the‘personal touch’,so virtual organisations may find it difficult to achieve a foothold.【点击免费下载>>>更多ACCA学习相关资料】

Some of those who work for virtual organisations feel isolated as direct human interaction on a face-to-face basis is minimal.Feeling personally connected to a work group can be motivational,and this effect is lost when members of teams do not meet on a regular basis.

Hollow organisation

A hollow organisation is one which relies heavily on outsourcing,enabling it to maintain low staffing levels while capitalising on the competences of partner organisations.

The most common application of this model is where an organisation identifies those competences that are core and must be retained.These are then kept in-house,while all non-core operations are contracted out.

The hollow organisation must forge strong strategic links with trusted partners.An example of this organisational form is Nike,a sports goods manufacturer,which sub-contracts production activities whilst maintaining total control over design and quality specifications.

Modular organisation

A modular organisation extends the hollow concept by breaking down production processes into modules.Production is outsourced,but each external organisation is responsible for only one element of the process.For example,in producing the Dreamliner aircraft,Boeing enters into contracts with many suppliers,each of which is responsible for one component or assembly.The outputs of these suppliers can then be integrated.

The modular organisation is a more efficient,contemporary version of the model previously used by many car manufacturers,who often owned the subsidiaries which produced components that make up the final product.The modular organisation removes the need for complex ownership structures through holding companies and subsidiaries,and also creates forced efficiencies,as those responsible for each module have to compete with organisations in the same marketplace for their services.

翻译参考

无边界组织

传统上，组织将人们聚集在一个或多个物理位置，以便在正式定义的结构内处理输入和创建输出。信息通信技术的进步产生了重新定义人们工作地点、时间和方式的新方法。最明显的证据是减少对上午9点至下午5点工作日的依赖、灵活的工作安排以及工作分担和在家工作的增加。组织还采用了配置关系的新方法。

虚拟组织

虚拟组织是一种主要通过电子通信运作的组织，利用信息技术带来的效率。它消除了许多曾经被认为理所当然的工作环境特征，例如将管理人员和员工聚集在指定地点。人们远程一起工作，很少或根本不依赖物理场所。相反，通信是通过电子邮件、电子会议、外联网和内联网等媒体进行的。运营的这一虚拟方面有时会扩展到与供应商（上游）和客户（下游）的联系。通过将虚拟概念扩展到客户关系，消除了对零售场所和面向客户的员工的依赖。在这方面，亚马逊经常被认为是第一个主要的虚拟企业。

虚拟组织模型可以全部采用，也可以仅在业务的某些部分采用。例如，一家大型保险公司设有一个大型总部，作为职能部门的基地，但在某些部门工作的许多员工在家工作，很少需要访问办公室。

一些服务组织可以完全采用虚拟方法，在注册办事处具有象征性的实体存在以满足法定注册要求。

虚拟组织的优点是：

由于对场所的依赖较少，因此可以大大降低成本。这可以显着减少管理费用，例如电、水、抵押或租金以及服务人员。

采用电子商务解决方案可以提高效率，例如自动重新订购和无缝交易处理。事实上，虽然虚拟组织是一个相对较新的业务概念，但许多部署的技术已经可用多年。例如，电子数据交换(EDI)最早是在1960年代开发的。

由于消除了日常通勤的需要，因此该组织的工作可能更具吸引力。这对那些在一天中的某些时间有家庭负担的人以及由于交通和停车费用而无法工作的人尤其有吸引力。

虚拟组织具有现代形象，可能会吸引多个利益相关者群体，包括客户、供应商和分销商。这种经营方式越来越符合这些群体的期望。

虚拟组织的缺点是：

高度依赖信息技术，所以如果出现问题，这可能会产生灾难性的影响。问题可能源于缺乏连接、硬件和软件故障、恶意软件和安全漏洞。

那些缺乏基本的IT技能，或者没有准备好使用信息技术设备的人，没有与虚拟组织做生意或为他们工作的前景。

在某些文化中，仍然偏爱“个人风格”，因此虚拟组织可能难以立足。

一些为虚拟组织工作的人感到孤立，因为面对面的直接人际互动很少。感觉个人与工作组的联系可能是一种激励，如果团队成员不定期开会，这种效果就会消失。

空心组织

空心组织是一种严重依赖外包的组织，使其能够在利用合作伙伴组织的能力的同时保持较低的人员配备水平。

该模型最常见的应用是组织确定那些必须保留的核心能力。然后将这些保留在内部，而所有非核心业务都外包出去。

空心组织必须与可信赖的合作伙伴建立牢固的战略联系。这种组织形式的一个例子是耐克，一家体育用品制造商，它分包生产活动，同时保持对设计和质量规格的全面控制。

模块化组织

模块化组织通过将生产过程分解为模块来扩展空心概念。生产是外包的，但每个外部组织只负责流程的一个要素。例如，在生产Dreamliner飞机时，波音公司与许多供应商签订了合同，每个供应商负责一个组件或一个组装。然后可以集成这些供应商的输出。

模块化组织是许多汽车制造商以前使用的模式的更高效、更现代的版本，这些制造商通常拥有生产构成最终产品的组件的子公司。模块化组织通过控股公司和子公司消除了对复杂所有权结构的需求，并且还创造了强制效率，因为负责每个模块的人必须与同一市场中的组织竞争他们的服务。

【ACCA BT考点：组织的目的和发展】