Analyze how the use of technology has impacted organizational communication both positively and negatively. How has technology impacted the verbal and nonverbal cues used in interpreting messages? Provide examples to support your position.
The use of technology has affected organizational communication both positively and negatively. About the positive impacts, technology allows
different individuals within the organization to communicate effectively at the same time (Montano & Dillon, 2005), thereby saving time. Video conferencing is a perfect example of how technology affords organizations the luxury of mass communication. Technology has also improved the speed with which an organization can access information. In addition, technology enables the management to engage the company’s stakeholders more easily (Macnamara, 2010).
On the other hand, technology affects organizational communication negatively. To start with, increased use of technology in organizational communication leads to a reduction in face-to-face interactions among individuals. As a result, facial expressions and body cues that are important in face-to-face communication are lost (Macnamara, 2010). For example, it is difficult to communicate your body cues or facial expressions when communicating with a colleague using an e-mail.
The use of technology in communication (for example, the cell phone) can lead to work-flow disruption at the workplace. Consequently, employees may fail to meet set deadlines as they spend more time communicating over their cell phones. Sending and reading e-mails is also time-consuming, not to mention that at times, the message may also not be clearly understood. The use of e-mail for example can result in lost meaning in communication through misunderstood text (Macnamara, 2010). Communication via e-mails or social media makes use of short descriptions and abbreviations and this can result in misunderstandings and misinterpretations, further affecting organizational communication negatively. The effect of electronic communication on organizational communication depends on the way an individual organization has implemented technology. Using electronic communication, an organization can achieve its plans and goals quickly. The management can also make quick decisions. On the other hand, overuse of communication technology can lead to a breakdown in organizational communication.
Describe a work report that you are required (or have been required) to complete regularly. How would you present the information related to this report in a visual manner? Would a visual presentation enhance its effectiveness? Why or why not?
I am the regional sales representative of an organization that deals with the marketing of cosmetic products. At the end of every month, I am required by the marketing manager to prepare the sales report for my team. I often rely on PowerPoint slides to make the presentation of our sales report to the management team. To enhance the effectiveness of the presentation, I always ensure that I use graphics as these will grab the attention of the audience. Accordingly, I present sales figures and projections in the form of pie charts and bar graphs. I also use the same graphics to present our sales projections for the following month.
Effective PowerPoint presentation requires the use of bullet points to limit the amount of information. In addition, the use of text reinforces the PowerPoint presentation. According to Smith (2005), a visual message should be accompanied by text to increase its appeal to the audience. For this reason, many organizations are relying more on PowerPoint presentations as a way of keeping their audience engaged (Rothwell, 2010).
Visual presentations are important in sales reports because the management team can easily see the sales growth achieved by my team. In addition, the team can also easily compare the current sales report with the last month’s sales report. Powerpoint presentation allows me to summarize and condense a lot of information into a small space, thus saving the management a lot of time that would have been spent going through the large sales reports.
Reference List
Macnamara, J. (2010). Emergent media and public communication practices: The 21st-century media (r)evolution and its implications for practitioners and society. New York: Peter Lang.
Montano, B. R., & Dillon, R. (2005). The Impact of Technology on Relationships within Organisations. Information Technology and Management, 6(2-3), 227 251.
Rothwell, J. D. (2010). In the company of others: an introduction to communication (3rd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Smith, K. L. (2005). Handbook of visual communication: theory, methods, and media. Mahwah, NJ: Routledge.