Information Overload and Advantages of E-mail

Effective communication policies ensure that vital information flows through the company to all the various members of the staff. Developments in IT (information technology) and telecommunications have changed the way people communicate, making it possible to contact people at any time through email, voicemail and mobile phones. This has led to an information overload, where business people spend more time reading and listening to messages than acting upon them.

Of course, companies have a huge appetite for information, and have encouraged the development of systems to produce, store and analyse it. As a recently completed study by American analysts shows, the average white-collar worker sends and receives about 190 messages a day, in a variety of electronic and paper formats. As it has been reported, trying to manage the volume of information is redefining productivity in the workplace. So, it may be said that coping with information is now key to a manager`s productivity.

On comparison with mobile phones and taxes, not to say anything about ordinary mail, e-mail is seen as less intrusive than other forms of communications. All of us are constantly interrupted on our cell phones. E-mail is much less trouble than using a fax machine which is often not in your office. Furthermore, differences in location and time zone are less an obstacle to information with e-mail. E-mail is cheaper and faster than a traditional letter – which is known as snail mail. Finally, there is evidence that e-mail leads to a more democratic structure, allowing all computer users easy access to company information and documents.

Some executives have turned e-mail to their advantage, finding in the medium a new and convenient way of running a business. Microsoft CEO Bill Gates, for instance, reportedly spends hours a day reading and sending e-mail.

Questions:

1. What kind of policies ensure that vital information becomes available to all members of the staff?

2. What has led to the information overload?

3. Do companies need information?

4. What does a recently completed study show?

5. What is considered to be a key factor of a manager`s productivity?

6. Which form of communication is agreed to be less intrusive than other forms?

7. What are the advantages of e-mail?

Unit 7

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