Multinational corporations exist over time and space. People are so busy and send an email because it is quicker, easier and more efficient. In one way, they do not get caught up or distracted through conversation, but in another way it limits the opportunity to develop new ideas through interaction or develop new relationships. It can also loose the meaning of sincerity or genuine politenesses.
Having just completed two placements, it was unusual for me to receive a list of requirements electronically and via email. I have always discussed things with my previous bosses as this allows for the creative process, perhaps new ideas or better ways of doing things can be devised.
I have also worked for a corporate organisation with a marketing department in Scotland, Europe and our office is in Perth, Australia. To have any graphic design coordinated, it had to be emailed by the end of the day, and was returned the following morning. If we had to make any changes, we had to wait another 24 hours for things to be resolved. All communication was via email and I have never actually spoken to the marketing coordinator in Scotland.
What are your thoughts?
- Will email replace conversation?
- How can we ensure that we develop good working relationships over the internet?
- How can we allow for creative processes and new ideas to be generated through online means?
- As a PR practitioner, what are the dangers of email to our profession and the way we conduct ourselves?
10 comments:
This is indeed a very thought provoking post. When it comes to multinational corporations, you have to see how emails are helpful and effective. With the time difference and cost of the phone call, emails are actually a very good alternative. Yet it is true that it would make it better if you could also talk to the person you are sending the email too. Yet, do they want to talk to you? It might just be easier for them to work via emails, makes it short and straightforward and you can track down the different conversations.
Now, will emails replace conversation? Well, I believe it has the ability to when it comes to multinational corporations but not between the journalist and the PR. Also, while you might send emails to the person in Scotland, you might have coffee with clients in Perth. And if the organisation is rich enough one of you might have the opportunity to meet the person face-to-face. Which I believe is the most ideal situation. Whereby you meet the person at least once, know what they are like and be able to connect to them easily and then from there you can email and ring them once or twice. Also, the internet also enables voice conversations such as the ones on Skype. Thus, you are not obliged to only use emails because of the cost. Therefore, emails will not replace conversations because it is a human thing to want to put a face to a person, here their voice and know they exist. They should only complement another mode of communication.
How can we ensure that we develop good working relationships over the internet? That's a very tough one. During my placement the email server failed so many times and that made it so hard. Thus I would not recommend it as the sole mode of conversation. Yet, if that's they way, then don't send them junk mails (fwds), do not bulk mail people and always ask how they are doing. In case of doubt always question, do not take anything for granted as meanings vary (even more from culture to culture). But then again, as I said earlier, emails are not the sole mode of communication online. The internet offers a variety of programs such as Skype that allow one to call another. From there you can still read the body language and so on.
How can we allow for creative processes and new ideas to be generated through online means? I'm not sure about this one to be truthful, I would say that as computers, softwares and programs are being upgraded and updated, then the use of those would help.
As a PR practitioner, what are the dangers of email to our profession and the way we conduct ourselves?
Well it can of course lead to lazy PR people, who do not check their sources. This would happen if the PR person does not check who exactly they are writing to.
It can also be misleading because words are used different as we move from culture to culture, and one person might not doubt that his or her way of understanding this email might not be the way it was meant to be understood.
Also, a person might not check their email everyday and this might be dramatic if very important information needs to be conveyed.
What do you think about all your different questions? I'd love to know.
A very thought provoking post indeed! I think that emails are a quick easy way to communicate however I'm still a believer in phone calls and if I can, i'll mke the effort to go and see someone in person. This is looking at things on a much smaller scale of course and at Burswood (where I am on my placement) I am dealing alot with Internal Commnications so I am able to go and see people directly without too much hassle. I can understand that on an multinational level taking into cnsideration time diferences and language barriers etc, an email would be the eaier form of communication.
How can we allow for creative processes and new ideas to be generated through online means?
I think that maybe in the near future this will be the way for brainstorming and will be part of everyday work however at the moment I think that face to face discussions are much more effective. In my PR department we have a fortnightly brainstorming forum where the whole team, from sponsorship to internal comms can get together and get creative about any initiatives that we have coming up. It is an open forum and anyone from the team can call for a discussion about their event or something that they need some help with and we have the whole team to contribute. I dont think that an online forum would be quite as effective.
Thanks for your comments Emilie and Dyann. Best of luck with your placements.
We get so caught up in the everyday tasks that I wanted to encourage people to think about their future career and what it might look like and how we might be acting. This seems to have worked.
I agree that Skype is a great tool. But if you have never met a person, it can be quite hard to talk with this tool.
After my post about the dealings I had with the marketing coordinator in Scotland, the very next day we were emailing each other, and she sent me a Facebook invitation.
So, while I was able to break down the barriers and begin to forge a relationship of sorts via email, it was by taking a personal interest in this person (as they had recently had a hen's night) that we were able to become more 'friendly' in our communications.
We could talk all day about these questions, but I have to get to my homework.
It was apparent through my placement at Make-A-Wish Australia that face-to-face contact was still an important facet to creating, establishing and maintaining relationships. Even things such as having a “coffee” with a client or small meetings promoted the association as more personal and unique and created warm associations which are desirable for a not-for-profit of this nature.
Email and phone calls are efficient and effective for the business side of things, but a large part of business is relationships therefore it s necessary to personalise these bonds.
Emails should also be approached with caution because of the fact that they do not allow for body language or tone. How many times have you sent an email or text to someone you have a relationship with, only to have it misinterpreted?
Of course, it is not efficient or at even all possible to retain a relationship where face-to-face contact is the only form, however it does set the association apart.
Oh, that's a really interesting and relevant point you've brought up. Personally I'd rather work with emails rather than over the phone(that's bad of me, I know!), it's easy to keep track of what's been said and when but there's definitely always the risk of losing the tone of how you want to say something and having an email misinterpreted.
I don't believe emails will ever replace conversation. Emails may be quick and easy but they're also easy to ignore. Face to face or over the phone will then be the only alternative way of communication if you're trying to chase someone down. Plus, humans are social creatures after all, even someone who's introverted like me needs face to face contact every now and then!
I think it's quite difficult to develop good relations with someone over the internet if you have never communicated outside of the web before. It's possible to maintain good relationships with someone if you've already met/talked before.
Hi,
This is indeed a great post addressing good points. Email is really helpful when you need to verify things, send documents etc. But interaction through email (words without physical interaction) can some time deflate the purpose of communication. Email failed to present the real meaning behind the message sent.
I think email should not replace face-to-face interaction. If a company or its department approaches its customers only by email, it could be perceived as lack of sincerity.
During my internship, we often depend on face-to-face communication as well as phone call as another effective communication for our internal and external publics. Communication through email is always time consuming and somewhat ineffective, especially when an issue is urgent or your company is in a crisis.
Working with PR Department in a golf club has taught me to always follow up with our client, members and stakeholders through phone after sending important document through email or fax machine.
Hi EcoRuth,
This is a very interesting posting which addresses a very interesting topic.
Communication methods have definitely evolved and most conversations are now done electronically. It is sad to think that the art of face to face conversation and body language interpretation is slowly dying. The world is slowly but surely becoming an emotionless one.
This is apparent especially is major corporate organizations where everything is moving at a rapid phase. People have no time to meet face to face and email proves to be the easiest and most convenient method in getting a message across.
Though emails can be impersonal and cold, they are the fastest and most effective method of communication and are usually straight to the point. Emails will definitely replace conversation (whether we like it or not) as most businesses are now being conducted on a global scale. When businesses go international there are so many factors which make face to face or even telephone conversations difficult. For instance, time differences prove to be a major barrier, and with emails the message can be conveyed and received at any time. Telephone calls can also be very expensive in the long run and emails on the other hand are after more economical.
In my opinion, good working relationships can be developed over the internet. Having good email etiquette is a must. Though often short and to the point, emails should always be polite and should not be offensive in anyway.
As communication via email is growing more and more to be a norm, we should all embrace it as it is the current trend. For those who think otherwise, maybe they should work with an organization which does business on a smaller scale where email communication is not given much emphasis. But even this is difficult to find because emails are more and more accepted as the preferred method of communication.
Thanks and good luck to u!
Ashta
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