(3) problems that brick-and-mortar organizations face as they transition toward becoming virtual organizations

Select three (3) problems that brick-and-mortar organizations face as they transition toward becoming virtual organizations. Debate whether the operations of virtual organizations exacerbate brick-and-mortar organizations’ existing problems or whether they create new problems. Provide specific examples to support your rationale.

When companies look at converting to online they face multiple issues. There are upsides as well though when you convert or add online business. Three problems that brick and mortar organizations face are:

Companies they lose the one on one customer experience and that relationship clientele that people create when they have to actually come into the store. Instead of having to create those relationships with your customers they are just going to an online website and making purchases hoping that the product you are offering is what they need. A lot of mom and pop shops rely on that one on one purchasing and their customers for business but sometimes when you move to online business you lose that connection with people and then they tend to move on.

Another problem companies can face is managing their employees from a satellite location if they are not onsite. I for one work with a few people are located outside our headquarters and we tend to have communications issues. While they are not in the office, they tend to get notified later of things that are happening. For instance a meeting can be held in office and if they are having any connecting issues and have to miss a meeting they are relying on the mercy of other employees and management to pass information along. Sometimes this gets overlooked, not intentionally, but because people get busy and caught up with work.

Hiring can be another problem for companies. When you are looking at conducting interviews via teleconference or by phone instead of having them come in you are risking identity problems. You may be thinking you are speaking with the real person but they could have had someone fill in for them. I have heard of case where companies have hired someone over a few phone interviews but never had a face to face interview. This led to multiple problems because you are not really seeing the person for who they are.

There are both pros and cons when it comes to going virtual. Pros being that you can reach more people virtually and create more business for the company. This will allow for your company to grow and expand and remain successful. Cons being you lose that one on one experience with your customers and they are really relying on your ratings from other people. Companies just need to have a happy medium where they can still maintain customer relations but also expand with going virtual.

Reid, R., & Sanders, N. (2013). Operations management (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.