The term organization means a social entity that is goal-directed, deliberately structured activity systems with a permeable boundary. The most important word in the organization definition is permeable. This is also a key word to becoming a virtual organization. Being able to cross an organizational boundary and function efficiently with another organization is part of being virtual. The concept of virtual organizations has been around for a long time, but since the use of technology, the term virtual organization is heavily used to describe this special type of organization.
Virtual organizations have several unique characteristics.
These distinctive issues include the sharing of information and resources and the sharing of goals. An example of quicker and personalized service is the optical industry which has created an eye glass prescription to be filled in one hour. Many organizations, such as IBM and Apple , have developed virtual networks and have realized the benefits from these networks. The following are personal thoughts regarding issues from several readings. Determining which information is important and which is not was the most difficult part of deciding what a virtual organization is and is not.