**Management**

Case Study:

Meeting InviteZooming to WorkThe world has experienced fundamental shifts in how we think about coworkers, and meetings, and teams, and groups, and communitycollectives of all kinds, including the organizations we work for and volunteer with. Weve been forced to reevaluate fundamental assumptions about connectionsto our friends and coworkers, to the institutions we rely on and that we contribute to. The traditional nature and configuration of organizations in society has become unpredictable. From the way we intersect with retailers, reflected in what may be a sticky broad transition to on-line shopping, to the way we consume entertainment media, reflected in persistently downward movie-going trends, to the way we socialize, reflected in on-going concerns over dining out, to the way we go to the doctor, to the way we go to school, to the way we worship, to how we experience live music, and on and on, the shape and texture of how we live our lives has changed. The virtualization of our collective experiences has been pervasive.Shifts in how consumers, employees, and employers alike think about an organization or an employee or customer and what these stakeholders mean have been evolving at an incredible pace. In the unsteady intra-Covid era workplace ecosystem, a broad range of stakeholders have struggled for traction and clarity and confidence relating to work from anywhere arrangements. Decisions that employees are being forced to make, and remake, relating to where and how to work are on-going and in flux.Many of the operative models that have traditionally defined the ways that we think about being part of a work team, or being part of an organization, or participating in a community, or leading and managing others, have started to lose their value. Meeting virtually over a Zoom link to strategize with team members or get feedback and coaching from a supervisor or provide customers with insight into a possible solution is a fundamentally different experience than meeting with these same stakeholders face-to-face. Clicking on the meeting link, unmuting your microphone, clicking on your video stream, and watching everyone else get settled inaside from the lurkers who dont turn on their video, all from the comfort of your living room or home office means something very different than attending the same meeting in an on-site physical location at work.What does this new normal mean for businesses today for employees for you? How do they impact the planning, organizing, leading, and controlling central to the role played by managers? What are the implications for careers?The only real certainty we have is that we currently do not know what the future holds in terms of what organizations will look like, or whether any single dominant paradigm will emerge that most organizations will adopt. It is this pervasive uncertainty that currently defines conversations in this space. No one knows for certain whether Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype, and other virtual collaboration platforms are our future in personal life and at work, or whether their pre-eminence in the moment will fade with time. Will we be starting conversations with: Remember when we used to meet on Zoom ?! Or will we start with: Remember when we used to hang out in person ?! Whatever the case, the future remains uncertain and what we might call tech heavy. Openness to experience, tolerance for ambiguity, and a high Tech IQthese are all likely to going to be useful attributes moving forward into the virtual unknown that defines the future of work within modern organizations.

2. Discussion What are some of the advantages and disadvantages for organizations adopting a fully virtual model or a hybrid working model? What kinds of organizations are situated to leverage this more virtual approach? How about those that want to shift back and are putting out "return to the office" calls for employees? What challenges do they face, and will this "return" mean returning to pre-Covid conditions or something else? 3. Problem Solving Put yourself in the position of CEO of a small visual effects company that does post-production for movies and short films. Before COVID, all artists worked in the studio. Now they're all at home. Work has continued on schedule and with high quality and, also a good deal of satisfaction by the artists. They've been meeting goals while enjoying work from anywhere flexibilities and reduced commuting stresses and costs. The question facing you now is: Do I make this set-up permanent and downsize my real estate leases? Or, do I ask everyone to return to the studio if they want to stick with us? Or, do I offer artists the choice to work in the studio or work from anywhere? Prepare and defend a plan that you can share with everyone before making a final decision. 4. Future Research What's the latest in terms of virtual tools for remote work settings? What are some of the emerging trends relating to how firms are organizing for a return to the office? What are the top news stories on these issues? Have any entirely new businesses emerged to take advantage of the evolving virtual shape and form of the consumer and labor markets today? Find and report on some success stories of businesses that have adapted well to the current situation. Make a project about what will happen in the future of technology that will impact your career advancement. Ask and answer the question: "Given what lies ahead, how will I position myself for the working world of the future and not the past