Communicating through technology
Challenges to the organization
Made by New Technologies
Defining Email
Email refers to messages sent
over computers and includes everything from causal notes to friends to
multimedia presentations sent across the world.
Electronic mail (email) lets you
send a message to a person without your making direct contact or knowledge
where the person is located. Subscribers to electronic mail services are called
users, and as a user, you can
access messages on your system from your home, office, hotel, or anywhere you
happen to be.
Several basic components make up
email systems, including:
1.
Users
2.
Messages
3.
Senders’ and Recipients’ Addresses
4.
Protocols
5.
Messaging Transports
6.
Gateways
7.
Value-added Networks
8.
Directory Systems
1. Users
Users are often people, but users
can also be other computer application programs.
2. Message
A message is the actual
information send by one user to another.
3. Addresses
Part of the email information
included in a message is the addresses of both sender and receiver, which
include their unique identification codes along with another identifier such as
the email systems, the mailbox number, or the organization.
4. Protocol
Each email system uses a protocol
that describes the structure of the message, generally with a header of TO;
FROM and SUBJECT; followed by the body, which may include text, images,
graphics, video and audio.
5. Message Transport
The software that moves the
message from one system to another in called the transport.
6. Gateways
If the message sent from one
system must get to a user on another system, it must pass through a gateway to
be delivered. A gateway is an application program that translates between two
protocols of different email system.
7. Valued-added Networks (VANs)
Valued-added Networks (VANs) are
public telecommunication companies, such as AT&T or PTCL, that handle email
services to users for a fee.
8. Directory Systems
As a user, you can access
directory that contains names, addresses, and sometimes other information about
each user to find the email address you need to send a message.
Using email:
With email, you can reach
individuals, groups, or other computers anywhere in the world to share
information, files of data, spreadsheets, videos, music and anything else that
can be sorted on a computer. Email can save your time in printing, copying and
distributing your message. You can use email to send and receive faxes and
telexes. Email is also useful in your personal communications.
Writing conventions for email are
still developing, but one character is its being informal. The traditional
conventions of writing are not followed in email. Capitalization can vary from
one email user to another; all punctuation and capitalization except for
periods at the ends of sentences are omitted. The immediacy and perceived
informality of email compose rambling messages.
Understanding how Email Works
To send an email message, you do
the following:
Log on.
This means connecting to a
computer, network, or email program. It requires the user’s name and a
password. Choose the receivers of your message. For this step, you need to know
the email addresses of your recipients. Compose the message and instruct the
program to send the message.
Email offers speed, low cost, better access to other employees,
portability, and convenience (not just overcoming time-zone problems but carrying
a message to many receivers at a time). It’s best for communicating brief, non complex
information that is time sensitive, but its effectiveness depends on user skills.
Because the turn around time can be quite fast, email tends to be more
conversational than traditional paper-based media.
Email Etiquettes:
Planning
Be clear, concise, and polite
when you send an email message. Plan your email like letters and memos.
•
Decide on the purpose
•
Decide on the content
•
Write all the ideas in point form
•
Put these ideas into sequence appropriate to the
purpose
Advantages and Disadvantages
of Email
Advantages
|
Disadvantages
|
Email is a faster and more
efficient channel than regular mail (sometimes referred to as snail mail).
Most messages reach anywhere in the world within minutes of being sent.
|
It can be difficult to
distinguish between casual and formal messages because of their similar
layout
|
It can be sent at any
convenient time
|
There may be a time lag if the
receiver does not read his email for a few days
|
It can be sent to different
receivers at the same time
|
The system is inaccessible to
those who are computer illiterate or not online.
|
Email can be stored and sent at
off-peak telephone rates
|
Its contents may reappear later
in a variety of printed forms.
|
It saves paper
|
It lacks nonverbal
communication cues to add meaning.
|
A message can be written and
edited quickly by several people before it is sent.
|
It can be overused.
|
Elements of a Good Online
Writing Style
Key element
|
Purpose
|
Strategies
|
Clarity
|
To communicate clearly
|
Create single-subject messages
whenever possible.
Open the email message with a
sentence that either:
connects it to previous
correspondence, or
identifies its purpose, or
reflects an awareness of the
reader’s needs.
Focus on the subject and
purpose.
Show the reader how the content
affects them.
Present new ideas clearly
Arrange ideas in a logical
sequence
|
Key element
|
Purpose
|
Strategies
|
Readability
|
To make information accessible
|
Use about 15 to 20 words per
sentence.
Limit each sentence to one
idea.
Use complex sentences of 25 to
35 words sparingly as they require a high level of reading skill.
Vary the length of sentences to
add rhythm and interest to your writing.
Use the active voice.
Avoid slang.
Remove ambiguous and
unnecessary words
Avoid technical terms
unfamiliar to the reader.
|
Key element
|
Purpose
|
Strategies
|
Positive language
|
To create a positive impression
|
Use direct and courteous
language
Choose positive rather than
negative words.
|
Punctuation
|
To keep the meaning clear
|
Start a sentence with a capital
and end with a full stop.
Check that the sentence is not
too long.
Separate ideas by using
paragraphs.
In general, use more full stops
than commas.
|
Tone
|
To establish the communication
climate
|
Avoid emotional responses
(called ‘flaming’ in ITs).
Use a courteous and tactful
tone.
Use an appropriate level of
formality.
|
Faxes
A facsimile machine scans a
printed page, converts it to a signal, and transmits the signal over a
telephone line to a receiving fax machine. Although faxes have been available
for many years, until recently they were slow and expensive.
The oldest type of fax machine
had to be connected to a machine of the same type, and the transmission took
several minutes. Today’s fax machines do not require the same kind of machine
at the receiving end, and they can transmit a page in less than 1 minute. The
newest fax machines use digital transmission, which makes it possible to use a
computer program as a receiver. These new faxes are also much faster.
The oldest type of fax machine
had to be connected to a machine of the same type, and the transmission took
several minutes. Today’s fax machines do not require the same kind of machine
at the receiving end, and they can transmit a page in less than 1 minute. The
newest fax machines use digital transmission, which makes it possible to use a
computer program as a receiver. These new faxes are also much faster.
Voice Mail
Voice mail records messages on a
computer disk for later retrieval by the receiver. When an incoming call is not
answered, the system responds by telling the caller how to leave a message or
how to reach someone else. The receiver of the call can then either listen to
the machine upon returning to the office or access the message via telephone.
This process eliminates the problem of telephone tag, which can be so
frustrating.
Voice mail is useful because:
•
It replaces short memos and phone calls that
need no response
•
It is most effective for short, unambiguous
messages
•
It solves time-zone difficulties
•
It reduces a substantial amount of interoffice
paperwork.
•
It is a powerful tool when you need to
communicate your emotion or tone
•
It is especially useful for goodwill and other
positive messages
Other Communication
Technologies
Groupware
Groupware allows several people
to use software at the same time to create documents, keep track of projects,
route messages, and manage deadlines. Groupware enables a supervisor to manage
work flow via individual computers instead of physically moving form place to
place or having face-to-face meetings.
CD-ROM database
Compact Disk – Read Only Memory
(CD-ROM) has been available for several years and is becoming more popular. It
is powerful tool for putting masses of information in a form that is easy to
digest. Some kinds of information typically found on CD-ROMs are encyclopedias,
dictionaries, telephone directories, and articles and abstracts on various
subjects. A CD-ROM can store more than 100,000 pages of text. It will continue
to grow.
Teleconferencing
It is a rapidly developing
technology that will eventually change the way companies do business. Teleconferencing is the best
for informational meetings, ineffective for negotiation and efficient
alternative to a face-to-face meeting. It discourages the “secondary”
conversations, helps a participant to focus on a topic but prevents
participants from sharing valuable information.
Videotape
Videotape is often effective for getting a motivational message
out to a large number of people. By communicating nonverbal cues, it can
strengthen the sender’s image of sincerity and trustworthiness; however, it
offers no opportunity for immediate feedback.
Computer Conferencing
Computer conferencing allows users to meet and collaborate in real
time while viewing and sharing documents electronically. It offers democracy
because more attention is focused on ideas than on who communicates them. But
overemphasizing a message (to the neglect of the person communicating it) can
threaten corporate culture, which needs a richer medium.
Editing an Online Document
After having written the electronic message, you must edit it for certain
reasons. Ask yourself the following questions.
Have I considered the receivers’?
•
Viewpoint?
•
Experience?
•
Knowledge?
•
Need?
•
Position in the company?
•
Cultural differences?
•
Technology?
Have I presented?
•
A clear
purpose statement?
•
A logical
order of information?
•
An
appropriate, concise and complete message?
•
A clear,
readable writing style?
•
Positive
language?
•
Paragraphs focused on the ideas?
•
A
courteous and confident tone?
•
Carefully
edited work, used spellchecker and grammar checker
Have I Met?
•
The reader’s need to understand the information?
•
The document’s purpose
•
The writer’s need to convey particular
information?
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