Are the Internal E-mails The Bast Way of Communication within Organization - Research Paper Example

? Internal e-mails Introduction The effective communication within organizations has been proved to have a key role in the organizational performance; for this reason, internal communication systems are established in all organizations the operations of which are dispersed across many departments (Kline 2011). Internal e-mails are key part of these systems (Kline 2011). In fact, internal e-mails are preferred as a tool for internal communication due to their easiness in use (Morris and Goldsworthy 2008). Still, internal e-mails have been also related to certain disadvantages; as a result, their replacement by other, more advanced, tools of internal communication has been unavoidable (Griffin and Moorhead 2011). The use of internal e-mails as a communication tool in modern organizations is explored in this paper. The benefits and disadvantages of internal e-mails are critically discusses using also examples of organizations that use the specific tool of internal communication. Moreover, alternative internal communication systems are suggested, at the level that they have less disadvantages compared to internal e-mails. It is proved that despite their gradual replacement by other internal communication systems, internal e-mails are still used for internal communication purposes by firms in various industries; the limited risks related to the use of these internal communication tools, as analysed below, seem to be the key reason for their expansion in organizations globally. 2. Internal e-mails in modern organizations 2.1 Benefits of internal e-mails Internal e-mails have been extensively used in modern organizations for supporting internal communication. The role of internal e-mails as a tool of internal communication can be made clear only if the context of internal communication is explained. According to Cornelissen (2011) the term ‘internal communication’ (Cornelissen 2011, p.164) is used for describing ‘the communication with employees internally within the organization’ (Cornelissen 2011, p.164). As noted in the study of Morris and Goldsworthy (2008) e-mails have been a popular internal communication tool, mostly because of their low needs in terms of expertise of their users. Even employees who are not skilled in computer systems have been able to communicate with their colleagues through e-mails (Morris and Goldsworthy 2008). A similar issue is highlighted in the study of Griffin and Moorhead (2011). According to the above researchers, employees in all organizations are likely to prefer systems of internal communication that are easy to be managed; internal e-mail are considered as a favourable tool of communication for most employees since their guidelines in terms of use are quite simple even for employees who do not have experience in IT systems (Griffin and Moorhead 2011). Another important benefit of internal e-mails has been the following one: internal e-mails, as also e-mails in general, can be used for exchanging files of various formats (Kline 2011). The specific feature of internal e-mails is particularly important, especially in large firms. Saving time and money has been also used as reasons for supporting the use of e-mails as internal communication tools (Kline 2011). More specifically, through the e-mail employees can send or accept documents that are critical in certain organizational tasks; if another means was used for developing this activity, then the cost would be significant, especially if a courier service would be used instead of fax (Kline 2011). Moreover, using the e-mail an employee need not to exit from his office for retrieving documents or information required in the tasks assigned to him; he can use the internal e-mail for communicating with a colleague in regard to this material (Kline 2011). In this way, time is saved for working on the organizational tasks, a fact that increases employee performance. Another aspect of the value of internal e-mails, as tools of internal communication within organizations, is presented in the study of Gillis and Nicholson (2011). The above researchers note that the key reason for the development of internal communication systems in modern organization is the need for improving the relationship between the employees and the employer (Gillis and Nicholson 2011). It is explained that by offering to employees the chance to communicate using internal media, including internal e-mail or other similar internal communication tools, employers denote their willingness to support employees, as possible, in their daily tasks (Gillis and Nicholson 2011). At the same time, the availability of internal e-mails within an organization indicates the trust of the employer towards employees, as valuable members of the specific organization (Gillis and Nicholson 2011). Moreover, under certain terms, employers use internal media, including the internal e-mails, in order ‘to help employees to understand their role within the organization’ (Gillis and Nicholson 2011, p.9). From a similar point of view, Ind (2007) notes that the introduction of e-mails as an internal communication tool can help towards the increase of employee motivation for the following reasons: a) by providing the option of internal e-mails employers promote the involvement of employees in all organization’s daily operations; for example, before marketing a product/ service externally, an employer ‘could primarily check the potential response of the public by marketing this internally, i.e. across employees’ (Ind 2007, p.122); b) through internal e-mails employees can be offered important support for completing their tasks; indeed, internal e-mails can help employees in different organizational departments to take critical decisions, under the terms that employees ask their colleagues for advice in regard to the tasks assigned to them. On the other hand, Aamodt (2012) notes that internal e-mail can offer a significant advantage to the employer: by establishing in the firm’s IT systems filters that can trace inappropriate electronic content, an employer can identify the employees who use their e-mail for accessing or exchanging content that is prohibited by the law. Employees who are involved in these activities can be dismissed before causing to the organization severe problems. At the same time, the filtering of internal e-mails can benefit employees in the following way: in case that an employee is receiving threatening e-mails, the sender can be identified and being removed before developing other illegal activities (Aamodt 2012). 2.2 Problems related to the use of internal e-mails Internal e-mails, as other online communication tools, are based on the use of computer systems, i.e. they do not require the physical proximity of their users (O’Connell et al. 2006). This fact has been characterized as a disadvantage of the particular communication tool (O’Connell et al. 2006) mostly due to the following reason: there are many organizational issues that are critical and they should, preferably, discussed directly between the organizational members involved (O’Connell et al. 2006). The lack of direct communication in cases of important organizational decisions can negatively affect the quality and the appropriateness of these decisions (O’Connell et al. 2006). In any case, the above view refers to all online internal communication tools of modern organizations and not just to e-mails; from this point of view, the above disadvantage of internal e-mails cannot offer an advantage to other internal communication tools that also promotes the communication of employees through electronic systems. Moreover, internal e-mails have been related to the following disadvantage: since these e-mails are commonly used for the exchange between employees of critical information in regard to a particular organizational task, they have to be adequately protected against potential violations (Morris and Goldsworthy 2008). This means that if the content of internal e-mails is accessible to non-authorized persons then it is quite possible for the organizational operations to be threatened (Morris and Goldsworthy 2008). It should be noted that e-mails, as tools of internal communication, cannot be checked or controlled, at least, not in advance, as of their potential use. More specifically, Cornelissen (2011) notes that many online tools that have been primarily introduced in organizations for supporting internal communication have been proved to result to severe organizational problems. For example, e-mails have been also used for communicating with people outside the organization (Cornelissen 2011, p.164), a fact that has two different consequences: a) the distraction of employee from his/ her tasks and b) the violation of organizational rules in regard to the non-sharing of organizational information and files and c) the damage of organizational files or systems; for example, after opening an e-mail from a person outside the organization an employee can cause the damage of the organization’s IT systems, if the particular e-mail contains a virus. 2.3 Internal e-mails in practice Internal e-mails, as explained earlier, have been particularly popular, as tools of internal communication, in many organizations. Eli Lilly, a major competitor in the global pharmaceutical industry, has developed an intranet for supporting the communication of its employees worldwide (Griffin and Moorhead 2011). The above intranet system incorporates various features, including e-mail options, for securing ‘the sharing of information among employees in all organizational units’ (Griffin and Moorhead 2011, p.304). Fazlollahi (2002) has studied the potential effects of internal e-mails on the performance of Danwood Group, a leading office equipment supplier in the global market. According to the above researcher, in the past the organization used internal e-mails for communication purposes (Fazlollahi 2002); the replacement of the firm’s e-mail messaging system with Outlook has been reviewed, aiming to see the potential benefits of such initiative. It was proved that the use of Outlook would help internal communication to be improved but it was necessary for relevant guidelines to be provided (Fazlollahi 2002). More specifically, the research developed by Fazlollahi (2002) revealed that across the Group ‘about 43% of the e-mails exchanged were non-business related’ (Fazlollahi 2002, p.307). It is clear that the terms of the use of e-mail would be made clear to the employees of the Group, otherwise the use of alternative forms of internal communication tools, such as those suggested above, would be decided. The key issue highlighted in the above study is that e-mail has been proved to be an effective internal communication tool and for this reason that organization has chosen to keep it for covering its communication needs. However, the update of the specific tool, using advanced software, has been considered as necessary for increasing the tool’s benefits and potentials in terms of internal communication. 2.4 Alternative modes of internal communication Despite the benefits of e-mails an internal communication tools, their use worldwide seems to be declined. Employers internationally seem to prefer other internal communication tools that incorporate features based on advanced technology. In this context, social media have gradually entered the workplace. Common alternative internal communication tools are the following ones: ‘social media sites, like Yammer or Socialtext, wikis and blogs’ (Flynn 2012, p.158). Social media as internal communication tools may have a series of advantages, compared to internal e-mails but they are also likely to have certain drawbacks; for example, Glazier (2011) notes that social media, when implemented in a particular organization ‘require the participation of all the employees, otherwise they are useless’ (Glazier 2011, p.154). Moreover, Suarez (2009) explains that modern organizations use social media for responding to their communication needs, meaning the communication of firms with all their stakeholders, not just with their employees. Common social media used in organizations for communication purposes are the following: ‘LinkedIn, Facebook, Flickr (mostly for sharing photos), Twitter and Yammer’ (Suarez 2009, p.13). Skype has been also become quite popular for supporting communication within the organization (Suarez 2009, p.13). According to Glazier (2011) there are certain social tools that are more appropriate at enterprise level, as for example: ‘Yammer, JiveSoftware and BaseCamp’ (Glazier 2011, p.154). The above social tools are characterized as quite effective for communicating internally in large firms. At the same time, an enterprise can choose to implement a ‘social collaboration platform, such as SocialText or Jive’s SBS’ (Baer and Naslund 2011, p.122); these platforms offer the following advantage: they incorporate a wide range of features, such as ‘internal messaging, polls and document repositories’ (Baer and Naslund 2011, p.122), being able to address different organizational needs, i.e. not only communication but also the processing of documents and so on. 3. Conclusion The use of internal communication tools in modern organizations has become necessary especially since distance between organizational departments is significant and/ or because the volume of work is such that the direct communication of employees within a particular organization has become quite difficult. Internal e-mails have been proved a popular internal communication tool, being able to respond to urgent employee needs in the context of the tasks assigned to them. Moreover, internal e-mails have been proved to have a series of benefits, allowing the increase of trust and communication within the organization and helping employees to involve more actively in various organizational activities. Of course internal e-mails, like all other internal communication tools, have a series of disadvantages, which often lead employers to seek for alternative internal communication tools, as those suggested in section 2.4 above. Still, the value of e-mails as internal communication tools cannot be ignored, even if internal e-mail systems often need to be updated for responding to the internal communication needs of its organization. References Aamodt, M. (2012) Industrial/Organizational Psychology: An Applied Approach. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Baer, J., and Naslund, A. (2011) The Now Revolution: 7 Shifts to Make Your Business Faster, Smarter and More Social. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Cornelissen, J. (2011) Corporate Communication: A Guide to Theory and Practice. London: SAGE Publications. Fazlollahi, B. (2002) Strategies for eCommerce Success. Hershey: Idea Group Inc (IGI). Flynn, N. (2012) The Social Media Handbook: Rules, Policies, and Best Practices to Successfully Manage Your Organization's Social Media Presence, Posts, and Potential. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Gillis, T., and Nicholson, N. 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