Business Communication and the Internet

Business Communication and the Internet
Abstract
            Technology has provided many of man’s needs. The Internet has been a source of much information but it is has also become a channel of communication through the e-mail. E-mail is one wonder of the modern world. It can be used to communicate anywhere around the world only with the use of a computer and it is virtually free of charge. Unlike a telephone where you need to pay bills and much more if it is an international call. With the Internet, these bills are eliminated. The Internet has also provides better ways of communication. This research answers the question how e-mail has changed business communications. E-mail has forced a lot of changes in business communications. It has become an effective marketing and promotional tool. For employees, it is a new more convenient way of communicating in the workplace. It allows for sending of important files for reduced paperwork and it is also cheaper than making regular phone calls. It also has a written record of the communications which makes it very reliable. Many people, including businesspeople, now prefer communicating through e-mail compared to the telephone, but for an e-mail to be an effective communication tool, one must need to know how to write an e-mail. It is written just like how you would write any business correspondence aside from a few differences.

I. Introduction
            The advent of technology has revolutionized how people communicate. It was not long ago when letters were used for business communications. It is not convenient because letters are being sent to multiple addresses. A messenger still needs to go to the post office to pay for postage and drop the letters. With technology, there is now an easier and more convenient way of sending business communications through the internet. This is known as electronic mail or e-mail. e-mail do not cost anything and you can send your letter to a number of recipients in an instant. The technology has proven its significance in the business industry.
II. Information
            E-mail has become of the easiest ways for a business to reach potential clients. In just a few clicks, clients can get a quick glimpse of what the company has to offer. This has become a rather effective business tool since it a low cost form of communication and it is efficient. E-mail have been known to generate sales and be used to let clients know of upcoming events that have an effect on them as well as a promotional tool for the business (Senour, 2005).
            Because of the efficiency of e-mail, many people, even from the business world prefer communicating through e-mail. According to a study done by META Group Inc., 80 percent of businesspeople believe that e-mail has become a more valuable tool in business communication compared to the telephone. The study also indicated that these people believe that it is more inconvenient if they lose e-mail compared to losing a telephone. Top three reasons why these people prefer e-mail is because “(1) e-mail facilitates communication with multiple parties, (2) e-mail enables more rapid communication, and (3) e-mail generates a written record of the interaction”. The survey took respondents from 387 organizations in different industries of different sizes (80% of users prefer, 2003).
            However, e-mail has its downside. E-mail may create misinterpretations as a form of communication since it does not show body language just like in a face-to-face conversation nor does it specify a tone of voice just like in a telephone conversation. The absence of a mood may make it hard for the client to understand some things especially when the communication is a correspondence or a response to a client’s queries (McClean, 2004). To effectively use e-mail as a form of business communication, it is important to have personnel trained how to compose good e-mails. It must be properly formatted, straight to the point and must be free from spelling and grammar errors just like any other business correspondence would be made (Senour, 2005).
            An employee may receive a number of phone calls during work hours which could affect the employee’s productivity. E-mail has been proven to be a more effective medium of communication since it does not take much time compared to a phone call; it costs less, and has a quicker interrupt recovery time (Jackson, Dawson and Wilson).
            E-mail can be used for internal communications which could make work easier and the communication within the office more convenient. As a result, it reduces the amount of paperwork. It is however easier to use e-mail for personal communications compared to the telephone because it is more discreet (Jackson, Dawson and Wilson).
III. Conclusion
            E-mail has aided business communication by making the communication process easier and a lot more convenient. Communication with clients has become easier and cheaper while communication within the office has become more convenient and also easier since it reduces paperwork. Many people now prefer e-mail because of its convenience. It may be considered as one of the greatest wonders of technology because it is not only useful for business communication but also for personal communications.

References
Senour, Adam. 12 February 2005. Effective Email Communication. StudioMatrix. Retrieved June 17, 2008, from http://www.studiomatrix.com/marketing/article0025.shtml
80% of Users Prefer E-Mail as Business Communication Tool. Mariosalexandrou. Retrieved June 17, 2008, from http://www.mariosalexandrou.com/technology-trends/2003/80-percent-of-users-prefer-email.asp
McClean, Chris. 2004. How Can Email Communication Affect Your Business. Pertinent Information. Retrieved June 17, 2004, from http://www.pertinent.com/articles/
communication/chrisCom1.asp
Jackson, Tom., Dawson, Ray., and Wilson, Darren. Improving the Communications Process:  The costs and effectiveness of email compared with traditional media. Retrieved June 17, 2008, from http://homepage.ntlworld.com/cotwj1/pdf/Inspire%201999.pdf