TRUST AND THE VIRTUAL ORGANIZATION

The technological possibilities of the virtual organization are seduct ive. But its managerial and personal implications require rethinking o ld notions of control. As it becomes possible for more work to be done outside the traditional office, trust will become more important to o rganizations. Managers need to move beyond fear of losing efficiency, which makes some cling to expensive and deadening ''audit mania.'' Han dy proposes seven rules of trust. Trust is not blind: It needs fairly small groupings in which people can know each other well. Trust needs boundaries: Define a goal, then leave the worker to get on with it. Tr ust demands learning and openness to change. Trust is tough: When it t urns out to be misplaced, people have to go. Trust needs bonding: The goals of small units must gel with the larger group's. Trust needs tou ch: Workers must sometimes meet in person. Trust requires leaders. Vir tual organizations call for new forms of belonging. A desk of one's ow n has been a security blanket for generations; a sense of place is imp ortant to people. What happens when that disappears? If workers get me mbership rights in an organization, a sense of belonging to a communit y can substitute for the sense of belonging to a place. Virtuality's T hree I's (information, ideas, intelligence) can improve quality of lif e. The question Handy asks is, Will they be for everyone? He believes the potential exists for the Three I's to benefit not just organizatio ns but also those with whom they do business and society as a whole. I f businesses let virtuality turn them into mere brokers or boxes of co ntracts, then they will have failed society. Their search for wealth i n the end will have destroyed wealth.