Cannot Compute!!

I often wonder how communication technology that was created to make it easier to process information, increase productivity, and streamline actions has contributed to the information overload that goes on in organizations these days. It is so easy to send and receive information but that does not equal processing messages and information. On a daily basis I find myself being bombarded by my email from co-workers and key stakeholders, e-newsletters with links to a whole other pool of information on the internet, and the infinite information available to me on the world wide web. Sometimes I find my head just spinning and I feel like if I were a computer myself my screen would be flashing, “Cannot Compute! Cannot Compute!” How has it gotten to this point where the things that we really can not imagine living without because of the ease of information transmission has caused an overload that we can not escape from.

Connecting with the E-market

As I was reading the information in this section of the chapter on interacting with the market using communication technology, I thought about how I interact with the organizations, when I am the “market” that they are reaching out to. I started to wonder if the availability of information, ability to purchase, request, or give feedback without ever communicating directly with another human being, has made us more anti-social.

I know that I would rather do everything online. I contact organizations, give feedback, get information about all of my accounts online. I buy everything online or at least “shop” online and then go to the store knowing exactly what I want and buy it, with none of the dilly dallying that I already did when I “shopped” online. I find that I get frustrated when I am unable to do or find something online and I have to interact directly with a person. I am a very social person but when it comes to certain things I really love the opportunity to avoid others all together. Has anyone else experienced this level of “anti-social” behavior now that they can do many of those tasks on the internet?

Impersonality in electronic mediated communication

One of the complaints that I and many others have about electronic mediated communication is that there is a lack of interpersonal cues. It is difficult to get a sense of what the other person is feeling or sometimes even what they mean. I feel that the lack of nonverbal cues results in miscommunication.
I find it interesting that the research done by Joseph Walter suggests that sometimes in an electronic impersonal communication environment people feel more free to share ideas and comment on others and that sometimes it is more strategic to use this type of communication in certain workgroups. After reading this I thought about some of the communication that goes on in my organization over email. We set up multiple email aliases that others can subscribe to in order to communicate with users that might have similar interests. I find that it is easier to comment on information when you don’t know personally all of those who are included in that alias

Adopting New Technologies

Can any of us remember a workplace without email. It has really become an institution in any organization to have it. It is almost the sole way of communicating. Do any of us remember the adoption process of email. For me it was already established when I entered the workforce.

At my company we are attempting to introduce some new WEB 2.0 technologies that are meant to increase productivity by allowing more real-time collaboration. This process has turned out to be like pulling teeth for some. Even though I work for a company that is high tech and on the cutting edge of technological innovation there are some that are very resistant to change. They don’t understand why or how these new technologies will help them because it is not only a new technology but also a new way of working. We have been enlisting some serious help from the change management organization to make the adoption as quick and easy as possible.

I wish that I had been around when email was just being introduced into the workplace so that I could better understand the process of it and also remind folks that the way they feel about these technologies now they probably felt about email then but they learned to use it and it may their work a whole lot easier.

Communication technology and the 24/7 workforce

Every Friday I work from home. I do this not only to save gas but also because I can spend the time that I would be commuting actually working. This means I usually get two extra hours of work in. Monday through Thursday I work until 5 or 5:30, I sit in traffic to come home, I make dinner and do dishes, and then when all the “evening home activities” are complete I log back onto the network, check and return emails, review and complete items that I feel need to be done before the next day, then go to bed. I can log on anytime, anyplace as long as I have an internet connection – which I can get anytime, anyplace because my company provides a program that helps me find public wireless internet connections then pays for me to log onto them. Why do I do this? Because I can.

What has the availability of new communication technologies such as the internet, voice over IP, and smartphones done to the workplace? I believed it has moved it away from the traditional organization, where employees telecommute more often than not and meetings and interactions are done behind the veil of technology rather than face to face. It has created easier access and therefore longer hours and a 24/7 connected workforce. What does that mean for the organization? Does the ability to always be logged on equal greater productivity or burned out employees? I think that we are all becoming so used to being “on” 24 hours a day that it seems odd to not be connected.