Man is a social animal, and the boundaries of his organization and interaction are limited only by the needs of communication.
As modern life continues to evolve along the avenues opened up by the revolutions in communications media, new possibilities for interaction are revealed.
Enterprise organization is no less a human social endeavor than any other form of collaboration and interaction. Communication is at its heart. Because we are communicating in a different way, the way we do business is changing.
The Inherited Paradigm: Centralized Control
In conventional business organization, decision making is carried out through a centralized controlling authority. A hierarchical system is the inherited method of getting things done: smaller parts report to progressively larger, or more important parts in a company.
Integral to this organization is the presence of a co-located group of workers. Being in the same place is foundational to getting things done – just like the smaller parts reporting to larger parts, individual workers report to a common physical work space. Networks and communication are tied to a physical footprint.
Because this system of organization requires a workforce of its own to function, a bureaucracy is a feature of almost any traditional business structure. It is a major form of inefficiency.
The New Paradigm: Distributed Control Systems
In this organizational structure there is less emphasis on centralized control. Instead the moving parts function according to a set of simple rules to achieve the organization’s goals. Communication becomes more important in such a cooperative system, as goals are shared across teams and collaboration becomes a key indicator of a team’s productivity.
The physical footprint of communication is no longer a place and a proprietor’s network. Voice and data have merged, providing the communication that was once yielded by or tied to a physical work site. In fact, today’s platforms can offer faster, more efficient communication than the traditional world of the desktop telephone, PC, and fax. And it has no necessary relation to place. The unity of communication has erased the necessity of the unity of place. Workers can be geographically distributed.
The Unique Advantages of Distributed Teams
- The elimination of physical work sites reduces the need for real estate, lowering costs.
- The best talent can be tapped from anywhere.
- Sourcing geographically distributed workers increases diversity. New perspectives and view points can be a spur to innovation.
- The modern workforce increasingly demands a better balance of work and private life. Flexibility is a priority for today’s workers.
- Elimination of bureaucracy in favor of collaboration and innovation.
The world we live in today is more distributed and collaborative than ever before. Enterprise communication to remain agile cannot ignore the opportunities current platforms offer. Forging a short path around obstacles, finding innovative solutions is supported when communication is the central feature of enterprise organization.
Communication that is meaningful in a human, in a social context is no longer an academic abstraction. It is a concrete, dynamic reality driving massive economic activity, one that puts tools in the hands of business to achieve results with greater ease and higher levels of productivity than ever before.
Sococo’s virtual work environment was designed with the needs of virtual enterprise in mind. Understanding that communication is more important than ever before in today’s distributed world, Sococo’s virtual office brings you all the advantages of today’s tech – chat, video, screen sharing – while helping to reduce the clutter and confusion of multiple platforms. Avatars give your whole team a picture of what’s happening at a glance. Take your office anywhere on your mobile device. Collaboration is only ever a click or tap away.
Business is changing. Sococo can give you the flexibility to meet challenges, to stay agile and competitive.
