Reading a Scholarly Article on Business
By: Chad Jardine

I have been interested in a Business major for a few months, and while I haven’t committed yet, I still find others’ research in this field to interest me. The article I read was, The Driving Forces in the Virtual Society by Magid Igbaria. Her article, published in the journal Communications of the ACM, focused on the effects of a virtual work environment. The most predominant thing I thought about was the changing world based on technological achievement and its focus on “the functional rather than the physical.” After studying the scholarly journal I was left with a prevailing question. Is technology improving my life and the world of business?
Magid Igbaria wrote a very informative piece. However, she did her research. Her first use of outside information was on the first page. She references two individuals named Grenier and Metes. They give an extended view of what it means to be “virtual”. This immediately clarified for me what this author was going to write about in the vast field of technology in the workplace. Then Igbaria continues throughout her writing to explore the influences virtual society has in physical society. On of the biggest topics she delves into, however, is that of the global economy. This topic was tied into her article because without the current abilities of virtual business a global economy would be unpractical. The essay also questioned the aspects of technology on everyday life. Examples of this would include her explaining how work can now be done to a greater extent at home, or in the car, or sitting in a park, etcetera, etcetera. This reality has its benefits but also its problems on things like family time, and other social interactions. In all, her emphasis is pegged on the new ideas the virtual world is creating for the real one.
Everyone has experienced the seemingly miraculous expansion of knowledge through virtual means, and while those means can vary, the biggest factor on my life has been the internet. This is not only true of the individual, but also the companies that employ them. With all of that added awareness and capability can my simple life remain in tact, or will it be erased by a nimble business market? Business today is either expanding quickly in new markets or shrinking in losing ones. As Magid Igbaria expressed in her writing, this would not be possible at such a rate and level without global technologies. This has many effects, good and bad, on the average person by making, as the author put it, the boarders of trading partners “transparent”. Meaning the clear-cut lines of the past could be removed in exchange for international trade. That would have major implications on individuals counting myself. Will my way of life be forgotten for the needs of large money-making corporations? Will your’s? Or, perhaps virtual business can benefit rather than harm? Time will tell.
Magid Igbaria’s article was very interesting to me-a potential business major. She dug deep into the concerns of people uncertain about the future of business and their private lives. My personal worries were answered in some cases, but not in others. With all of its uncertainty, the virtual world has helped myself and I’m sure many others at one point or another. There is no magic answer for every virtual subject. But writings like those of Igbaria’s will serve to untangle the knots that are left behind.