Introduction
For many organizations, virtue communication has become the standard. Geographic and time barriers have dissolved as technology progresses, enhancing technical expertise to create global connectivity (Johns & Gratton, 2013). The reality of every company today necessitates virtual communication to perform the majority of its operations effectively. Virtual communication methods have been used by businesses to communicate with their customers and employees. These online networking methods, on the other hand, have both advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages of Virtual Communication
Saving Money
Saving money is one of the advantages of virtual contact. The methods used for online communication are cost-effective, which means that every organization's operational costs are reduced (Miller & Barbour, 2014). One of the examples is when an organization permits its employee to work while still at home, as result it reduces the expenses on office space, utilities, and equipment. Also, when a firm opts to host online meetings through video conferencing, this eliminates the travel, parking, lodging, and meal expenses (Verburg, Bosch-Sijtsema, & Vartiainen, 2013). Nevertheless, virtual communication makes it easy and practical to stay in touch with efficient sharing of information with the outside vendors who might be miles away (Rost et al., 2015).
Boosting Productivity
Virtual communication boosts productivity. Consistent communication between co-workers or clients increases efficiency and productivity of an enterprise. Through instant messaging, video conferencing, group chats, all the pressing concerns are solved quickly, and a consensus is attained within no time (Callegati, Cerroni, Contoli, & Santandrea, 2014). As stated by Lilian (2014), virtual communication requires a mere fraction of the time that could have been used to write and send a letter. Again, conducting a search of a virtual communication history is more efficient and practical than going through all the files and papers to locate the information required (Johns & Gratton, 2013).
Improved Communication
Another benefit of virtual communication is that it improves communication. Adequate and clear communication strengthens the relationship between clients or co-workers, which promotes teamwork, reduces divisiveness; hence, focusing on the organization's mission (Rost et al., 2015). In the current competitive business world, the ability of any firm to make communications instantly, share any required files within a minimal time frame, and collaborate effectively with co-workers is now more essential than ever before (Cornelissen & Cornelissen, 2017). Virtual Communications enable clients or citizens to raise their concern quickly and get a response within a reasonable time scale.
Speeding decision making and increasing involvement
Finally, it speeds the process of decision making in an organization and increases clients or citizens’ involvement in organizational activities. Subsequently, virtual communication speeds the exchange and transfer of information, where, employees in an organization can easily consult or refer from their co-workers, and examine information within a limited time; hence, quickly arriving at a decision internet (Fearn-Banks, 2016). As stated by Rost et al. (2015), with the application of online analytical processing (OLAP), the staffs can get accurate information concerning a particular client, which results in involvement of any stakeholder in running of an organization.
Challenges of Virtual Communication
Security Threats
By contrast, challenges of virtual communication include the security threats. Virtual communication means that individuals will be sharing personal information via the internet (Fearn-Banks, 2016). Every conversation made online get stored somewhere, where the information might put someone in a financial or personal risk if it gets into malicious hands. Some of this information may be confidential and secretive, where if it lands in wrong hands, it can be used against that person or an organization in general. Security threats can be avoided by installing firearms and antivirus to the communication systems, which will limit the access of essential information (Ibrahim, Hamlyn-Harris, & Grundy, 2016).
Connectivity Issues
Connectivity issues are another challenge for virtual communication. In contrast with face-to-face conversations, virtual communications require an internet connection. When the internet is limited, it means that there will be delays in response to any queries (Rost et al., 2015). In fact, sometimes someone may not even receive essential emails or messages instantly. The challenge with connectivity can be avoided or solved through backups, for instance, having several internet providers so that when one fails, one can adopt the other one.
Misinterpretation
Another challenge is misinterpretation. In the case of face-to-face communication, various elements come into play, fostering excellent communication (Cornelissen & Cornelissen, 2017). These factors are such as facial expression, non-verbal cues, and tone of voice. For example, when a person states something in a gruff tone, through face-to-face communication, it is easy to understand that they might be upset but in online communication, it is sometimes impossible to do that (Brown, Harris, Thatcher, & Wilson, 2015). However, this problem can be avoided by employing video-based communications, for example, using computers or smartphones with a webcam, or video conferencing.
References
Brown, S., Harris, S., Thatcher, S., & Wilson, D. (2015). Identity communication in virtual teams: Insights from interviews with working professionals. PublisherAmericas Conference on Information Systems.
Cornelissen, J., & Cornelissen, J. P. (2017). Corporate communication: A guide to theory and practice. Sage.
Callegati, F., Cerroni, W., Contoli, C., & Santandrea, G. (2014, October). Performance of network virtualization in cloud computing infrastructures: The OpenStack case. In Cloud Networking (CloudNet), 2014 IEEE 3rd International Conference on (pp. 132-137). IEEE.
Fearn-Banks, K. (2016). Crisis communications: A casebook approach. Routledge.
Ibrahim, A. S., Hamlyn-Harris, J., & Grundy, J. (2016). Emerging security challenges of virtual cloud infrastructure. arXiv preprint arXiv:1612.09059.
Johns, T., & Gratton, L. (2013). The third wave of virtual work. Harvard Business Review, 91(1), 66-73.
Lilian, S. C. (2014). Virtual teams: Opportunities and challenges for e-leaders. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 110, 1251-1261.
Miller, K., & Barbour, J. (2014). Organizational communication: Approaches and processes. Nelson Education.
Rost, P., Berberana, I., Maeder, A., Paul, H., Suryaprakash, V., Valenti, M., Wübben, D., Dekorsy, A., & Fettweis, G. (2015). Benefits and challenges of virtualization in 5G radio access networks. IEEE Communications Magazine, 53(12), 75-82.
Verburg, R. M., Bosch-Sijtsema, P., & Vartiainen, M. (2013). Getting it done: Critical success factors for project managers in virtual work settings. International journal of project management, 31(1), 68-79.
