Analysis of Email Usage - Essay Example

EMAIL USAGE By of school, and Email Usage Electronic mail, also known as email, is one of the most popular and widespread computer user applications today. While it is a very popular technology among its users, it also has drawbacks: complex systems that naive users cannot use, at times they don’t support the experienced user’s needs as well as having a continuously increasing number of messages that at times overwhelm the user. There are psychological, demographic and also social effects of the use of email upon the masses. This being a technological communication being used in the formal sector, it would be quite interesting to get to know how they are managing and using it. In order to learn more about the topic, this document seeks to discuss more on email use and what past research has documented about it. All the different aspects concerning email will be discussed herein. Introduction Computers have become a very much needed tool to accomplish everyday activities. They have created and are continuing to work to create an avenue for communication that has changed the lifestyle of many. Electronic mail, chat rooms and instant messaging services have made a major stride in the technology world. The most used mode of communication in the office setup and in person-to-person is the email (electronic mail). These are being carried on by people to communicate because they are seen as very good and easy to use. They are also preferred by many because of computers are used in the process of sending them. They also provide the opportunity for the workers to improve their productivity, satisfaction and also they are for the good of the organization at large (Rice R. & Bair J., pp 185-216). Among those using the Internet, the email is considered as the most important application (Katz J. & Aspden P. 1997). For example, like in Sweden, the number of people that are connected to the Internet has been doubling every year for several years now. This growth makes email a very important subject of discussion in the community that cannot be ignored. With the increase of the numbers of people who are sending and receiving emails, this also means there will be plenty of emails to read. These emails are sometimes stored and can pile to big numbers. When these are so many, the user cannot read all of them. This will push them to want to delete them. There will also be another challenge to face if the emails contain work related data that an individual might not want to dispose. At times the emails can be used as a to-do list Technology Justification of the Email There are various forms of communication that involve the computer that exists in the virtual world. With so many of these forms, it can be difficult to decide which form to use to communicate. Email happens to be an easy choice compared to the others because of the following reasons: It is widespread It has become a part of many people’s life as it is used to communicate between them. The use of emails has a notable impact on the day to day lives of many persons. Some use it to do business, communicate with a friend, relay an official message, communicate with a client, do research and even store information. With the emails, messages are transmitted over a distance by people, and are received and replied to. Emails are considered to be the most used modes of communication by college students (Jones, S. 2002). Research findings indicate that a majority has made writing emails a daily routine while others believe that email is actually the reason why many are going online (Baym, N. K. 2002). Facilitating Person-to-Person Interaction Email allows for there to be a person-to-person communication through a specific channel. It allows for communication between people without these having to see face to face and the advantage of this is the fact that they communicate the same things they would have communicated if they were communicating face to face. The communication method allows for the communicated information to be stored so the communicating individuals can refer to the older communicated messages or information. Asynchronous Email is asynchronous type of communication in nature. This means that one party can communicate with another by sending an email even when the other person is unable of reading or communicating back at that particular moment. This nature of the email allows and increases the opportunity for a person to communicate with many persons and increases their chances of relating and maintaining relationships with their friends or relatives (Baym, N. K. 2002). Email and the Computer’s Users There are people who are familiar with computers and others that are not. All these people are said to use the email service. The only difference between the two groups is how they use the computers and this also determines what features of the email they will utilize. Initially, emails were being used by people who had computers, but this is changing. Slowly now people are realizing the kind of communication advantages that a computer brings and is now buying computers at the workplace just to make use of its communication capabilities. Now even those that are not familiar with computers have to find out how to use them. This is because there is pressure for them to know how to use them as they are what the management at work places uses for communication. Email in the Academic Context Email has special features that allow for the sending of information or communication between many people or to many persons. Being a simple mode of communication makes it a very suitable and a choice of various including educators. They use email to send class reports, assignments and notes. Students can also submit their assignments via email. The email is also used in institutions by students to make formal requests to the school administrations. The students can also use the email in the sharing of information as well as notes. Email however, can be used for interpersonal communication just for fun. The mode of communication is however not used by many students for their informal communication. This is because they would want to receive feedback as soon as possible, but the email cannot offer this. Other modes of computer aided communication might be used for an immediate response, like the chat. Gratification and Uses Researchers do not assume. We will not assume that email use is common and a very important mode of communication, but rather we will seek to see what other researchers found out after conducting research about the subject. Communication over the internet that is very personal is still a new thing to many in the world. There are those that still feel and believe that communication is not and cannot be complete without it being face to face. In fact, the internet has been viewed negatively by many and said to have negative effects on the community and the family at large (Bargh, J. A. 2002). Such conclusions should not be reached as technology is changing and the use of technology by people is changing by the day. Email Usage in Organizations There is not much research and studies that are being done or have been done in the past about the use of email in organizations. However, there are few researchers that have taken the time to comment on the matter. According to a research conducted on more than 20 organizations, it was obvious that electronic communication did bring changes in an organization, but these changes were not well documented. Email has in the past been used by persons in organizations to delegate duties to other personnel (Sproull L. & Kiesler, S., 1991). This conclusion was reached after a study of the effect of introduction of email in organizations. In other organizations, the management is using email to increase their control over the workers and to also manage the information flow in the organization. There are technical and social factors that are influenced by email communication in the organization (Sproull L. & Kiesler S. 1991). At the beginning when email is introduced at the organization, there is growth and positive change. This change is mainly because of the improved communication and speed of communication. There are also changes that occur in the social relationships of these people. These changes occur, but not directly and take a lot of time to be able to be seen but are: Dependents change Those people using the email get to change with time. This is because as they receive new information, this changes the way they handle things or even how they get to think about life. These people can even change the way they communicate and this will have an effect on their relationships. People communicate with other new people People can use the email to communicate with other new people whom they have never met and do not know. Although this might be a good thing it also has a negative side. The people communicating using the email might not have a strong relationship that has a good foundation. Less importance attached to status The status of a person is at times not really considered as very important in email communication. However, this might not be the case in organizations where email is used to communicate very formal information and a lot of protocol is considered when structuring an email. A lot of emails have to be sent to reach consensus A lot of emails have to be sent to reach an agreement over something. This is because the communication is limited to the emails only while if the communication was synchrocnous then a consensus could be reached quite fast. People’s behavior and thinking might change When information is communicated from new sources, information that is new to the person, then this can change the way they think about things and even change them at last. Interviews conducted over the computer, like using the email, are considered to be private and the interviewee is likely to be willing to say more about themselves and also to respond positively to questions. They can also be more confident as the interview is not viewed as harsh or strict. Manager’s Communication and Email Usage The satisfaction and performance of employees is considered to be affected directly by the kind of communication they have with their manager (Alexander E., Helms M. & Wilkins, R., 1989). The ability of the manager to communicate with the customers and give them the necessary feedback is very important and might increase their productivity (Hessner, 1993). Studies show that managers are almost always under time pressure. They are constantly being interrupted (Carlsson S. 1951). These managers could reduce the number of interruptions by using email as the main mode of communication. Being asynchronous, email allows for the communicating persons do other things according to their personal plan and only respond to the emails when they decide to but not being forced to respond as it can be ignored. In fact, many people are finding email and other similar kinds of assynchronous communication methods very convenient for them as they allow them to follow their personal schedule whilst still managing to communicate with others. However, there is another side to this coin. Studies show that there are managers that allow the emails they receive to interrupt them (Markus L. M. 1994b). Organization of Email Messages Methods and style for storing messages and organizing these records are important for those who store these messages. As emails increase, they can be a bother and need to be arranged and filed properly otherwise they can cause confusion. It takes more time to reply to many messages than a few, and the same is true for reading these messages. It is probably true to say that these issues will increase with the increase in the flow of these emails. According to research, there were problems that arose due to the increased inflow of messages (Lantz, A. 1995). At organizations, messages that were sent by the clients or the customers were responding to according to their priority. There are messages that are responded to the same day while other emails are kept for a later response. These are those that require lengthy answers or more detailed answers. Usually when these messages are stored, some get to be forgotten and are not replied to. This is a major challenge for organizations. Conclusion Email is a very necessary part of the society in this age. It is very clear that emails are a main communication method in organizations and also in social circles. There are challenges to this computer aided communication, especially when it comes to managing bulk messages. This having been said, there is still need for more research on how this mode of communication can be utilized properly and efficiently to the benefit of the users. With more research probably more innovation might be realized that will suggest changes to email use of even modify the mode of communication to a better form of assynchronous communication. Bibliography Rice R. & Bair J. 1984. New Organizational Media and Productivity. In Ronald E. Rice & Associates: The New Media: Communication, Research, and Technology. Sage Publications, Newbury Park, California, USA, ISBN 0-8039-2271-X, pp 185-216. Katz J. & Aspden P. 1997. Motives, Hurdles and Dropouts: Who is on the and off the Internet and why. Communications of the ACM, vol. 40, no 4, pp 97-102. Jones, S. 2002. The Internet goes to college: How students are living in the future with today’s technology. [Online]. Washington, D. C.: Pew Internet & American Life Project. Available: http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/index.asp. Baym, N. K. 2002. Interpersonal life online. In L. A. Lievrouw & S. Livingstone (Eds.), Handbook of new media: Social shaping and consequences of ICTs (pp. 62-76). London: Sage Publications. Bargh, J. A. 2002. Beyond simple truths: The human-Internet interaction. Journal of Social Issues, 58, p1-8. Sproull L. & Kiesler S. 1991. Connections– New ways to work in the networked organisation. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Alexander E., Helms M. & Wilkins R. 1989. The relationship between supervisory communication and subordinate performance and satisfaction among professionals. Public Personnel Management, vol. 18, pp 415-429. Hessner 1993. Ledare eller bara chef. (In Swedish), IHM Förlag AB, Göteborg, Sweden, ISBN 91- 86460-49-8. Carlsson S. 1951. Executive Behaviour: A study of the Work Load and the Working Methods of Managing Directors. Strömbergs, Stockholm, Sweden. Markus L. M. 1994b. Electronic Mail as the Medium of Mangerial Choice. Organization Science, vol. 5, no 4, pp 502-527. Lantz A. 1995. "Tunga" användare av datorpost. (In Swedish)*English Chapter; IPLab report 90, Nada, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden. Read More