Executive Summary
Computer-based communication technologies became widely used with Internet connection getting easily accessible. Using these technologies requires only basic computer skills this is why they are popular among people of all possible ages.
Computer-based technologies led to the emerging of social media, as well as social networking, instant messaging, blogging, podcasting, etc with each of these having an impact on the effectiveness of communication, especially when it comes to the business field.
Since communication is the most important constituent of any business organization, making it effective is vital. Using such computer-based technologies as social networking and instant messaging can both impede and enhance communication in business organizations. If they are used for business purposes they are likely to have a positive impact on communication; if the personnel use them for personal purposes, the communication is impeded and the performance of the organization is negatively affected. Other factors which impede communication with respect to these technologies are their impersonality and the possible instability of Internet connection.
Introduction
Due to the rapid development of computer-based communication technologies, people’s way of communicating their ideas and information in numerous spheres of human activities has significantly changed with business being the field where the application of these technologies is especially concerning. Computer-based communication technologies, just like other technological innovations, cannot be absolutely advantageous for society. Their main fault is that they cause people’s dependence on them and quite often, instead of facilitating communication between organizations or private individuals, they may impede it or make it impossible. These technologies are a reliable means of communication, but like anything dependent on a computer, they may malfunction. Within the business field, this may lead to serious consequences which can later question the reliability and reputation of an organization. One of such consequences may be the breaking of negotiations between companies from different countries. This report will describe different communication technologies and their influence on business communication concentrating on instant messaging and social networking in particular, as well as it will present some recommendations for business entities regarding the usage of these technologies.
Definition of Computer-Based Communication Technologies
Computer-based communication technologies are often referred to as social media. They can be defined as online media which not only facilitates people’s communication but allows them to create and develop its content. For some people, these technologies are of no practical value because without their usage the communication and sharing of information were still possible. For others, however, these technologies are “a business opportunity to be approached cautiously but optimistically, that offer new avenues for extending sales, marketing, recruitment, research, and technical support, which complement traditional working practices” (Wilson 2009, p. 55). The usage of these technologies depends on how much a person needs them. Recently, their application in ordinary life has become no less frequent than that in business activities. They are used by corporate and government organizations to facilitate communication and collaboration between groups of people and separate individuals (Perkins 2008). Social media has resulted in emerging of social networking used by companies and corporations every day. This phenomenon has significantly changed strategies which business organizations used in communicating with customers and supplying them with their products and services.
Varieties of Communication Technologies
Computer-based communication technologies encompass a vast variety of social networking Web sites and broadcast activities. They are used by the biggest part of the world’s population and the number of people getting involved in social networking continues growing every hour.
Social Networking Web Sites
Some of the social networking Web sites are Facebook, LinkedIn, Classmates.com, MySpace, and the like. Such Web sites are rarely used in business, though they are used by business workers, which became the most widespread reason for limiting access to them. These sites contain profiles of different people with who a person can be familiar. The communication at them takes place by means of messages; the additional service provided by these sites is the access to city networks grouped according to people’s interests.
Instant Messaging
These days there is hardly any organization that does not use instant messaging (IM) as a means of communication. IM allows two or more people to communicate in real-time via the Internet. The most widespread instant messaging systems are ICQ, Google Talk, Skype, etc of which the latter allows establishing even video connection.
Creativity Works Sharing Web Sites
To no less popular forms of media belong blogging, podcasts, and vlogging (Pannunzio & Nelson 2008). These social networks are, as a rule, maintained by a separate individual. In the case of blogging, for instance, an individual may place an article regarding some news on a Web site that other users will comment and discuss. Comments are left in an interactive format, which often leads to people who do not even know each other finding common interests or arguing about politics, religion, and other issues. Vlogging is almost the same as blogging with video being used as a medium; they are often used by advertisers to achieve visual recognition (Pannunzio & Nelson 2008). Podcasts, in their turn, allow easily downloading video files and even series of them. One of the world-known video-sharing Web sites is YouTube which displays user-generated videos and allows registered users to download them.
Social Media Benefits as Compared to the Industrial Media
Perhaps, one of the greatest benefits is social media’s low cost. Social media does not demand any expenses for paper, ink, electricity, etc, which makes it quite cheap. What is more important, it is accessible to a greater number of people who do not need to buy information to read it. All it takes is to pay for the services of the Internet provider. Another benefit is that social media can be reached by a global audience. This is of great use for advertising and distribution of products. Furthermore, social media allows updating information quickly, unlike industrial media updating of which may take days and even weeks. Finally, the information presented, for instance, in an online article can be easily altered, which is impossible in the case with traditional media. This all makes social media more attractive for business organizations that find new business opportunities and are able to share the experience through social media.
Influence of Computer-Based Communication Technologies on Business Communication
Computer-based communication technologies are often used in business communication for they allow one person to interact with several people at one and the same time, regardless of how far these people can be. These technologies have significantly influenced integrated marketing communications (IMC) which, as stated by Mangold & Faulds (2009), are used “to coordinate and control the various elements of the promotional mix-advertising, personal selling, public relations, publicity, direct marketing, and sales promotion – to produce a unified customer-focused message and, therefore, achieve various organizational objectives” (p. 357). The matter is that, with the emergence of social networking, IMCs have also changed, which resulted in the re-considering of customer communication strategies that companies and organizations used to follow. Social media has now become vital for business communication for it allowed creating online information sources which companies and consumers use daily to inform or get informed about new brands, products, and their prices, services, and other business-related issues.
Importance of Communication in Business
Effective communication is a guarantee of success for any organization. One of its greatest functions is establishing contacts with the consumers and business partners. None of the organizations would succeed in selling their products or services without explaining to the consumers their necessity. Another function of communication is the establishment of relations between the administration and personnel. Good communication between the chief and his/her subordinates results in the latter’s higher productivity, understanding, and cooperation, which is beneficial for the overall performance of the organization. Thus, communication can either build or destroy trust between the organization’s employees, as well as between the organization and its customers. This is why facilitating communication is extremely vital in the business field; this is the reason, social media has become so popular with business entities.
Social Networking and Instant Messaging Enhancing Business Communication
Social Networking is able to enhance business communication in a number of ways. For instance, it is able to group people according to their interests. Facebook and MySpace make it possible for the users to search for definite organizations’ members and enter the groups these members belong to. The users can then take part in discussions within the group. The topics of such discussions often include strengths or weaknesses of the organization, which allows developing and improving it. These discussions improve communication between the group members, thus contributing to their better performance. Moreover, it may happen that a subordinate and an administration member will enter one and the same group, which will not only make communication between them more effective but will narrow the social gap between them.
The business world witnessed a number of examples when organizations improved their communication by means of social networks. Thus, for instance, Gibson Musical Instruments has areas at MySpace, Twitter, and YouTube which contain videos, audios, and news related to the company (Wilson 2009). This makes communication between the organization and its consumers more effective and serves as an additional (and, most importantly, free) advertising material.
Instant messaging can also make business communication more effective. First of all, it allows the employees to communicate with each other on business matters and share necessary files which otherwise would demand special devices to share. Secondly, it improves communication between the employees and the administration. Some employees may find it difficult to talk to, for example, the chief directly, while communicating with him/her by means of instant messaging is easier because it does not require direct eye contact or verbal conversation. Lastly, it saves time and money if accessing a business partner by means of the telephone is impossible. In the case of Skype, communication becomes even more efficient, for business partners are able to see each other and even take part in a video conference involving more than two people.
Social Networking and Instant Messaging Impeding Business Communication
While social networking and instant messaging have a number of advantages, they can also impede communication within and outside a business organization. Both social networking and instant messaging can significantly lower the productivity of the employees due to the latter using this system for personal communications with their friends and colleagues, which distracts them from their work. In the case of instant messaging, the harm is not as great as in the case with social networks where the employees tend to spend hours communicating with their online friends, commenting on pictures and videos, and searching for new friends.
Firstly, social networking and instant messaging minimize personal communication both among the employees and between the employees and the consumers. Instant messaging allows communicating with all the people which are on the list of contacts. Not all of these people may be familiar to the user, but he/she will still need to communicate with them on business matters. This makes communication less effective. The same goes for conversing with the customers. Lack of eye contact or at least emotions (as in the case of a telephone conversation) greatly impedes communication.
Secondly, the employees may opt to converse with the customers through chats, especially when settling the conflicts. Of course, this is more convenient because the employees get less exposed to negative emotions. On the other hand, however, this is unfair with respect to the customers because they may get a feeling that they communicate with a machine.
Finally, communication by means of these systems becomes impossible when there is no Internet connection. Though all the Internet providers promise stable Internet connections, they cannot guarantee anything. The absence of an Internet connection is not fatal for communication within the organization, but it may seriously affect its relations with business partners who, for instance, are waiting for the online conference by means of Skype or the like programs ensuring video connection.
Conclusion
Computer-based communication technologies have a great influence on how business is carried out. They have a considerable impact on communication within and outside an organization. Out of all these technologies, social networking and instant messaging are the most widely used by organizations for both business and personal purposes. These technologies can either enhance or impede communication, depending on whether they are used for business or for personal purposes. Thus, they can make communication more effective because they help to establish a connection between the employees and customers, as well as business partners faster than any other means of communication. At the same time, they may distract employees from their work and minimize personal communication among the employees and between them and their customers.
Recommendations
- That the organizations have a reliable Internet provider for the connection to be stable. This will contribute to the effectiveness of the communication within and outside the company.
- That the use of social networking and instant messaging for personal purposes be minimized. This may be done by installing chat programs for the organization’s employees only and banning the most frequently used social networks (Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc).
- That the communication with customers is more personal. This may be achieved through introducing incentives for the employees encouraging them to prefer telephone conversation to the chat one when communicating with customers.
References
Mangold, W.G. & Faulds, D.J. 2009, ‘Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix’, Business Horizons, vol. 52, pp. 357-365.
Pannunzio, C.O. & Nelson, C. 2008, ‘Leverage the power of social media’, Journal of Financial Planning, pp. 6-10.
Perkins, B. 2008, ‘The pitfalls of social networking’, Computerworld, vol. 42, num. 7, p. 44.
Wilson, J. 2009, ‘Social networking: The business case’, Engineering & Technology, pp. 55-56.