Digital organisation means a company with an electronic presence and does not have a physical existence. Digital organization actually emerged in 1990 but the rapid changes in the global business environment in recent years have given it a new impetus with some small and large businesses operating as a digital organization.
A digital organization can operate across different geographical regions or locations while appearing as a single unit using the digital or the advanced means of telecommunication.
Indeed, today’s business environment requires enterprises to be more flexible and responsive to consumers’ needs. A digital organization therefore uses digital technologies to create a new business model, product or a service to satisfy a customer’s needs.
A digital organization takes different forms. It can operate as either telecommuters, outsourcing employees/competencies or completely digital. Telecommuters, for instance, work with a small office space and allow majority of employees to work from home.
This helps to save the cost of renting a big office space with workstations for all employees. The distinction between a digital organization and a telecommuter is that the former is generally described as an organization without walls that are rightly connected to a large network of third-parties including distributors, suppliers or customers.
A digital organization is usually driven by business opportunities and the willingness to share associated risks and rewards regarding those opportunities. Once the alliance has been formed and the opportunity exploited, partners move on to a new partnership.
Thus, a digital organization is linked to strategic and joint venture partners to ensure smooth operations or service delivery. It is worth noting that a digital organization is anchored on the presence of seamless and unified communication system to keep the organisation working smoothly.
A digital organisation can operate effectively in the technological space with an e-mail integration system-Short Message Service (SMS), Computer Telephony Integration (CTI), Voice mail alert and mobile device network (mobile data connections).
The New Era
The emergence of digital organisations has created a new work environment known as E-environment. This requires E-leadership to provide influence and direction to achieve results. To note, the distinguishing feature of E-leadership is the new interface between the leader and his followers comprising a global pool of talents and specialists.
This means, the traditional face-to-face interaction is being replaced with unified communication tools (information technology). To be efficient or succeed, a digital organization needs to build its foundation on a strategy with a clear vision and goals, a strong culture of change.
A digital organisation must have an infrastructure regarding cloud computing, cybersecurity and data analytics. It also requires a comprehensive digital governance and risk management framework to identify and mitigate cybersecurity threats and data breaches.
Implementation Plan
The learning of curve of experiences in the implementation of a digital organization provides a list of best practices to guide the E-leader. In that vein, an E-leader in the digital ecosystem needs to:
- Develop mutual support, reliability in decision-making with other partners.
- Ensure that the technology or platform is compatible and reliable.
- Ensure each partner contributes and identifiable strength or asset.
- Ensure skills and competencies are complementary and not overlapping.
- Ensure partners are adaptable.
- Ensure contractual agreements are clear and specific on roles and deliverables.
- If possible, do not replace face-to-face interaction entirely.
- Provide training that is critical to team success.
- Recognize that it takes time to develop the team.
- Provide technical assistance that is competent and available.
Benefits of Operating a Digital Organisation
There are many advantages of a digital organizational structure to the modern world of commerce. Some of them are as follows:
–Streamlining Expansion
While physical office spaces are attracting high overhead costs, a digital organisation, however, does not require expenses as such. As a result, digital organisations optimise their resources by way of capital to improve growth potential and scalability. Their operations also tend to be very efficient because there is an absence of bureaucratic structures.
Hence, major decisions and activities can be conducted in a quick and efficient manner. A digital organization can tap new markets or exploit new opportunities easily since they do not depend on physical office space. They operate with flat organizational structure by relying on remote sales teams that can reach out to new markets. Because they use unified communication systems, a digital organisation can offer excellent services to customers.
–Expense Optimisation
Conventional organisations operate from physical locations that are becoming increasingly costly to maintain. Some of the physical locations are built with modern architecture with plush décor that attract high rental fee.
The other itemized overhead expenses go into hiring many employees to handle the work in the physical space, costs of maintenance, expenses for lighting, furniture, cleaning and stationery. Operating a digital organization in that regard helps to control or optimize operational expenses since they need minimal administrative expenses.
-Global Network of Talents
Digital organization can hire talents or specialists from any part of the world. Indeed, hiring employees remotely gives digital organisations an access to a larger pool of talents that are necessary to undertake special projects of mutual interest.
This strategy also enables them to provide superior and better services to its clients across the global. In a related development, the culture of global pool of talents ingrains flexibility of working hours. Thus, flexible hours allow employees to determine their own schedules within certain parameters and accommodate diversity and inclusion with ease.
Challenges
Despite the seamless benefits, challenges associated with a digital organization needs to be managed. Some of the identified challenges of managing a digital organization are:
-Operational Inability
Digital structures create a loss of control over some operations. This loss of control calls for effective communication, coordination, and trust among the various partners to achieve a common purpose. The digital arrangement tends to create an ambiguity about organisational membership and superior-subordinate relationships among employees.
This ambiguity requires management to have e-leadership skills to create and sustain this organisational type. Managing digital organization also creates a situation where there is lack of bonding among employees, hence, there is the tendency to mistrust one another.
–Security/Compliance Risk
A digital organization means sharing information remotely. As a result, there is the likelihood of data breaches or cyber-attacks that can lead to loss of vital data to a third-party to misuse for personal interest. Indeed, traditional organisations are equally prone to cyber-attacks. It is important to use modern and robust technological architecture to mitigate the associated risks.
In the closing, one can say that during the COVID-19 pandemic, companies adopted some of the elements of a digital organization by constituting a digital team of employees to manage critical functions. In the face of increasing cost of doing business, companies need to build synergies which will see them to explore a digital organizational model that aligns with their operations and convenience.
BERNARD BEMPONG
Bernard is a Chartered Accountant with over 14 years of professional and industry experience in Financial Services Sector and Management Consultancy. He is the Managing Partner of J.S Morlu (Ghana) an international consulting firm providing Accounting, Tax, Auditing, IT Solutions and Business Advisory Services to both private businesses and government.
Our Office is located at Lagos Avenue, East Legon, Accra.
Contact: 233 302 528 977
233 244 566 092
Website: www.jsmorlu.com.gh
The post Operating a Digital Organisation appeared first on The Business & Financial Times.
Read Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
RSS