While the latest technological advances can provide an organization with efficiency in disseminating information, they also create new challenges in these uncharted waters for organizations today. The ability to work from home or telecommute can be an ideal situation for both the organization and the employee interested in flexible hours. With features widely available on today's smartphones and the ever-increasing availability of wireless networks, employees are no longer bound to the confines of their home or their bulky computers. These individuals now have the freedom to access information from virtually anywhere to do their jobs. As with the SCAN health plan, an advantage to providing this employer-employer arrangement is that it can provide the company a way to grow without having to incur additional fixed costs such as office buildings, equipment, or parking ( Management Fundamentals page 152). Technology has enabled companies to offer remote working arrangements, the arduous task is to find employees who have the highest moral character, who have great organizational and time management skills, who are also self-motivated and self-disciplined, as well as be responsible and reliable. From a management point of view, helping the employee feel connected is vital. It will be necessary for management to make an extra effort to develop and maintain a working relationship through constant communications. (Investor's Business Daily 2013) As technological advances in the quality of video conferencing have continued to improve, they have enabled organizations to communicate in real time even if they are on opposite sides of the world. Unilever, the parent company of numerous well-known brands, is one such global company. Almost all major innovation projects in the last two years have been conducted via video conferencing. Unilever managers are trained and expected to clarify objectives across virtual teams. However, preparing employees to operate in an agile manner is not easy. The main pitfalls are introducing concepts too quickly, without giving them time to develop, and introducing changes without sufficient training for managers who do not yet believe that employees are self-sufficient. There is new technological territory that is changing the way companies do business. From independent food trucks tweeting their current location to Starbucks running promotions on different social media sites.
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