AUTHOR: Pandya Mruga Vaneshchandra DESIGNATION: Research Scholar AFFI IATION: !"#"School o$ !

us%ness Manage&en' Gu(ara' Un%)ers%'y ADDRESS FOR *ORRESPONDEN*E: E+,-. Nandan)an -. Nr Hasu/ha% 0ar1. Sa'ell%'e. Ah&eda/ad 2 -34456. Gu(ara' *ONTA*T: 785 89:-;4:::4 EMAI : mruga_pandya@rediffmail.com

AUTHOR: Pro$" N%sarg <osh% DESIGNATION: Ass%s'an' Pro$essor AFFI IATION: Shr% *h%&an/ha% Pa'el Ins'%'u'e o$ Manage&en' and Research ADDRESS FOR *ORRESPONDEN*E: E+,-. Nandan)an -. Nr Hasu/ha% 0ar1. Sa'ell%'e. Ah&eda/ad 2 -34456. Gu(ara' *ONTA*T: 785 89:-64446: EMAI : Nisarg.joshi@live.com

A00l%ca'%on o$ T=M 0h%loso0hy %n 'he V%r'ual Organ%>a'%on

Rapid advancement, availability and affordability of internet-based technologies have changed the way the organizations do business to stay competitive in the current conte t. Rapid growth of e-commerce and the disappearance of physical boundaries have resulted into the materialization of virtual organizations from a !futuristic" concept to reality. #irtual organizations consist of independent companies networ$ed together for providing product and services to the customer on behalf of the core company. %chieving customer satisfaction in a #irtual &rganization '#&( environment is comple . %llowing networ$-supported groups to ma$e incremental process improvements can result in )uantum-leap competitive advantages over the long run. Advantages of moving from physically aggregated organizational units toward electronically linked ones have been highly publicized. Most organizations now a days using ICT in a way can be said to have at least some degree of virtuality. aturally! the more distributed computer"mediated communicating occurring! both within the organization and with the outside world! the higher the degree of virtuality. Then the #uestions arise as to will a high degree of virtuality help or hinder organizations$! Can processes be improved #uickly enough to cope with competition and the drive for change facing virtual organizations today$! %ow to ensure customer satisfaction at all levels$ &tc' *t e plains that with the growing maturity of society with respect to education, culture and standards of living, the user e pectations and demands for improved )uality of service from all the virtual organizations in the mar$et are increasing. +his is part of the pressure causing virtual organizations to e plore total )uality management '+,-( as a means of driving )uality improvement into all their activities. Normally it has been witnessed that the increased acceptance and use of +,- in the manufacturing and service sector during the last decade, with service )uality being an important factor for growth, survival and success for any organization it is high time that we recognize all the benefits virtual organizations can have through application of effective +,- practices. Thus in this research paper specific focus is given to create a lin$ between applications of +,- philosophy to the virtual organizations in order achieve higher degree of efficiency and effectiveness. .ey /ords0 #irtual &rganizations, +otal ,uality -anagement, 1ustomer 2atisfaction, ,uality.

#irtual organization has become one of the hottest management topics in current vogue, particularly given the possibilities afforded by local- and wide-area computer networ$s. %dvantages of moving from physically aggregated organizational units toward electronically lin$ed ones have been highly publicized. 3acilities, rental and maintenance costs can be considerably reduced or eliminated. 4mployees can wor$ from home or from distributed offices close to home. 1ompany offices can spread over large geographical areas, allowing clients throughout the world to purchase goods, services, and information without traveling long distances. %ll this, and operations data can still be monitored in a centralized manner. -ost organizations using computers in a non standalone way can be said to have at least some degree of virtuality. Naturally, the more distributed computer-mediated communicating occurring, both within the organization and with the outside world, the higher the degree of virtuality. +he )uestions that arise foremost in our mind are0 /ill a high degree of virtuality help or hinder organizations5 1an these processes be improved )uic$ly enough to cope up with competition and the drive for change facing virtual organizations today5 +he ever changing and rapidly developing area of technology is considered to be a driver in its own right. +he scope of in6uence of technology on any discourse is vast7 however, the current discussion is limited to two prevalent aspects as being illustrative, rather than comprehensive. +he areas brie6y considered are information system databases and the ever-present ebusiness. New developments in information systems databases can play a $ey role in shaping +,-8s in6uence on business processes, especially processes re)uiring comple customer data. +he challenge is to determine how e isting operations9mar$eting processes can be changed to ma imise the effectiveness of this new technology and hence enable the creation of new mar$et opportunities. +otal )uality management '+,-( comprises three elements7 customer focus, variation and continuous improvement. ,uality begins with understandings of customer8s re)uirements upon which the performance goal for the organization is based. #ariation in )uality is controlled by using statistical methods. 1ontinuous improvement begins with statically defined

current process and identifies the future modification to the process that might reduce the defects and increases the predictability of the performance. *n this research paper the concept of +,- is lin$ed with that of #irtual &rganizations. *t discusses the issues of the )uality in #irtual &rganizations. 3inally it analyses the applicability of +,- in the 4-commerce ':;1(. +he application of +otal ,uality -anagement helps in streamlining processes, and ensures a proactive wor$ system ready to counter deviations from the ideal state. Process I&0ro)e&en' Grou0s <rocess-based improvement is the $eystone of approaches such as +,- and :<R, which assume that process-related change, whether incremental or radical, can lead to increases in organizational efficiency and effectiveness. %n analysis of these approaches strongly suggests the <* group is their primary change instrument. <* efforts are typically comprised of two stages0 conceptual, and practical. *n the conceptual stage, a process is conceptually redesigned. +his stage consists of three main steps0 *dentification, %nalysis, and Redesign. *n *dentification, a process is selected for redesign7 in %nalysis, the selected process is modeled and analyzed7 and in Redesign, process changes are proposed. +he practical stage consists of two main steps0 *mplementation, and Routinization. *n *mplementation, redesign proposals generated in the conceptual stage are put into practice7 and in Routinization, the process changes implemented in the previous step are consolidated as routine operations of the organization and undergo incremental optimizations. +he practical stage is typically much longer than the conceptual stage, particularly when processes are radically redesigned. PI Grou0 Resul's * found four technology effects of the <* groups to be particularly relevant for virtual organizations0 = % decentralization of incremental improvement initiatives7 = %n increase in the possible number of <* groups per unit of time7 and = % reduction in group cost7 = % neutral effect on process redesign )uality.

>istributed and multi departmental <* groups searching for incremental )uality and productivity improvements can be successfully conducted with computer support. +hey can be conducted in less time and at a lower cost than e)uivalent face-to-face groups. +hey can also occur more often, due to their lower reliance on management leadership, than similar face-to-face groups. %nd all this can be achieved without any significantly negative impact on the )uality of the process improvements generated. +his is good news for organizations with a high degree of virtuality, as well as for those moving toward virtuality. 2uch organizations should consider implementing computer-supported <* projects targeted at achieving incremental improvements in process )uality and productivity. Re$erences 1. Davenport, T.H. Process Innovation. Harvard Business Press, Boston, 2. MA, 1993. 3. Davenport, T.H. and Stoddard, D.B. Reengineering Business c!ange ". o# $%t!ic proportions& MIS 'uarter(% 1), 2 *199"+, 121,12-. .. Davido/, 0.H. and Ma(one, M.S. T!e 1irtua( 2orporation. Harper3 4. 2o((ins, 5e/ 6or7, 1992. -. De$ing, 0.8. 9ut o# T!e 2risis. 2enter #or Advanced 8ngineering ). Stud%, MIT, 2a$:ridge, MA, 19)4. 9. ;a((ivan, M.<., Ho#$an, <.D., and 9r(i7o/s7i, 0.<. I$p(e$enting 1=.radica( c!ange ;radua( versus rapid pace. In Proceedings o# t!e 1.t! 11.Internationa( 2on#erence on In#or$ation S%ste$s *1ancouver, 2anada, 12.Dec. 1",1-+. A2M Press, 5e/ 6or7, 199", 32.,3"=. 13.Hutc!ins, D. 'ua(it% 2irc(es Hand:oo7. Pit$an, >ondon, ?@, 19).. 1".Ha$$er, M. and Stanton, S.A. T!e Reengineering Revo(ution. Harper3 1..2o((ins, 5e/ 6or7, 199.. 14.@oc7, 5. Process I$prove$ent and 9rganiAationa( >earning T!e Ro(e o#

1-.2o((a:oration Tec!no(ogies. Idea ;roup Pu:(is!ing, Hers!e%, PA, 1999. 1).@oc7, 5. and Mc'ueen, R. As%nc!ronous group/are support e##ects 19.on process i$prove$ent groups An action researc! stud%. In Proceedings 2=.o# t!e 1-t! Internationa( 2on#erence on In#or$ation S%ste$s *2(eve(and, 21.9H, Dec. 14,1)+. A2M Press, 5e/ 6or7, 1994, 339,3... 22.Mo/s!o/itA, A. 1irtua( 9rganiAation. 2o$$un. A2M "=, 9 *Sept. 23.199-+, 3=,3-. 2".Pic7ering, <.M. and @ing, <.>. Hard/iring /ea7 ties InterorganiAationa( 2..co$puter3$ediated co$$unication, occupation co$$unities, 24.and organiAationa( c!ange. 9rganiAation Science 4, " *199.+, "-9, ")4. 2-.Ro:son, M. 'ua(it% 2irc(es A Practica( ;uide. ;o/er, A(ders!ot, ?@, 2).19)). 29.Be((, Danie( T!e 2o$ing o# Post Industria( Societ%. A 1enture in Socia( Borecasting. Heine$ann. >ondon 19-". 3=.B(o$, Rai$oC Me(in, Harri Da P%EriF, Pasi Tietot%E Da t%Ee(F$Fn $uutos. Pa(77at%En ar7i tieto%!teis7unnassa. ;audea$us. He(sin7i 2==1. 31.Bourne, Mi7eC Mi((s, <o!nC 0i(coG, Mar7C 5ee(%, And%C P(atts, @en Designing, i$p(e$enting and updating per#or$ance $easure$ent s%ste$s. Internationa( <ourna( o# 9perations H Production Manage$ent, 1o(. 2= 5o.-, 2===, -."3--1. 32.Bourne, Mi7e *editor+ Hand:oo7 o# per#or$ance Measure$ent. ;88 Pu:(is!ing, >ondon 2==1. 33.2aste((s, Manue( T!e In#o$ation Age. 8cono$%, Societ% and 2u(ture. 1o(u$e I T!e Rise o# T!e 5et/or7 Societ%. B(ac7/e(( Pu:(is!ers, 9G#ord 1994. 3".2aste((s, Manue( Da Hi$anen, Pe77a Suo$en tietot%!teis7unta$a((i. Sitra Da 0S96. 1antaa 2==1. 3..Druc7er, Peter B. <o!ta$isen !aasteet. 0S :oo7/e(( 9%, <uva 1999.

34.Druc7er, Peter B. @no/(edge30or7er Productivit% T!e Biggest 2!a((enge. 2a(i#ornia Manage$ent Revie/ 1o(. "1, 59.2, 0inter 1999, -9 , 9". 3-.Druc7er, Peter B. T!e Age o# Discontinuit% ;uide(ines to 9ur 2!anging Societ%. Transaction Pu:(is!ers, >ondon 2===. 3).Bis!er, @i$:a(( and Bis!er, Mareen D. T!e Distri:uted Mind. Ac!ieving Hig! Per#or$ance T!roug! t!e 2o((ective Inte((igence o# @no/(edge30or7 Tea$s. A$aco$. 5e/ 6or7 199). 39.;(egg, Ste/art R. Modern 9rganiAations. 9rganiAation Studies in t!e Post$odern 0or(d. Sage, >ondon 199=. "=.;u$$eson, 8vert 'ua(itative Met!ods in Manage$ent Researc!. Sage. 5e/:ur% Par7 1991. "1.Ha((, Ric!ard H. Socio(og% o# 0or7. Perspectives, Ana(%ses, and Issues. Pine Borge Press, T!ousand 9a7s 199".