I originally wrote this article, “Virtual team working” in June 2003. Robbins et al (2003, p.4) define an organisation as being "a deliberate arrangement of people to accomplish some specific purpose." If the people working together within the organisation are separated by distance and/or time then the organisation type can be described as being 'virtual’. It is uncommon to find a fully virtual organisation. Virtual teams however, operating within an organisation, are commonplace and their growth in numbers raises many management issues. Organisation The virtual workplace has the potential to allow team members to be more effective by matching work times to when people are likely to be at their best. Greater efficiency can be realized by removing time wasted commuting to, and from, a traditional workplace. Mintzberg's interpersonal, informational and decisional management roles within the virtual workplace may be very different to that of a traditional organisation. Anderson and Shane (2002) report that some virtual teams use shared leadership. They also suggest that having only one team leader can slow decision making. Knowledge management, as an informational role, is a key component of management in virtual organisations according to Witzel (2002). When evaluating the technical, interpersonal and conceptual skills required for a successful virtual team, Adres (2002) quotes various researchers as stating that interpersonal skills are most important. This is because the lack of physical proximity between team members reduces the number of communication channels available and can lead to an increase in 'noise'. It could be argued that contributions from Peters (1992) could be considered as worthy of being added to the works of recognized general administrative theorists like Henri Fayol and Max Weber in predicting that "information networks will be decisive to relative future competitiveness”. However, no, universally accepted approach is yet available for the management of the virtual workplace. Taylor (2001) describes the challenges faced by labour unions in coping with fragmented labour markets in virtual workplaces and introduces the concept of 'e-picketing' by virtual workers as a new form of protest. Globalisation is seen by Hagen (1999) and many other authors as being a major force in the rise of numbers of virtual workplaces. Workforce diversity is created by the employment of minorities and mobility-impaired people who may otherwise experience difficulties in being accepted by certain traditional organisations. Additional diversity is provided by the fact that people of different countries, nationalities, religion or culture may be part of the same virtual team. There are certain dimensions of the successful virtual organisational culture that have common characteristics. High team orientation, low aggressiveness and high innovation and risk taking are important. Conner (2003) suggests that organisations will no doubt have to foster proactive employee behaviour in terms of selection, socialization and policies that encourage individual initiative. External and internal environments The interface between the external environment and a virtual organisation can be quite different from that of a traditional organisation. Many virtual organisations extensively utilize outsourcing, strategic alliances and similar partnerships to realize their goals, according to Fitzpatrick and Burke (2001). Walters and Buchanan (2001) believe that more cooperation among competitors, suppliers and customers makes it harder to determine where one company ends and another begi