Technology and Managerial Communication

  1. 14-2 Explain how technology affects managerial communication.

  • Information technology (IT) has radically changed the way organizational members work and communicate. How?

    • —Improves a manager’s ability to monitor individual and team performance

    • —Allows employees to have more complete information to make faster decisions

    • —Provides employees more opportunities to collaborate and share information

    • —Allows employees to be fully accessible 24/7

Photo of a man and a woman sitting at their workstations with their laptops open.

Steven Senne/AP Images

2 IT developments have had a significant effect on organizational and interpersonal communication …

1 Networked Communication

In a networked communication system:

  • Organizational computers are linked through compatible hardware and software, creating an integrated organizational network.

  • Employees communicate with each other via networked computers

An image of several laptops and several man figures placed on interconnected circles placed in a grid formation.

xstock/Shutterstock

2 Mobile Communication

In a mobile communication system

Photo shows a man working from home. He is shown holding his toddler on his lap.

Monkey Business/Fotolia

  • Employees can be connected without being physically “plugged in” at work!

  • Mobile technology is extremely popular!

  • Improving the way employees work is the payoff!

  • People don’t have to be physically “at the office” in order to communicate, collaborate, and share information with managers and colleagues.30

  • Managers and employees “keep in touch” using smartphones, tablet computers, notebook computers, and mobile pocket communication devices.

  • And mobile communication works—anywhere. People can send and receive information from the summit of Mt. Everest to the remotest locations on the planet.

Networked and Mobile Communication Applications

  • E-mail—instantaneous transmission of messages on computers or mobile devices.

    • Messages read at receiver’s convenience

    • Fast, cheap, efficient, and convenient

    • Print documents, if needed

    • Slow and cumbersome

    Photo shows a blue and a green image, representing two human figures.

    Cemil Adakale/Fotolia

  • Workplace instant messaging (IM)—interactive, real-time communication among coworkers who are logged on at the same time.

    • Instantaneous communication without waiting for colleagues to read e-mail

    • Users must be logged on at the same time

    • Potential network and data security breaches

  • Voice mail—a system that digitizes a spoken message, transmits it, and stores it for a receiver to retrieve later.31

    • Information transmitted without receiver being physically present

    • Message can be saved, deleted, or re-routed

    • No immediate feedback

  • Teleconference and videoconference meetings—confer simultaneously by phone, e-mail, or video screens.

    • Participants don’t need to be in same physical location to share information and collaborate

    • Saves travel money

    Photo of a young woman smiling into the camera fixed on top of her laptop’s screen.

    Arekmalang/Fotolia

  • Organizational intranet—an organizational communication network that’s accessible only to organizational employees.

    • Share information and collaborate on documents and projects

    • Access company policy manuals and employee-specific materials32

    • Possible network and data security breaches

  • Organizational extranet—an organizational communication network that allows authorized organizational users to communicate with certain outsiders such as customers or vendors.

    • Faster and more convenient communication

    • Concerns about network and data security breaches

  • Internet-based voice/video communication—Internet based communication services (such as Skype, Viber, FaceTime, Vonage, Yahoo!).

    • Fast and convenient communication

    • Concerns about network and data security breaches

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