How Technological Advancements Have Altered Business Communication - Coursework Example

How technological advancements have altered business communication. Name: ID No: Unit code: Unit name: Assignment: Due date: How technological advancements have altered business communication. Throughout the last half century, there has been massive technological advancement. There has been such progressive advancement that the modern day, the use of technology in communication has become indispensable. This technological advancement has brought significant changes on almost all aspects of human life, including the way business is conducted. It goes without saying that technological advancement has undoubtedly impacted greatly on business communication. There have been various technological inventions in the field of communication such as the Internet, emails, Smartphones, teleconferencing, social media, information systems as well as communication applications; and all these have greatly revolutionized business communication. Business communication has been made more efficient, easier and effective than in the past as a result of these and more technological inventions. In comparison with the past, there are currently many ways and means of communication than in the past centuries. The traditional forms and technologies of communication have included telephone, television magazines and newspapers. However, better and more efficient communication technologies such as the ones mentioned above have been introduced and they have had massive impacts on the business world. In the modern day, the extent at which companies successfully incorporate new forms of communication technology within their practices directly affects their long-term growth prospects (Sheoran 2012). Recent research has shown that companies and businesses which adopt new forms of communication technology with a greater level of enthusiasm are in a better position to achieve long-term growth and success (Sheoran 2012). One of the most important and groundbreaking technological inventions of the last half century is the cell phone. The cell phone has greatly altered and revolutionized the way business communicates. Prior to the incorporation of the cell phone in the business world, coworkers had to move around and about the workplace with the aim of exchanging valuable information that was crucial in day to day business operations (Sheoran 2012). Thus, a lot of valuable time was wasted in the process. However, the integration of the mobile phone in business communication has enabled employees to communicate with each other with relative ease, either via text messaging or direct calls (Sheoran 2012). This has helped save much time. With the invention of the cell phone, technological advancements still continued and the smart phones soon followed. Over and above text messaging and calling, Smartphones can perform so many other tasks that are crucial to business operations. In addition to having a greater data handling capacity, Smartphones have better and more reliable connectivity as compared with the traditional cell phones (Connick 2013). With this better connectivity, it is much easier for employees as well as managers to access their email and social networking accounts via their Smartphones and thus making communication much easier (Connick 2013). Smartphones are also great personal data assistants as they help in schedule keeping and task management. This is because they have diaries, calendars and apps which come in handy when scheduling meetings and appointments (Connick 2013). With the rapid innovation of Smartphone apps taking place, it is possible in today’s world to scan and send business documents and images using Smartphones. Much like the Smartphones, iPads and tablets have altered the way communication is done in organizations. These gadgets have become the tools of choice for many organizations, and they are fast replacing laptops and the traditional desktop computers. IPads and tablets offer a light and portable means of accessing, processing and relaying information to clients in the field (Connick 2013). These gadgets consume lesser power than laptops and desktop computers and thus are more cost effective. In the recent times, iPads and tablets have become so popular in the business world that manufacturers such as Apple have began developing new apps specifically for business users (Connick 2013). The invention of the Internet in 1967 was perhaps the biggest milestone that has greatly altered business communication (Sheoran 2012). Most gadgets used today for business communication, for example Smartphones, iPads, tablets, computers and faxes all make use of the Internet. The Internet has facilitated the development of other means and forms of communication such as email, teleconferencing, internet faxing, cloud computing, VoIP, websites as well as social media and blogging (Connick 2013). Electronic mail is perhaps the most popular and most widely used form of business communication today. Email use completely revolutionized the way communication is done in organizations by effectively replacing traditional letters and telegrams sent via Post office (Barnlund, 2008 pp 118). In the past decades, it would take clients a long time to get replies via letters sent by sellers and vice versa. In addition to this, postal charges were also high and thus communication via letters was generally ineffective. However, the invention of electronic mail solved all these problems. Email is a fast form of communication and it is possible to get immediate replies unlike while using letters. With the use of Smartphones, iPads and tablets, it is possible for both employees and managers to receive and reply business emails at the convenience of their handset (Cohen & Schmidt, 2013 pp 56). Email use reduces paper wastage and is also very cheap since the internet connection is readily available in most firms. Social media is another form of internet communication that is currently growing in popularity and one that has altered the way business communication is conducted. Facebook has been widely acknowledged as the most popular social networking site, boasting of over 800 million users (Barnlund, 2008 pp 120). Twitter and other social networking sites also have a sizeable following. This has prompted most businesses to tap into social media networks. Businesses are using social media networks not only to communicate with their existing customers in new exciting ways such as fan pages, but also to reach new potential customers (McDonald & Roswell-Jones, 2012 pp 45). Social media websites are currently being exploited by most businesses for marketing purposes in what is being called ‘viral marketing’ (Hollensen, 2009, p. 388). Many businesses today such as British American Tobacco, Barclays Bank and many others currently maintain their own dedicated Facebook and twitter pages (McDonald & Roswell-Jones, 2012 pp 31). Video conferencing again is another form of internet communication which cannot be ignored since it has changed the way business communication is done. Video conferencing enables meetings, seminars and conferences to be done online. Without a doubt, video conferencing offers great advantages to the business world. First and foremost, video conferencing enables businesses to save on costs that would have otherwise been used for travelling, food and accommodation (McDonald & Roswell-Jones, 2012 pp 50). This represents very huge savings. Secondly, data presentation via video conferencing can be better since the time that would have been used in travelling can be used for presentation preparation (Cohen & Schmidt, 2013 pp 71). Internet faxing too is a form of internet communication that has altered business communication. Through internet faxing, businesses save a lot of money while also improving on the quality of messages sent, compared to the traditional fax machine (Sheoran 2012). Moreover, internet faxing can be done through email and thus business can take advantage of this feature to create surveys which can be used to assess the level of customer satisfaction (Barnlund, 2008 pp 122). Last but not least, the use of business oriented software such as Microsoft office has also been a ground breaking move in terms of altering the way business communication is conducted. Microsoft PowerPoint in particular has revolutionized the way communication is done in meetings. PowerPoint is currently the most preferred communication tool used in meetings, business presentations as well as in training (Connick 2013). This software enables a user to create interesting business presentations by allowing him/her to incorporate graphs, tables, charts as well as music (Connick 2013). PowerPoint use is also much cheaper compared to the traditional print outs used in meetings and in house presentations (Connick 2013). From the above discussion of the various innovations that have revolutionized the way business communication is done, it is evident that these technological advances have had a positive impact. One such impact is the speed. In the last half century, the improving technology has without a shadow of a doubt speed up the business communication process, resulting in a general increase in the speed of business operation (Barnlund, 2008 pp 122). As a result of technological advancement, there is no need for clients and even employees to wait for money in the form of drafts and other time consuming modes in today’s world (Golden 2012). By only a few clicks of one’s cell phone, Smartphone, tablet or computer, money can be transferred in and out of the business without much time wastage. Also, with the increased use of the internet for business communication purposes, documents such as purchase orders and invoices for goods and services as well as raw materials can be uploaded and downloaded from an organization’s website and thus saving a lot of time for both the client and the business (Sheoran 2012). Technology has also significantly improved accessibility of messages and information in the context of business communication. This is because the use of gadgets such as the ones mentioned above can enable email, text messages as well as instant messages to be quickly sent and received from anywhere with much greater convenience and relative ease than before (). Through the use of technology it is now possible for people to communicate and work from anywhere and at any given time (Cohen & Schmidt, 2013 pp 71). This aspect of accessibility has enabled employees to work from home since they do not have to go to the office to obtain the information that they require (McDonald & Roswell-Jones, 2012 pp 52). This has led to increased savings on the part of both the employer and employee since costs such as transport and premise rent are significantly cut down (McDonald & Roswell-Jones, 2012 pp 35). Without a doubt, communication technology advancement has also impacted on the business world by fostering the formation of global partnerships (Sheoran 2012). Indeed technology has made the world a global village, especially in terms of information sharing (Golden 2012). People from all over the world can interact easily and more frequently as a result of the technological advancements that have happened in the last half century. International partnerships have become more economically feasible because technologies such as video conferencing have reduced the cost of holding meetings throughout the world by cutting on flight, food and accommodation costs (Barnlund, 2008 pp 124). This has also enabled business communication to be much more dynamic since people from different cultures learn to accommodate their cultural differences in order for their business ventures to prosper (Cohen & Schmidt, 2013 pp 60). Technology has also made the process of market access easier. The ever increasing popularity of social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook has enabled organizations to target a large number of people including their already existing customers as well as potential customers through the use of “viral marketing” (McDonald & Roswell-Jones, 2012 pp 52). Furthermore, fan pages and groups have been specifically developed by the social media developers specifically to allow companies to actively communicate with their clients in a different and more interesting manner (McDonald & Roswell-Jones, 2012 pp 35). Through social network organizations can communicate issues such as new product improvements and upcoming events as well as available special offers (Cohen & Schmidt, 2013 pp 75). Technological advancement in the last half century has also altered the relational aspects of business communication. The use of email messaging, social media sites, Smartphones and Cell phones in business communication has increased in popularity and thus the use of face to face communication for business purposes has dramatically reduced (Golden 2012). This is not necessarily a good thing since it has led to a decreased emphasis on personal relationships between the business and the customers to some extent (Sheoran 2012). Furthermore, even with organizations that have not been affected in relation to deteriorating business-client relations, the employees tend to be less socially skillful due to the minimal exposure that is acquired through face to face communication. Another challenge with information that is not face to face is that it lacks non verbal communication cues such as facial expressions and body language (Barnlund, 2008 pp 124). This relates to information that is supplied online since it can be often quoted out of context (Cohen & Schmidt, 2013 pp 60). In such cases the sender may not be able to adequately clarify the information as he would have done if the message was delivered through face to face communication (McDonald & Roswell-Jones, 2012 pp 54). Another challenge that has been posed by the advancing communication technology relates to remote employees. The business communication channels should always open to the remote employees who are almost always from their workplace (McDonald & Roswell-Jones, 2012 pp 45). Challenges with this arise among the organizations that are involved in cross cultural and international business since it is difficult to add aspects such as different languages, distance and different time zones to an already complex communication channel (Cohen & Schmidt, 2013 pp 76). Without a doubt, video conferencing is one of the technologies that have impacted greatly on business communication. However issues such as different time zones, telephone static and other technical glitches can create challenges to effective communication through video conferencing \(McDonald & Roswell-Jones, 2012 pp 58). New technology can also be costly to a business. New technology can be costly to attain due to the cost of acquiring the equipment and also the added cost of training the existing employees on how to use the technology (Sheoran 2012). Employees who are not well conversant with the latest technology are unproductive in the contemporary business setting for such workers may not be able to communicate and interact with the customers as well as with other employees due to the technicality of the new technology (Golden 2012). It is important for each business irrespective of its size, scope or numbers of employees have staff that are well skilled in the art of communication (Barnlund, 2008 pp 126). This is important if the business is to attain real success in the contemporary world. In conclusion, it is important to note that technology has greatly impacted on business communication in a positive way; however there are a few negative negatives. Also, each new technology that arises has its own challenges, thus improvements in service and information delivery can be done by training the staff on effective use of the technology. The technology keeps on changing and new technologies will continue to emerge. Thus, if improvements are to be made, adequate budgetary towards research and acquisition of new technology have to be made. References Barnlund, D. C., 2008. A transactional model of Communication: Communication theory. Transaction Publishers. Cohen, J. & Schmidt, E., 2013. The New Digital Age: Reshaping the Future of People, Nations and Business. John Murray publishers Connick, W. 2013. 7 Business Uses for a Smartphone. How Salespeople Can Benefit from Company Smartphones. Accessed 1st June 2013, http://sales.about.com/od/salesbasics/tp/7-Business-Uses-For-A-Smartphone.htm Golden, R., 2012. How today Technology is is used in Business to Communicate. Golden media, accessed 1st June 2013, http://smallbusiness.chron.com/todays-technology-used-business-communicate-27351.html Hollensen, S., 2009. Essentials of Global Marketing. Pearson Education publisher’s pp.380-388 McDonald, M.P., & Roswell-Jones, A., 2012. The Digital Edge: Exploiting Information and Technology for Business Advantage. Gartner, Inc publishers. Samuels, D. 2012. Business Communications Tools. Chron, accessed 1st June 2013, http://smallbusiness.chron.com/business-communications-tools-42049.html Sheoran, J., 2012. Technological Advancement and Changing Paradigm of Organisational Communication. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 2, Issue 12, December 2012 Read More