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Email has no impact on an organization, In this brief essay, the subject of emails will be discussed in general, while laying specific emphasis on their importance for contemporary organizations besides being an important component of organization wide communication in contemporary environment. The subject will be discussed in three important parts. In the first part, the role played by the information technology including emails in contemporary organizations will be highlighted. In the second part, the significant advantages and disadvantages associated with emails will be discussed separately. Finally, in the third part, Email has no impact on an organisation a major theory from the course module will be discussed in detail with respect to its application to emails. This third and final dimension is expected to shed valuable light upon the impact of emails upon contemporary organization in context of the social relations and hierarchies.
Due to the ongoing expansion of global telecommunication networks, electronic mail or email has become a pervasive communication medium. The importance of email for any organization in the current era cannot be denied. Rice et al (1990) define email as “the medium which is used for distribution and reception of data from one place to another”. According to another definition of email by Grover (1997), “electronic mail is a medium which is used for exchanging information and other important messages. These messages may include text, graphics, numerical data, video etc”.
An organization is a human communication network in which humans are connected internally in different ways and thus communication is a major component of organizational structure. Huber (1990) proposes a theory that clearly identifies the effect of email on organizational designs, decision making and intelligence. He states that the usage of emails has extended the communication range and has provided its users with various decision making options. This is because memos were previously used as information transmitting medium in organizations but with the emergence of computers and the demand for rapid communication, the concept of electronic mails was formed and was preferred for its numerous advantages including: the possibility of asynchronous exchange of information, Email has no impact on an organization quick message retrieval and storage capabilities; the possibility of linking emails to the Internet which makes it useful for extrinsic organizational communication; and enhancement of efficiency and speed as emails are routed by computers and not people (Huett, 2004).
Cooper (1992) signifies the importance of email for an organization by stating that, “When data /information is segregated from emotional and verbal cues and is represented in terms of symbols and texts, events can be manipulated and combined in a much better ways, thus enabling greater control” (1992:255). This statement by Cooper proves that emails not only speed up communication process but also exercise a greater control over events taking place in an organization.
Computer mediated communication plays a very important in the contemporary organizations as emails have emerged as the most convenient and recognized form of communication. Moreover the increasing usage of smart phones has also given email a greater importance in the world of organization wide communication. However, Email has no impact on an organization as every new technology has certain advantages and disadvantages, so is the case with the email. The indigenous idea of e-mail was that it makes work life easier and accelerates communication (Myers, 994). Elaborating upon this concept, Berghel (1997) and McKenna, Green & Gleason (2002) agree that emails eliminate the need for emotional, visual and verbal cues while disregarding the element of distance altogether as administrators, employees, Email has no impact on an organization customers and managers throughout the world can communicate with each other regardless of their time zones and locations. Thus it can be said that the email has reduced the need for face to face communications.
There are numerous signs that show email has unquestionably exercised a positive influence in contemporary organizations. This is because email is not only a social medium but it is also a technical tool (Tapscott, 2012). Email besides improving intra organizational communication has many other advantages. Some of these advantages encompass: automation of processes; reduction of geographic barriers; multiple addressability; speed; data storage; processing power; remote control; and low cost.
Information technology significantly helps in automating organizational processes which in turn not only reduces the organization’s staff but also provides a clear picture of what is being done in the organization (Saunders, 2011). To start off with this argument lets discuss the example of Ford, which was having issues with its purchasing system. It simply decided to replace its existing manual paper system with an automated system. Ford further planned to reduce their purchasing staff of 500 employees to 400 employees. This automation of Ford not only improved their purchasing system but also made them realize that…
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