College Project: E-Management of Jarir Bookstore's International Teams

This project delves into the e-management strategies necessary for Jarir Bookstore's expansion into the United Kingdom and United States. It begins with an overview of e-management and the current status of virtual teams, particularly in Saudi Arabia. The project then provides a detailed description of Jarir Bookstore, including its history and business operations. A key focus is on outlining the virtual management characteristics required for success, such as interpersonal skills, proactiveness, and flexibility, along with the importance of effective communication tools and protocols. The project addresses the challenges of managing virtual teams, including cultural, political, and economic differences, and suggests strategies for fostering trust, teamwork, and productivity. It also explores the advantages and disadvantages of virtual team management, potential conflicts, and effective conflict resolution techniques. Finally, the project discusses techniques for managing outsourced projects and motivating team members within a global context.

RUNNING HEAD: E MANAGEMENT
E management of Jarir Book store
Name of Student:
Name of University:

1E MANAGEMENT
Table of Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................2
Current Status of the Virtual Teams:...............................................................................................3
Jarir Bookstore Description:............................................................................................................3
Virtual Management Characteristics:..............................................................................................4
Communication among Team members:.........................................................................................5
Management of the team:................................................................................................................6
Ways of Leveraging Productivity and team work:..........................................................................6
Advantages and disadvantages of managing Virtual team:.............................................................8
Conflict Management:...................................................................................................................10
Motivating:....................................................................................................................................11
Conclusion:....................................................................................................................................11
Reference List:...............................................................................................................................14

2E MANAGEMENT
Introduction:
The process of managing a business of an organization through electric methods,
particularly by the usage of internet is known as E management. The term was, for the first time
used by Francis Ohanyido who was developing strategies and concepts revolving the issues of E
governance (Paré, & Dubé, 2015). Since then, E management emerged as an integral part of
communication and business management techniques. It evolved as a process of effectively
getting people of an organization together despite the barriers of geographical boundaries. Thus,
the people of an organization can be taken as a whole unit in order to accomplish the desired
goal. The main functions of the E management are to plan, organize, staff, direct and control the
functions and the human units of the organization through the deployment of ICT and at the
same time they can manage the financial, human and natural resources of the organization
(Harvey Novicevic & Garrison, 2014).
Jarir Book store is a Saudi company that is planning to extend their business to the United
kingdom and United States. The company, currently is catering to the needs of readers in middle
east only. The expansion in the international market will require deft managerial function and
decision making qualities in order to formulate implement and evaluate the objective of the firm.
Since the geographic distance poses a threat to the smooth running of business, the proper
implementation of e management can help the company in managing the employees and the
business functions effectively.
The following report will take into account the present condition of the Jarir Books store
and their current virtual team in order to analyze and recommend the management of the virtual

3E MANAGEMENT
teams in the international scenario. The report will also discuss the relevant challenges that the
company can face in the E management and will suggest measures for the same.
Current Status of the Virtual Teams:
Saudi Arabia is a strategic position from where various companies s well as cultures
diverge to the international business scenario. Many companies from outside also comes to Saudi
Arabia for business purpose. This practice has led the country in being habituated in working as
a team from various geographic locations. The virtual teams in Saudi Arabia are thus trained
professionally where they are clarified with the process and the task rather than being merely
briefed on about the goals (Moe, Cruzes, Dybå & Engebretsen, 2015). The country is
technologically leveraged since they have access to various developed technologies and
equipments. Even if a company does not possess any virtual team of their own, there are
professional units who supplies for the virtual teams ad Artificial intelligence to aid the
company. The virtual teams are formed based on the technical needs and meeting up the cultural
and geographical differences (Mayfield & Mayfield, 2016).. The teams are either permanent or set
according to the length of duration of any particular project. The Jarir bookstore till now had
been performing regionally. Though they had online platform of selling and made use of
artificial intelligences to gauge the trends of the market, till now, they do not have any personal
virtual team of their own.
Jarir Bookstore Description:
Founded by Abdulrah- Man Nasser Al- Agil Jarir bookstore was initially set up as a
normal bookstore that dealt in used books and the art sold by the expatriates living in Riaydh.
The store saw a steady growth since then and became the largest dealer of books and consumer

4E MANAGEMENT
electronics in Saudi Arabia. The headquarter of the company is located in Riaydh from where
Jarir operates the two divisions of its business namely retail that also includes online sales under
the trademark of the company and wholesale division. The company trades in the offices and
school supplies, educational aids for children, toys, Arabic and English book publications,
materials for art and craft, mobile phones, computer peripherals as well as software and
accessories. The company also trades with audio visual instruments, photography tools,
computer and electronic items and smart televisions. In present time Jarir is considered as the
market leader of Middle East for electronics, IT products and book supplies. According to the
report by Forbes in 2018 Jarir figured itself in the “top 100 listed companies” in the Arab
nations.
Virtual Management Characteristics:
The success of the international expansion for the Jarir book store will lie in many ways
upon the successful working of the virtual teams. The proper integration of this technology into
the overall business strategy will help the company to cater to their operational strategies. The
virtual team, also referred as the geographically dispersed team, solely rely on the
communication technologies for their work (Ziek & Smulowitz, 2014).. The incorporation of the
team will make the company stand on a beneficial plane as this will help in encouraging quick
decisions, gauging the market demand, resolving issues and giving advices etc. The following
virtual management characteristics needs to be implemented for Jarir Bookstore:
1. Interpersonal skills- the main way of managing the virtual team is to select those people
who have better interpersonal skills and care efficient in finding out ways of staying
connected with people (Serrat, 2017). It is a wrong notion that introvert people are
suitable and are most likely to take up virtual team jobs. Since there are chances that the

5E MANAGEMENT
members have to communicate with people whom they may have never met or will meet,
it requires strong interpersonal skills to initiate conversations and discussions regarding
the issue. The maintenance of frequent and effective communication will help in
managing the accountability of the virtual teams.
2. Taking initiative- one of the key characteristics that is required in the virtual management
is the pro activeness. The virtual teams generally work in an unstructured work
environment (Pangil & Chan, 2014).. Thus, it is important for the members as well as the
team leads to structure their time and chalk out ways of organizing their stuffs and take a
note of what they need to do according to priority. This pro activeness will help the team
in maintaining a balnce between their long term goals and the short term priorities
3. Flexible- flexibility is the most important characteristic for a virtual team member. The
team must be flexible in nature in order to cope up with the cultural differences primarily.
Since the company is aiming at the expansion internationally, the flexibility towards the
cultures and openness is an essentiality.
Communication among Team members:
In their mode of operations, the virtual teams generally communicate with the electronic
modes of communication. Geographical barriers are issues of concern regarding the working
operations of the virtual teams as the resources and time zones vary. However, in the case of
Jarir Book store the company can make use of the technologies such as the emails, fax, video
conferences, online chatting options or voice conferencing services. To address the time zone
variations, it will be easier for the members to decide early one about a convenient time for all
regarding face to face conferences. The members are expected to be reliable and responsible
enough to acknowledge and take part in the video conference. An establishment of a clear and

6E MANAGEMENT
well defined communication protocol can also cut down the hassle of regular communicating
problems. Rapid responses are preferred as it helps in bringing on trust and reliability on the
members and to stop a little problem in growing to a big issue.
Management of the team:
The virtual team is not a physical body that comes in office together and works together. The
geographical differences bring in a variety of difference and challenges in the virtual team
operations that is to be managed effectively (De Paoli & Ropo, 2015). The first and foremost
challenge that the team faces is the cultural differences, in the case of the Jarir Book store, the
three countries involved will be mainly the UK, USA and Saudi Arabia. The culture, the
perception towards work of the three countries vary drastically which may hamper the progress.
In order to meet out this problem, the company can implement a strict corporate culture where in
every one have to maintain the same decorum and work rue (Liao, 2017).. This uniformity will
also be helpful regarding the maitainence of a neutral culture and the propagation of the
organizational culture (Lockwood, 2015).. The cultural barier can also be ruled out by the
effective usage of the interpersonal skills and fostering face to face meetings and conferences. In
managing the political concerns, the company can develop a team charter in ruling out the other
biasness. There are obviously economic differences among the countries involved in a virtual
team. However, the countries involved in this case are flourishing countries. In order to make the
transactions fruitful and easy, the company can take any of the most condiment, most beneficial
will be the dollar, as their way of transaction.
It is the duty of the team managers and the leaders to look into the communication and
providing a better job environment for the virtual team members. Building of trust is the most
essential factor the leader can leverage by getting to know each other at personal level. The

7E MANAGEMENT
enhancement of communication and the leveraging the building of interpersonal relationships
through in formal discussions and convincing each other by their accountability and sense of
responsibilities are essential techniques to make them work together.
The team leaders and the managers also need to show the members how their
contributions are contributing to the larger picture of the organization, this will motivate them
even more.
Ways of Leveraging Productivity and team work:
The establishment of compelling virtual groups is trust. However, building trust, particularly
when the colleagues are geologically scattered and unconstrained connections are inconsistent
and hard to orchestrate, can be testing. Trust is earned as the consequence of exertion after some
time. At the point when colleagues finish on responsibilities and find a good pace other on a
progressively close to home level they have more certainty that they can depend on others to do
their part to accomplish group objectives. (Dulebohn & Hoch, 2017). As colleagues show
responsibility after some time, they persuade others that they can be depended upon to finish on
duties and be liable for finishing allocated assignments.
Fruitful virtual groups have decided how to adequately team up across reality. Utilizing
frameworks and procedures to structure, support, and energize group coordination, these groups
cooperate and influence everybody's individual qualities to finish assignments and accomplish
wanted outcomes (Harvey Novicevic & Garrison, 2014).
Programming apparatuses are particularly useful in encouraging virtual joint effort and
remote cooperation. Venture the executives programming makes it conceivable to oversee work
process straightforwardly so everybody can perceive what other colleagues are chipping away at

8E MANAGEMENT
and offer help when required. Cloud-based internet and resources and other virtual group
instruments likewise encourage joint effort by permitting different colleagues to take a shot at a
similar undertaking materials in any event, when they're situated a long way from each other.
The team work can be made more fruitful if the technologies are made more handy for
each of the members. The proper allocation of technical resources and giving them instructions
when to use what and whom to communicate in which situation will leverage the team building
effort and will also contribute to the fast productivity.
Advantages and disadvantages of managing Virtual team:
One of the greatest advantages of having a virtual team for an organization is the cost
saving opportunities that are associated with the organization. In maintaining such teams the
organization can cut down expenses on utility bills, office spaces, executive travel etc. Jarir book
store can cut down the transportation cost to the other two countries in case of any emergencies.
Managing the virtual team also helps an organization to accumulate talents outside their country
of origin. Various specialists and experts on various fields can be brought together for a project
without any hassle. The knowledge that are shared by these experts helps the organizations to
come out with better and more innovative solutions for any project. As a result the company has
more chances of having higher productivity. Productivity is also enhanced since the members
can focus more on the task they are assigned rather than dealing with unnecessary bureaucracy.
As the members of virtual team work from various time zones there are possibilities that any one
member of the team is working at any point of the day (Alsharo, Gregg & Ramirez, 2017). This
helps in shortening the product development time and increase the response time in both the
local as well as the global market.

9E MANAGEMENT
However there are various disadvantages associated in managing and sustaining the
virtual team. A virtual tem can work without any constraint only if there are no hindrances in
technological factors like video conferencing, instant messaging, emails etc. There is no single
tool that can provide all these essentials at one place. Thus the cost required for installing and
maintaining all the tools is a disadvantage for the company (Ale Ebrahim, Ahmed & Taha,
2019,). Cultural differences among the members of the team often give rise to
miscommunication and conflicts. In this case members of US will have higher chances of writing
a straight forward message regarding any undesirable situation which may be perceived as
impolite in the culture of the United Kingdom. The conflicts and miscommunication may hamper
the collaborative approach of the team and thereby affecting productivity negatively. The lack of
physical isolation required in a virtual team often tends to make a person unsocial. This often
leads the members to produce less out of stress. Working in different time zones is another
challenge in virtual teams unless there is a proper protocol and set time for communication. Only
a short time window is left for contacting that can result in delayed productivity or a delay in
resolving any problem.
Conflict Management:
Researches have proved that “conflict contagion” is a common thing among the virtual
teams. Such conflicts have more tendency of negatively impacting the performance and
productivity of the company. One of the major causes of conflict is that they tend to take
disagreements of ideas personally as it is delivered from a distance. Various physical movement
that can be effective in giving cues in a face to face communication like facial expression, body
languages etc are absent in the operations of virtual team and thus one member often fails to
understand the tone of the comment. The differences in culture, perception of work, differences

10E MANAGEMENT
in logical reasoning often leads to serious conflict. It mat so happen that a member gets offended
by any differences in opinion with other members and take it as an insult since he is not able to
see him face to face. Variations in time zones and lack of physical contacts often disrupt the
work delegating and work distribution process. Conflicts occurs these cases when one member
thinks that he has been given extra task or is being discriminated without any reason.
The best way to manage these types of conflict is to give a proper leadership from the
front. A pro active team leader who takes the initiative of catering to the needs of the individuals,
and at the same time fostering team work and team goals is effective in such cases. A
professional approach to any kind of task related or interpersonal conflicts will help the company
in gaining easy solutions. The Jarir book store can employ team leaders from different country
rather than the country of origin in ruling out the risk of biasness and partiality. Team meetings
via video conferencing and fixing a proper date and time for every members according to
convenience will also help the organization in effectively addressing to the problems and
properly delegating tasks that will bring less scopes for conflict.
Motivating:
The virtual teams often tend to lack motivation because of their lack of direct
communication. Often they are briefed only about the team goals. The lack of direct
communication and the team orientation makes them feel de motivated that affects the
performance negatively. This can be ruled out by a proper leadership and guidance. The teams
and the members must be given autonomy so that they do not remain dependent on any other
operational body for the decision making process. This, not only will help in effective decision
making and fast production, the members also will be given a sense of privilege and honor that
will make them motivated (Saafein, & Shaykhian, 2014).. The motivation can also be fostered by

11E MANAGEMENT
incorporating a high compensation plan and benefits for the members. Since the virtual team is
considered to be the accumulation of the best talents, the lucrative compensation plan will be
helpful for motivating them. Practicing the equity theory, the leaders can also motivate the team.
Treating all the members equally and fostering a sense of non discrimination will make them feel
more for the company. The virtual teams are those team that do not remain physically present in
the organization. This often affects their concern growth for the company. Engaging the virtual
team in crucial decision making process will make them feel honored and they will know where
they fit in the structure of the company (.Fan, Chen,Wang & Chen, 2014).
Conclusion:
In conclusion it can be said that, it will be primarily difficult for the company to make the full
use of the virtual team. They are at present working at a regional level and are not experienced in
working at an international scenario. However, the proper management and conflict resolving
aspects will make Jarir Bookstore a profitable company in the lands they are preparing to
expand.

12E MANAGEMENT

13E MANAGEMENT
Reference List:
Ale Ebrahim, N., Ahmed, S., & Taha, Z. (2019, May). Virtual teams and management
challenges. In 1st Executive MBA Conference, Tehran, Iran.
Alsharo, M., Gregg, D., & Ramirez, R. (2017). Virtual team effectiveness: The role of
knowledge sharing and trust. Information & Management, 54(4), 479-490.
De Paoli, D., & Ropo, A. (2015). Open plan offices–the response to leadership challenges of
virtual project work?. Journal of Corporate Real Estate.
Dulebohn, J. H., & Hoch, J. E. (2017). Virtual teams in organizations.
Fan, K. T., Chen, Y. H., Wang, C. W., & Chen, M. (2014). E-leadership effectiveness in virtual
teams: Motivating language perspective. Industrial Management & Data Systems.
Harvey, M., Novicevic, M. M., & Garrison, G. (2014). Challenges to staffing global virtual
teams. Human Resource Management Review, 14(3), 275-294.
Hoch, J. E., & Kozlowski, S. W. (2014). Leading virtual teams: Hierarchical leadership,
structural supports, and shared team leadership. Journal of applied psychology, 99(3),
390.
Liao, C. (2017). Leadership in virtual teams: A multilevel perspective. Human Resource
Management Review, 27(4), 648-659
Lockwood, J. (2015). Virtual team management: what is causing communication
breakdown?. Language and Intercultural Communication, 15(1), 125-140.
Mayfield, M., & Mayfield, J. (2016). The effects of leader motivating language use on employee
decision making. International journal of business communication, 53(4), 465-484.

14E MANAGEMENT
Moe, N. B., Cruzes, D. S., Dybå, T., & Engebretsen, E. (2015, July). Coaching a global agile
virtual team. In 2015 IEEE 10th International Conference on Global Software
Engineering (pp. 33-37). IEE
Pangil, F., & Chan, J. M. (2014). The mediating effect of knowledge sharing on the relationship
between trust and virtual team effectiveness. Journal of Knowledge Management.
Paré, G., & Dubé, L. (2015). Virtual teams: An exploratory study of key challenges and
strategies. ICIS 1999 Proceedings, 50.
Saafein, O., & Shaykhian, G. A. (2014). Factors affecting virtual team performance in
telecommunication support environment. Telematics and Informatics, 31(3), 459-462
Serrat, O. (2017). Managing virtual teams. In Knowledge Solutions (pp. 619-625). Springer,
Singapore.
Ziek, P., & Smulowitz, S. (2014). The impact of emergent virtual leadership competencies on
team effectiveness. Leadership & Organization Development Journal.

15E MANAGEMENT