Article Critique #3

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Chapter 8

Organizational Media and Information Technologies

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The newest computer can merely compound the oldest problem in the relations between human beings, and in the end the

communicator will be confronted with the old problem, of what to

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say and how to say it. —Edward R. Murrow

Learning Objectives What We Will Be Investigating:

Examine the growing role of information technologies as mediated communication in modern organizational life. Identify the variety of low-tech and high-tech communication technologies used in mediated organizational communication. Describe the advantages and disadvantages to using mediated channels of organizational communication. Identify strategies for building technologically adaptive organizations that are prepared for the development and introduction of new communication media, technologies, and software. Examine how to leverage the advantages provided by the use of mediated channels of communication while minimizing the potential disadvantages that can arise when using these channels.

Modern organizations use a wide variety of communication channels. In earlier chapters, we focused primarily on the use of face-to-face (F2F) communication channels. This chapter expands our focus to different mediated channels of communication used by organizational participants. Mediated channels include a wide range of print media (books, memos, letters, pamphlets, newsletters, etc.), telephonic media (landlines, cell phones, smart phones, fax machines, etc.), computers (desktop computers, laptops, tablets, networked computer systems, etc.) and mobile devices (smart phones). In recent years, organizational communicators have become increasingly dependent on mediated channels of communication to accomplish their organizational goals.

As we have discussed throughout this book, a wide range of messages are exchanged in organizational life. These messages are delivered in numerous ways, with differing levels of in�luence on their intended audiences. With the rapid advance of new communication technologies, increasing numbers of organizational messages are delivered through technology-mediated channels such as phones, computers, and videoconference equipment. Growth in the widespread use of mobile communication technologies has enabled organizational participants to exchange messages wherever they may be at all times of the day. Of course, organization members also

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continue to use low-tech mediated channels of communication, such as memos, letters, and manuals. Strategic organizational communicators learn how to use these high-tech and low-tech mediated channels of communication together effectively, and they carefully integrate the use of mediated communication with face-to-face human interactions.

This chapter examines the growing dependence on a broad range of traditional and new communication media and technologies in modern organizational life. It examines the relative strengths and weaknesses of using different communication channels and media to guide informed decisions about how to best use communication tools to achieve organizational goals. It also describes strategies for coordinating the use of traditional communication (such as face-to-face, memos and letters, etc.) with newer digital, mobile, and social media (such as email, videoconferencing, intranets, websites, blogs, smart phones, etc.). It also analyzes strategies for building technologically adaptive organizations that are prepared for the development and introduction of new communication media, technologies, and software. The chapter concludes with a case study that illustrates the powerful in�luence of communication media and information technologies on modern organizations.

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What is the small-world phenomenon?

8.1 Mediated Channels

As organizational enterprises become increasingly complex, involving participants from a variety of locations—spread across buildings, cities, regions, nations, and countries—there is an increasing need to use mediated channels of communication to stay in touch with distant organizational partners. In this section, we look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of mediated channels of communication.

Advantages of Mediated Channels

Mediated channels of communication provide many useful information exchange opportunities and advantages to organizations. For example, technology-mediated communication channels often enable users to quickly and ef�iciently reach many different organizational participants in a variety of locations, making it easier for them to share information and coordinate activities from anywhere in the world. This has led to the small-world phenomenon, which refers to the ability to establish and maintain relationships and close coordination with organizational partners in many different locations (Kreps, 1988). The small-world phenomenon has helped increase familiarity and interaction between people who would normally have minimal opportunities for interpersonal contact. It has also led to the growth of interorganizational cooperative ventures, such as multinational corporations, global sporting events, and international government alliances. We'll discuss the small-world phenomenon in more detail in Chapter 10.

Mobile communication channels are especially convenient in a wide range of places and times, whenever and wherever organizational participants need to be in touch. Such mobile communication channels have helped to extend the range of organizational activities beyond the traditional workplace and workweek. For example, the use of telecommuting has enabled employees to work at organizations that are distant from their homes. In my university department in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area, we employ a research professor from Northern California who works on conducting surveys, analyzing data from studies, and publishing research results, while rarely coming to campus. She conducts virtually all of her

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work via computer and phone. Furthermore, many technology-mediated communication channels have introduced useful automated features, such as built-in address books, automatic connections, global positioning systems (GPS), and data analysis tools that make them convenient and powerful. A number of technology-mediated channels also have the ability to record (via audio, video, and text) transcripts of communication events, preserving messages for later review.

Disadvantages of Mediated Channels

Unfortunately, some of the advantages provided by mediated channels of communication can also pose signi�icant challenges and limitations. As we have discussed, organizational participants typically operate in complex, multichannel media environments, with a range of media used to convey messages. The interplay between organizational communication across a range of channels and media is often referred to as the media mix. Often, the mix of messages in modern organizations is haphazard and uncontrolled, resulting in organizational participants being exposed to an abundance of information, contradictory messages, and unclear messages that can lead to information overload. Information overload occurs when so many different messages are impinging on a person that the person has dif�iculty making sense of all the information available. When experiencing information overload, organizational participants often become confused, frustrated, and even irritable (Kreps, 1990). This is clearly not the best set of conditions for conducting organizational activities. In increasingly fast-paced, multichannel organizational communication contexts, the opportunity for information overload is high. Strategic organizational communicators therefore develop effective strategies to help organization members cope with the competing sources of information available to them and thereby avoid information overload.

Another disadvantage of technology-mediated channels of communication is that organizational participants who do not have access to the latest and most powerful communication technologies due to limited availability, limited organizational technical infrastructure, or the high expense of advanced equipment may be at a signi�icant disadvantage compared to those who do have the latest and best media tools. Those organizational participants who do not have access to media tools may miss out on important organizational messages and will not have as many opportunities to provide information and input to organizational operations as those who do have the best communication tools.

Meanwhile, those organizational participants who do have access to advanced communication technologies often need training to learn how to effectively operate the tools they wield. It can be challenging to use computer technologies or advanced software to achieve organizational goals, yet with the swift advances in technology, there is increasing demand for organizational participants to quickly learn how to use the latest media tools effectively. The constant and rapid introduction of new information technologies has spawned the development and introduction of technology training programs in many organizations to help members keep abreast of the correct use of

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How have tablet computers changed the airline industry?

the latest media tools. The introduction of new information tools has also led to the introduction of technology development and maintenance departments, whose personnel keep busy installing, updating, and repairing organizational media.

Another drawback of certain mediated channels of communication is their limited capacity to send and receive the full range of relevant messages, which can constrain communication. For example, text messaging, although convenient, is limited to the expression of short written messages. Similarly, conventional telephones enable users to exchange only auditory cues, limiting the expression of a wide range of nonverbal messages. Email, faxes, and websites can often feel overly formal and distant to users. Strategic organizational communicators therefore learn to leverage the advantages provided by such mediated channels of communication while minimizing the potential disadvantages that can arise when using these channels. Let's now turn our attention to a closer look at print and text-based media.

Organizations in Action: Introducing Tablets to Cockpits at United Continental

The Problem: Airline pilots were increasingly being forced to carry around, from airport to airport, a weighty suitcase full of paper maps, charts, and schedules. A pilot's "�light bag" was �illed with logbooks, weather forecasts, operating manuals, reference books, �light checklists, navigation charts, and other materials that pilots had to have at the tip of their �ingers in the cockpit. A typical pilot carried about 12,000 sheets of paper weighing 38 pounds. Not only was all of this printed material not readily updatable, but also it was hardly a "green" practice. However, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations prohibited mobile electronics from being a sole information source for airline pilots, out of fear that the devices would fail at higher altitudes.

The Solution: A Boeing subsidiary company called Jeppesen saw a market need waiting to be �illed, and, utilizing a tablet application called "FliteDeck," it began digitizing all of that �light bag paper. The FAA engaged in rigorous testing of tablet computers, including simulating rapid decompression at over 50,000 feet. In February 2011, after the tablets were found to perform effectively, the FAA changed its regulations and allowed pilots to use tablets instead of paper. Suddenly, airlines and pilots had the choice of carrying around 38 pounds of paper, or carrying a 1.5-pound tablet computer. The choice was obvious.

In May 2011, a few months after the FAA ruling, Alaska Airlines began giving its pilots Apple iPads, and by the end of the summer of 2011, United Airlines and Continental

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Airlines (which were in the process of merging) became the �irst major airlines to provide iPad technology to all 11,000 of their pilots. Now, United and Continental pilots have the

essential information updated in real-time at their �ingertips from departure gate to arrival gate for every �light. Parent company United Continental Holdings says it saves 16 million sheets of paper, and, through the reduction in weight, could save over 325,000 gallons of jet fuel annually.

Critical Thinking Questions:

1. Can you think of other new communication innovations whose adoption was delayed by regulations? Are regulators being overly cautious or just plain old-fashioned? Should we as a society be willing to forge ahead, or is it best to take a "go-slow" stance in the adoption of some technologies?

2. As a student, have you encountered high school or university regulations that prohibit mobile devices? Why do you think such rules are in place?

3. What do you think the future will hold for replacing paper with mobile communication devices? Can you think of other uses, and what would you need to do to work toward developing the technology app to market such an innovation?

Source:

Murray, P. (2011, September 3). United and Continental Airlines go paperless: Give their pilots 11,000 iPads. Singularity Hub. Retreived from http://singularityhub.com/2011/09/03/united-and-continental-airlines-go-paperless-give-their-pilots-11000-ipads/ (http://singularityhub.com/2011/09/03/united-and-continental-airlines-go-paperless-give-their-pilots-11000-ipads/)

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What are some organizational communication functions of mobile technology?

8.2 Print and Text-Based Media

The written word is perhaps the most basic form of mediated organizational communication. Memos, notes, letters, manuals, pamphlets, newsletters, press releases, and billboards are among the most commonly used traditional (that is, low-tech) mediated organizational communication channels that depend on the use of the printed word. For example, many organizations depend on newsletters and organizational magazines to communicate with their own members as well as with key external publics. Effectively written and designed newsletters and magazines can therefore perform important internal and external organizational communication functions by disseminating relevant organizational information, chronicling organizational accomplishments and milestones, and reinforcing organizational image and culture.

Similarly, carefully prepared media releases can help promote positive media coverage about organizations that can reach broad audiences. Media coverage of organizations can serve an important branding and agenda-setting function by raising organizations' public pro�iles and creating organizational identity with key publics, such as potential customers, supporters, and regulators. Branding involves establishing a clear image for the organization through the ways the organization communicates, such as the use of organizational taglines (such as Nike's "Just Do It"), logos, and advertising. Agenda setting involves raising public consciousness about key organizational issues, activities, and products, typically involving the use of news stories about the organization carried by both organizational media (such as websites and brochures) and external media (such as newspapers and television), media releases, and organizational advertising. Of course, more advanced electronic organizational communication technologies, such as websites, email, and text messaging, also rely on the written word (text) to communicate with organizational participants.

It is almost impossible to participate actively in modern organizational life without developing good reading and writing skills. Consider your experiences as a student. You have undoubtedly depended on your reading and writing skills to apply for admission to school, to enroll in classes, to learn about course requirements, to study course materials, to prepare your assignments, and to take exams. And

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Most of what we encode into memory is information that is a byproduct of everyday life and will soon be forgotten. It is only information or events that we give attention and attach meaning to that are likely to be remembered later. To think about: how is encoding particularly relevant when multiple types of media

Encoding: Ge�ng Informa�on In

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now, as you review this chapter, you are using your reading skills to learn about organizational communication. Similarly, participants in most organizations depend on their ability to read and write messages conveyed via a variety of low-tech and high-tech communication channels in order to perform their jobs.

Encoding and Decoding

Two primary communication processes are involved in the effective use of print and text-based media in organizational life: the encoding and decoding processes.

Encoding refers to the important message development challenges facing organizational participants who prepare memos, letters, press releases, advertising copy, reports, newsletters, and other text-based media. Message developers such as writers and editors must carefully compose written materials to meet the needs of key audiences. Decoding refers to the important audience interpretation challenges confronting organizational participants who need to make sense of the written word in print and other text-based media. Organizational participants who are the consumers of written materials must take care to attend to and accurately interpret important written texts.

Those organizational participants who encode organizational messages must make strategic choices regarding the best media to use (i.e., reports, email, faxes, memos, pamphlets, web pages, etc.), the best design features for these media (i.e., graphics, layout, font style and size, colors, etc.), and the most effective written messages to prepare for distinct organizational situations and audiences. To reach different audiences, organizational representatives need to select the right media that these audiences are likely to use and pay attention to. For example, when trying to reach a teenage audience, it would be a good idea to use popular websites and social media to send messages. However, to reach wealthy retired individuals, these channels would not likely work as well. It might be better to use the Wall Street Journal and television news shows to reach this audience. The following are a few of the many questions those who encode messages must ask:

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are competing for your attention at work? And, based on what you've learned in this video, how would you present information to help as many people as possible remember it?

Which print media are most likely to effectively convey written messages to my targeted audience? Which print media are targeted audience members most likely to use? How much time and energy are organizational participants likely to expend on attending to speci�ic written materials? Which messages are likely to resonate with speci�ic audiences, eliciting the development of rich and in�luential meanings?

Based on the answers to these questions, strategic organizational communicators make informed choices about the best media channels, messages, and design features to use to reach and in�luence key audience members.

Time and Attention

The issues of time, attention, communication capacity, and message exposure have become increasingly important criteria when designing print media. Since organizational participants are busy with a variety of organizational demands, they may not take the time and effort to pay attention to all the written messages they receive. For example, they may settle for rapidly scanning written messages to get a general picture of what is being expressed instead of engaging in a detailed review of written materials to develop a clear understanding of these written texts. This tendency to scan rather than read documents generally leads to organizational members missing important information and making mistakes that may have serious organizational consequences.

Think about your own attention to the email, text messages, and other forms of written communication you receive each day. Do you carefully review all these messages? How much of the content of these messages do you miss? To overcome this problem, organizational writers must do the following:

Make their written documents distinctive, interesting, and provocative to capture audience members' attention. Make their written documents brief, clear, and to-the-point so audience members can make sense of the main issues covered quickly and easily. Consider using an outline format, short declarative sentences, and/or bulleted points to more effectively convey key messages to busy organizational participants.

Selective Perception

Earlier in this book, we discussed the selective perception process, in which strategic organizational communicators make active decisions every moment to help them make sense of all the messages available to them. In selective perception, organizational

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participants focus in on key messages (selective attention), block out of their consciousness less important messages (habituation), and interpret the messages they have attended to (closure).

This selective perception process is most relevant to the strategic interpretation of written messages. Organizational communicators therefore need to carefully determine which written messages to focus on and which ones to skim. They must make good decisions about what the written documents mean and how they should respond to the content in these documents. Organizational participants who spend limited energy on selective perception may miss a good deal of important information. These communicators often habituate key messages and reach premature closure about the texts they need to understand. This can be dangerous and lead to serious mistakes.

As consumers of written messages in organizational life, we must carefully process written information so we can use it to guide our activities. Many of us receive hundreds of email, memos, letters, and other written materials in a given day. We need to quickly prioritize which of these messages are most important to attend to right away, and which can wait until we have more time to carefully review them. It is important to distinguish between which messages are most organizationally relevant (such as directives for immediate action from your boss) and which messages may be less critical to the accomplishment of your job (such as advertisements and spam).

The Importance of Reading Skills

Earlier in this book we described listening as an important communication competency in modern organizational life. Similarly, reading is a critical organizational communication competency. Organizational participants with limited literacy levels may need training to enhance their reading skills. In fact, the U.S. Department of Education recently found that a signi�icant proportion of the adult American public has problems with reading, suggesting that many organizational participants have problems reading organizational texts and accessing relevant organizational information (Baer, Kutner, & Sabatini, 2009).

Even organizational participants with strong reading skills may need help making sense of written organizational messages. These participants must invest time and energy to carefully review written materials, and sometimes the sheer amount of materials that organization members need to review can be overwhelming, especially for top executives, scientists, and other professionals. In these cases, it may be wise to hire specialists, such as librarians and content editors, to review and condense written materials into executive summaries for key organization members. As a college student, you most likely relate to this as you may be overwhelmed by the amount of written materials you need to read. You therefore must develop attention and time-management strategies to tackle the reading demands that come with taking college classes.

The Importance of Design and Message Testing

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How might you use message testing in your organizations?

Message developers must also make strategic choices about how print media are designed and how written messages are composed. Too often, the print materials we encounter do not communicate their intended messages effectively. For example, the pharmaceutical industry has relied for many years on medication package inserts—the small slips of paper placed in medication boxes that list the ingredients, correct uses, and potential side effects of medications—to communicate about prescribed medications with consumers. Have you ever read a medication package insert? Many medication users do not pay close attention to these inserts because they are not easy to read. First of all, the print is usually extremely small. Next, the language is often very complicated and technical, making the information dif�icult to understand. Finally, the inserts are written in a style that appears to meet legal requirements for informed consent but not in a manner that is appropriate to the information needs of most consumers.

Is it any wonder that many patients do not understand basic information about the medications they have been prescribed? In fact, evidence suggests that as many as half of all consumers fail to take their medications as prescribed, with many of these consumers saying they do not understand why they need to take their medications at all (Kreps et al., 2011). This is obviously not a wise communication decision by pharmaceutical companies, which need to communicate information about their medications to consumers to promote the correct use of the drugs as well as to encourage consumer adherence to prescription recommendations.

Similarly, many technology manufacturers have not done a good job designing and writing the instruction manuals they provide to consumers with new computers and other products. Have you tried to read an instruction manual only to �ind it confusing, boring, and cumbersome?

This common problem leads to many errors in setting up and using new computer equipment. How do you think this affects consumer satisfaction with the new equipment and satisfaction with the equipment manufacturers (Schriver, 1997)?

Organizational participants must therefore take care to use clear and appropriate written language for their intended audiences. Using relevant examples that speak to readers' experiences and interests, and including clear diagrams can help clarify complex topics. Text must be formatted so that it is easy for key audiences to see and read. This not only means that the words are easily understood but that

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the design is attractive and that the text is brief enough to minimize information overload but complete enough to provide readers with all the information they need.

The best way to determine whether written messages are likely to communicate effectively to targeted audience members is to conduct message testing. Message testing is a form of user-centered research that involves presenting written texts to samples of readers representing the audiences the texts are being developed for, asking these readers to provide feedback about their interpretation of the messages, and encouraging them to provide suggestions about the best message strategies to convey the intended information to them. Data from message testing can help organizational members make sure they develop appropriate and effective written texts.

Improving Organizational Writing

Good writers are in high demand in modern organizational life. For example, the ability to write a clear and concise memo, a well- organized and complete report, and an interesting and compelling proposal are important communication skills for many organizational participants.

Writing is an important part of using organizational media. This is especially true for organizations that depend on written text for their websites, advertising materials, and electronic correspondence. Organizational participants with strong writing skills can perform important functions in organizations as writers and editors. The demand for effective writing skills is especially important for formal organizational leaders. Yet good writing skills are not widespread in many organizations. Such writing skills do not come naturally to most people; they must be carefully nurtured and developed.

Writing experts recommend that the �irst step to good organizational writing is careful analysis of the information needs, reading characteristics, and communication orientations of intended audiences. As in all forms of communication, it is a good strategy in written communication to adapt messages to speci�ic audiences to insure that the messages meet audience expectations and communication competencies. The following are some questions that should guide message development:

Does the target audience need the information being presented? Will target audience members be receptive to the messages being sent? Are the messages written using language that the target audience members will understand? Are the messages written in a way that will be interesting to the target audience? Do the messages provide target audience members with information they can use in organizational life?

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As noted earlier, message developers should also pay close attention to the overall design of documents. Some key print design features include strategic use of color and of typeface styles and sizes. Message developers must ensure the legibility of text and establish appropriate sentence and paragraph lengths. They must also make decisions about the use of bullets and numbering, the spacing of text on the page, as well as the use of examples, charts, diagrams, and pictures.

A great deal of attention has been given in recent years to promoting the use of plain language in both print and web-based texts. The plain language movement developed in recognition of the limited literacy levels of many audience members. Plain language involves writing text on a basic (usually no higher than a sixth grade) reading level that will be understood by most audiences. However, many organizational materials—particularly academic, scienti�ic, technical, and health-related information—are written in ways that are far too complex for most readers to understand.

Similarly, numbers and statistics should be used appropriately to match the numeracy levels (the ability to understand numerical information) of targeted audiences. Message developers must take care to use appropriate and easy-to-understand language and numerical examples if they want their written materials to be effective forms of organizational communication.

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8.3 Telephonic Media

The telephone—from landlines, to cell phones, to fax machines, and so on—has become an essential tool for many organizational participants, especially for those holding jobs concerning survey research, sales, telemarketing, customer service, technical support, and reception. Although most people assume that speaking with others over the phone involves the same communication dynamics as speaking with others in person, this is not true. There are a number of key differences between telephone and face-to-face communication. Some of these differences can afford telephone communicators with certain advantages over those communicating in person, which we'll discuss next. However, some of the unique features of telephonic communication can lead to disadvantages for organizational communicators in comparison to face-to-face interaction.

Advantages to Telephonic Communication

One clear advantage provided by telephonic communication is the ability to easily span geographic distances—to connect with others in different locations around the globe. With conference calling features, organizational communicators can interact simultaneously over the phone with many different people in different locations. Using the telephone to communicate with distant organizational participants can be much more convenient and far less expensive than visiting people in person who are located far away. This can also save a lot of time.

Another potential advantage to telephonic communication is the privacy and partial anonymity it can afford communicators. In most telephone interactions, the person you are speaking to can't see you. That person can't tell what you look like, how you are dressed, how old you are, and what other visual nonverbal cues you are providing. This enables communicators to conceal certain aspects of their identity relatively easily over the phone. This can be very useful for impression management—in�luencing the ways that other people perceive you.

For example, in certain situations, communicators may want the person they are speaking with on the phone to perceive them in certain ways, perhaps as well educated, mature, and trustworthy. Over the phone, a communicator can mask some of the visual cues that might not support these personal perceptions, such as the way the speaker is dressed or the speaker's age. Furthermore, skilled telephone communicators can adapt their speaking voices while on the phone to reinforce impressions about their personal characteristics. They can also adjust their speech to match the vocal characteristics of the individuals they are speaking with to help establish a personal bond with them. Telemarketers often use this strategy to in�luence customers over the phone. Similarly, executives, salespeople, and customer relations specialists do their best to build identi�ication between themselves and the individuals they are working with. Matching

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What are the pros and cons of using phones as means of organizational communication?

nonverbal cues is a powerful way to build identi�ication, and it is often easier to match the limited number of nonverbal cues available when communicating over the telephone and other electronic media.

Disadvantages to Telephonic Communication

On the other hand, telephonic communication can be a less immediate (i.e., less dynamic, exciting, and involving) and a less personal channel for communication than face-to-face communication. The reason for this loss of immediacy is the absence of visual cues such as eye contact and facial expressions that cannot be conveyed via the phone. Skilled telephone communicators learn how to use their vocal cues to lend excitement and interest to telephone interactions. They use vocal expression, pacing (how quickly they speak and respond), volume, vivid language, and emphasis to increase the immediacy of phone conversations.

Another disadvantage to telephonic communication is the tendency for misunderstandings to occur between communicators. Without the normal visual cues available to them, telephonic communicators depend entirely on what they hear to interpret messages from their partners. Sometimes, particularly when the telephone connection is not very strong or when complex information is conveyed quickly over the phone, messages can become jumbled, and mistakes in interpretation often occur. Unless communicators carefully repeat important information, there is limited opportunity to review information exchanged during phone calls to help clarify messages and enhance understanding.

Telephone Etiquette

Learning how to communicate effectively over the phone may take training. Telephone communicators need to learn how to express themselves concisely, clearly, and emphatically. Some organizations have established systems of telephone etiquette, composed of cultural norms, for strategic telephone communication. The following are a number of these common telephone etiquette norms:

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Announce yourself when speaking on the phone (especially on group conference calls); your telephonic partners can't see who is talking (unless, of course, you are using a video phone or a technology like Skype). Express yourself concisely, with short, clear sentences. Use strategically varied paralinguistic cues, such as tone, expression, and volume, to enhance listener interest and increase communication dynamism. Use vocal cues to coordinate turn taking so that communicators can avoid interrupting others on the phone. This can be especially tricky when participating in a conference call with a number of participants. Remember to communicate politely, sensitively, and clearly.

There are also rules about the appropriate length of telephone calls. Savvy organizational communicators make appointments ahead of time for business calls and schedule the calls for convenient times and durations with the individuals with whom they would like to speak. Violations of telephone etiquette can alienate communicators from one another and undermine the cooperation needed for effective organizing.

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8.4 Video-Based Media

The use of video technology—that is, the use of moving video footage on websites, smart phones, teleconferencing, and other electronic media—is becoming increasingly popular in many organizations. Video-based programs are used often in modern organizations for consumer education and employee training purposes. For example, organizations that use advanced technologies to build products are likely to use specialized video programs to train workers about how to correctly use specialized equipment. Similarly, video programs are used by many organizations to provide ethics training to employees as well as training related to topics such as privacy, race relations, sexual harassment, con�lict of interest, and credit card uses and reconciliation.

Video programs are also used by many organizations to educate consumers about how to set up and use their products. Health care delivery systems often show video programs to patients to explain complex medical procedures, to prepare them for surgery, and to teach them how to follow complex therapeutic protocols after leaving the hospital. It has become relatively common for organizations to show video promotion programs as a form of publicity at internal and external stakeholder meetings. These video promotion programs are often produced to share information about organizational products, services, events, and milestones.

The use of promotional videos grows out of the long-standing external organizational communication practice of producing video-based commercials for advertising purposes. Many large for-pro�it, not-for-pro�it, and government organizations have established their own video production units that script and produce video programs, record meetings, and provide organizational (in-house) video services. These production units often have signi�icant communication budgets dedicated to covering the costs of producing video-based advertising and promotion programs. For example, most hospitals and medical centers have their own audio-visual departments capable of executing a wide range of video production tasks. A number of organizations also hire independent communication companies (such as production houses and advertising agencies) to handle video production work.

Videoconferencing

Videoconferencing has also become a popular organizational application of video technology. In traditional videoconferencing, participants gathered in two or more specially equipped videoconference studios. Newer technologies such as Skype have made it easier for organizational participants to teleconference without complex video technology infrastructures. Group member activities are captured on sound and picture signals that are sent back and forth instantly so all participants can hear and see each other in real time. Obviously, the use of videoconferencing can save a great deal of time and expense for organization members who do not have to travel to remote locations to participate in important meetings. On the other hand, group members lose some of the immediacy of having all the meeting

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When is videoconferencing an adequate alternative to in- person meetings? When is it not?

participants in the same room at the same time. It is important for participants in these videoconferences to actively engage the remote members, encourage active interaction and exchange, and follow up with remote participants on group decisions and tasks.

The Effectiveness of Video Programs

Numerous issues in�luence the effectiveness of the use of video technologies in organizational life. Similar to the issues we discussed earlier regarding print media, video media programs must be designed to meet the communication needs, expectations, and competencies of the organizational participants who will use these media products. The following are some questions creators of video programs must ask:

How well are the video programs scripted to meet the information needs, communication skill levels, and interests of their intended audiences? How easy will it be for targeted audiences to access and use these video technologies? Are the video programs engaging, interesting, clear, and persuasive?

As in all forms of organizational communication, strategic organizational communicators must design video programs with target audiences in mind. Messages conveyed on videos must be clear, relevant, interesting, and compelling. Video equipment also must be easily

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accessible to users and easy for organizational participants to operate.

The effectiveness of video programs as forms of organizational communication is also dependent largely on the quality of media production. How good are the production values of the video programs, including the use of interesting and relevant visuals, clear and compelling sound, and editing that captures and keeps audience attention? High quality video production can be time consuming and expensive. Keeping organizational video programs up-to-date is also a challenge, since many things change in organizational life. For example, a video program describing the correct operation of technical equipment can quickly become obsolete when new equipment models are introduced and adopted within organizations. There are also limited opportunities for interaction and feedback with audiences when using video programs to increase understanding and to answer any questions that might arise. That is why some organizations provide live support and feedback sessions when they show videos to answer questions and increase audience understanding.

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8.5 Computer Media

Many organizational participants spend the majority of their time each day logged on to computer systems. Computers serve a wide range of organizational functions. Organizational participants use their computers to communicate with others via email, discussion boards, and blogs. They also use specialized software to perform complex and tedious organizational tasks, such as �illing out and maintaining forms for purchasing, budgeting, and inventory control. The ability for computers to automate many of these functions has helped to improve task ef�iciency and effectiveness in organizations. Many organizations have developed their own intranets—specialized in-house computer portals that provide organization members, certain suppliers and customers, and other key constituents with access to specialized organizational information and support. Computers therefore provide organizational participants with an invaluable range of tools to support their accomplishment of critical organizational activities.

Company Websites

Most organizations use company websites as a primary channel for communicating with their internal employees and customers. Typically, company websites provide information about the organizational mission, goals, history, products, and personnel. Such websites may also provide customers with information about products and services and organization members with information about organizational activities, processes, and regulations. Well-designed websites can be effective channels for organizational communication. However, many organizational websites are not well designed or easy to navigate. In addition, the language used on some websites is dif�icult to understand. When creating organizational websites, strategic communicators must take into account these and other important website features.

Several web-based communication theorists have recommended the use of message chunking—providing information in short bulleted sections surrounded by white space—as a strategy for increasing the understandability of information on websites and minimizing information overload for users. The best way to determine whether websites are meeting the needs of organizational users is to conduct usability studies on the websites. Usability studies involve observing typical users navigating the website, asking them to �ind information on the website, and asking them questions about what they like and don't like about the website. Usability studies help to promote user-centered design that can guide the development of websites that meet user needs and abilities.

There are a number of established strategies for designing the presentation of information on websites so the information can be easily understood. Computer usability theorist Jakob Nielson (1999) makes the following suggestions for writing for the web:

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Do you know what all of these computer risks are?

Be succinct: write no more than 50% of the text you would normally have used in a hardcopy print publication. Write for scannability: (text that is chunked for easy skimming ) don't require users to read long continuous blocks of text. Use hypertext (text displayed with references, or hyperlinks, to other text that the reader can immediately access) to split long information into multiple pages.

How effective is your school's website at providing you with information? Is it easy to read and understand? Is it interesting and engaging? How might the website be improved?

Special Issues Related to Organizational Computing

Modern organizational computing is a complex technological process that demands specialized knowledge. A great deal of time and energy is spent in many organizations on purchasing the best computer equipment to meet organizational needs. Care must also be taken to design appropriate and usable software to address speci�ic organizational tasks (such as purchasing, accounting, budgeting, and ordering functions).

As computer technologies have advanced and older equipment and programs have become obsolete, it has become necessary to introduce new equipment and software into organizations on a regular basis. It is crucial to provide computer training for organizational participants so they can use computer systems and software correctly. Specialized technical staff members are also often needed to maintain, install, repair, and upgrade computer systems. Technical staff members must be able to communicate well with a broad range of computer users to help these users debug the different problems they encounter when using computers and to help these users learn how to use their computers effectively. It is often a complex process for organizations and organizational participants to keep up with the advances in computer technologies.

Computer systems are designed to provide organizational participants with sophisticated technical tools to help them quickly access information, accomplish organizational tasks, and enable electronic communication. However, computers are also a source of problems in organizational life. For example, computer systems are not always used in the ways that organization leaders wish for them to be used. In some organizations, workers spend a great deal of time engaging in non-work-related activities via computer, such as exchanging

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personal email with family and friends, watching YouTube videos, and shopping online. In some cases, workers spend more time and effort on these non-work-related activities than they do using their computers to work on organizational business. This has become a growing problem in many organizations.

Some workers also use their of�ice computers to communicate inappropriately with others via computer. In fact, there have been growing numbers of violations of communication ethics and etiquette with the use of computers in modern organizational life. Worse, some organizational participants share and download inappropriate and even illegal materials via their of�ice computers. There have also been serious incidents reported where organizational participants have used their computers to send intimidating and manipulating messages to others, sometimes referred to as cyber bullying.

Meanwhile, computer hackers have breached the security of organizational computer systems, including government computer systems, to access and steal proprietary information. Malicious computer programs (malware and spyware) and viruses have been introduced into organizational computers to infect computer systems and to spy on the activities and private information of computer users. Scam artists have been using computers to trick computer users into buying false and sometimes dangerous products and services online. There is de�initely a darker side to computer use in modern organizational life that has challenged the ethics of appropriate organizational communication.

Computer Etiquette and Security

It has become increasingly important for organizations to provide computer and email protocol training for organization members to teach computer etiquette for users. These training programs recommend the appropriate use of email, including appropriate uses of language and images, tactful decision making about whom to copy messages to, and acceptable topics for electronic communication. Moreover, computer training programs can help organization members develop computer literacy, so they can evaluate the credibility of information obtained via computer, avoid malicious computer infections and computer scams, and effectively interpret information obtained online.

Increasingly, modern organizations are employing computer surveillance services and technologies to help maintain computer security. Surveillance systems are used to track the use of computer systems by organizational participants, a process that has become known as panopticon (Botan, 1996; Taekke, 2011). These computer surveillance activities have been justi�ied as a way to protect organizations from illegal uses of their computer systems, but others have been concerned about the growth in organizational computer panopticon as an invasion of individual privacy (Botan, 1996). However, there are compelling needs in organizational life for maintaining computer

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security to promote information con�identiality, integrity, availability and authenticity. Effective computer security systems do the following:

They help to preserve information con�identiality to prevent disclosure of organizational information to unauthorized individuals. They maintain information integrity to make sure that organizational data cannot be undetectably modi�ied. They preserve information availability for users by making sure that systems are not shut down due to unforeseen or malicious events. They ensure information authenticity to make sure that all computer-based transactions are genuine and not fraudulent.

Many organizational participants fail to recognize that their online computer activities can be monitored by their organizations with the use of computer surveillance systems. They often engage in communication activities online, such as visiting inappropriate websites, sending personal email, and representing their organizations in an unfavorable light, that they would not like their supervisors to know about. Online surveillance can readily detect these computer-based communication infractions, which can lead to serious problems for organization members who use their computers inappropriately. Electronic surveillance can also result in reduced trust between organization members and organizational leadership. The clear lesson here for strategic organizational communicators is to be judicious about their use of organizational computers.

Social Media

In recent years, many organizations have begun to deliver written messages via social media (such as Facebook and Twitter) to provide organizational participants with organizational updates, invitations, and instructions. Social media have become increasingly popular and trusted sources of information for many people because of the similarities and shared interests between members of these social networks. Yet, it is important to determine whether the intended audiences for key messages are regular social network users and are likely to have easy access to these media programs. Do they use computers for business purposes outside of the of�ice? Are these social media networks the channels of communication that they want to use to access of�icial organizational information?

Similarly, blogs have become popular sources for information in organizational life. Blogs are websites that display linked user commentaries (such as Twitter), descriptions of events, or other material, such as videos online. Specialized blogs examine organizational activities, political events, and other public issues, providing organizational participants with access to a wide range of relevant information. However, care must be taken to carefully assess the accuracy of information accessed on blogs since the sources of information presented may have hidden agendas or limited expertise about the subjects they are writing about.

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8.6 Mobile Media

As we discussed earlier in the chapter, with advances in mobile communication technologies, it has become easier for organizational participants to access and use relevant communication media wherever they may be. For example, cell phones have liberated organization members from their dependence on landlines located in their homes and of�ices. They can reach others and others can reach them no matter where they travel, as long as they have their cell phones with them. Similarly, the growing use of networked laptops, netbooks, tablets, and smartphones has enabled organizational participants to access websites, exchange email and text messages, and engage in other organizational activities wherever they go. This means that organization participants can now conduct many tasks outside of the of�ice, beyond normal business hours, and at virtually any time and in any place.

However, mobile communication has also tended to expand the work hours for many organizational participants and increased organizational expectations about how much work they can accomplish. There has been a growing loss of privacy for many organizational participants, who can now be easily reached outside of the of�ice. It has become increasingly challenging for modern organizational participants to maintain a balance between their work and personal lives due to increased access and demand for interaction via electronic media. Care must be taken to maximize the bene�its of mobile communication, while minimizing its detriments.

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8.7 Media Convergence

Technological advances have also led to media convergence, where a number of powerful communication technologies have been miniaturized and integrated into small mobile organizational communication devices. There are now also ways to blend media used together, such as using the Internet to conduct surveys and interviews that might have been conducted in person or via telephone in the past. Modern mobile computing technologies, such as laptops, netbooks, and tablets, are being designed to integrate a broad range of computing and media activities, including audio-video playback, recording, and editing; word processing and publishing functions, phone and fax capabilities, printing capabilities, and advanced data processing. Organizational participants can carry an entire suite of organizational communication functions with them in one small advanced mobile communication device. Computer-based presentation software now allows organizational participants to make presentations at meetings that integrate projected slides of text, images, sounds, music, and video clips, providing audience members with rich multimedia messages.

This convergence of communication technologies has the potential to revolutionize organizational communication by

increasing interaction between organizational participants, enabling advanced production of organizational communication media (text, audio, video, and web-based media), and enhancing the productivity of organization members in accomplishing important tasks.

However, like other forms of mediated organizational communication, there are challenges to the effective use of these new media devices. Organization members must be carefully trained to use these modern devices effectively and appropriately. Technical support is needed to help install, maintain, repair, and debug new communication equipment. Communication devices must also be judiciously updated and introduced to users as media changes are warranted by developing technological advances.

Organizational members must also learn that the use of new media devices does not replace the need for personal, face-to-face communication with other organizational participants. The use of new media channels is a powerful supplement to more traditional channels for organizational communication. They are not a substitute for the strategic and integrated use of multiple important channels for organizational communication. It is important for modern organizations to encourage organizational participants to use the wide range of media available to them to make sure they are connecting with everyone they need to interact with and that their messages are being paid attention to. Some organizational participants spend all their time on the computer, even communicating with coworkers down the hall via email. It might be a good idea to actually walk down the hall and say hello to these coworkers from time to time. Additionally, the use of the phone in combination with email to follow up on written messages is often an effective strategy to make sure that others

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have received and are acting on your electronic communication. Sometimes, the use of older media, such as written notes sent via land mail, can elicit greater attention than the use of more commonly used electronic communication channels. Combining the use of different communication media can be a very effective organizational communication strategy.

Case Study: Big Brother and the Holding Company

Samantha (Sam) Jones was recently promoted to a newly created professional position, director of information security, at ABC Holding Company, a large distributed national corporate real estate management �irm with headquarters in New York City and a regional West Coast of�ice in Los Angeles. Sam had worked for ABC Holding at its corporate headquarters for the past seven years, ever since her graduation from Queens College with a bachelor's degree in information technology. During her �irst year at ABC Holding, she served as a computer systems installer. For the next four years, she served as a computer systems repair technician, and for the past two years, she served as the supervisor of computer system technical operations for the company. In her new job, she was charged with maintaining computer system security for the company, which included minimizing security risks to the company's computer systems, promoting appropriate use of company computer systems, and identifying and correcting any computer system and information risk problems.

This new job posed signi�icant challenges for Sam. Although she had a good educational background in computer technology, she had minimal experience with computer systems security. She prepared for her new job challenges by gathering background information about computer security from online sources. She found particularly useful the information provided by the National Institute for Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division website about standards, metrics, tests, and guidelines to increase secure information technology planning, implementation, management, and operation. She also consulted the website for the Information Security Forum (ISF), a global professional association that examines computer security practices. She was so impressed with the information she found on the ISF website that she joined the organization and ordered several relevant publications and related materials from the organization concerning computer security standards and practices. Based on the information she collected from her online research, she prepared a computer security plan report that outlined the recommended steps for implementing the new security plan for the company.

She arranged for a meeting with the ABC Holding corporate leadership team to present her computer security plan and to get their approval to implement it. She emailed a summary of the plan to all the meeting participants prior to the meeting to allow them to review it ahead of time. Most of the local company leaders were able to attend the meeting in person at the corporate of�ices. A few

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leaders who were out of town called in via conference call to participate, and the management team from the ABC Holding Los Angeles of�ice participated in the meeting via a video conferencing system.

The meeting went well. Sam began by showing a short video program that she had ordered from the ISF about computer security needs and guidelines. Then she gave a digital media presentation to the assembled group describing her new computer security program, which followed ISF security guidelines. The presentation integrated text, visuals, background music, and video to illustrate her implementation strategy. Finally, she distributed print materials from the ISF, answered questions, and solicited advice from the group. She received unanimous support from the senior management team for the computer security implementation plan.

A �irst step in the security plan implementation was the installation of surveillance software that tracked computer usage on all of the company's computers. The software was designed to identify risky or illegal communication practices. Sam was surprised at how many computer communication risks were identi�ied in the �irst week the software was in operation at the company. She found that many company computers were being used to visit risky websites and that a number of computers were infected with malware and spyware viruses that posed serious risks to the con�identiality of proprietary company information and even had the potential to shut down the company's entire computer network. Actions were taken to correct these problems. Warnings were provided to problematic computer users about the dire consequences of continued inappropriate use of company computer systems. Technical staff cleansed viruses from infected computers and updated antivirus software on company computers.

Sam arranged to have an online computer security training program installed on the company's computer server. The training program was delivered to all organization members via the company's intranet. Every organization member was required to take the training program and pass a test demonstrating his or her understanding of key computer security guidelines. Any organization member who did not pass the computer security training program test was prohibited from logging on to company computers. However, they were allowed to retake the test until they were able to pass it.

Sam arranged to have the company Internet and computer usage policy statement posted on the entry page of every company computer automatically whenever anyone logged on to one of the computers. The policy statement informed all computer users about the appropriate business use of company computers, identi�ied strategies for maintaining password and �ile security, and warned users that all computer and email usage might be monitored. In addition, the policy statement clearly stated that the use of computers for sexual and any other forms of harassment, as well as for the display or transmission of sexually explicit images, messages, ethnic or racial jokes or cartoons, or anything that could be construed as harassing or disrespectful to others was strictly prohibited. It informed users about the proprietary and correct use of all software. It provided guidelines for responsible and appropriate Internet and email usage. It warned against unauthorized copying of copyrighted materials. It informed users of the company's right to monitor all

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Internet traf�ic, and retrieve and read any data composed, sent, or received through online connections and/or stored in computer systems. It advised that all users were required to take all necessary antivirus precautions and that any abuse of the computer system in violation of law or any company policy would result in strict disciplinary action. The policy statement also provided speci�ic examples of computer activities that were prohibited. Employees were also asked in the statement to notify their immediate supervisor, the Information Security Department, or any member of company management upon learning of violations of the policy.

In addition, Sam arranged for an email re�lecting company computer security guidelines to be sent out from the company president to every employee at ABC Holding. The email clearly listed the key rules and regulations for correct computer use and warned of serious consequences for those who violated any of these regulations. Employees were instructed that, after reading the email, they should respond by clicking on the "I Agree" link at the bottom of the email. This link registered the users that clicked it with the Information Security Department. Any employee who was not registered was barred from logging on to a company computer.

Furthermore, the company Internet and computer usage policy was included in the online and print versions of the ABC Holding Company handbook. Updates to the policy were designed to be provided quarterly in emails to all employees. All members of the company's information technology support staff were trained to identify any breaches in the computer usage policy when they worked on company computers as well as to help employees comply with policy guidelines. Within a few months on the job, the number of computer risks identi�ied by the new surveillance software had decreased dramatically. There were fewer viruses detected, and there were no disruptions to computer operations.

Critical Thinking Questions:

1. How effectively were different media used in this case? Give examples about the use of print media, telephonic media, video media, and computer media.

2. How effectively were the various low-tech and high-tech communication technologies used in this case? Give examples of their uses. 3. Describe the media mix described at ABC Holding in this case study. How well balanced was the use of different communication media and channels? How effectively did Sam balance the use of face-to-face and mediated communication channels?

4. Were there examples of media convergence and the use of mobile communication in this case? How could media convergence and the use of mobile organizational communication affect information security at the ABC Holding?

5. How does this case illustrate communication strategies for building technologically adaptive organizations that are prepared for the development and introduction of new communication media, technologies, and software?

6. What are the unique ethical issues illustrated in this case about the use of computer-mediated channels of communication? Evaluate the effectiveness of Sam's computer security policy statement for addressing these ethical issues. Would you have added or deleted anything to this policy statement? Why?

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7. How did Sam incorporate the use of media training programs into this case? How effective do you think the media training programs described in the case would be for promoting information security?

8. Describe the use of panopticon by the ABC Holding Company in this case. Was the use of panopticon appropriate? What were the effects of panopticon for promoting information security at the company?

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Summary

In recent years, organizational communicators have become increasingly dependent on mediated channels of communication to accomplish their organizational goals. Such technology includes videoconferencing, computer-mediated messages and websites, and mobile devices such as smart phones. Technology-mediated communication enables users to reach many different organizational participants in a variety of locations quickly and ef�iciently, making it easier for them to share information and coordinate activities from anywhere in the world. This has led to the small-world phenomenon, which refers to the ability to establish and maintain relationships and close coordination with organizational partners in many different locations. However, like any type of communication, technologymediated communication has its advantages as well as its drawbacks.

But potential bene�its and potential weaknesses exist with any medium of communication, whether it be memos, notes, letters, manuals, pamphlets, newsletters, press releases, billboards, or telephone conversations. In the end, organizations must �ind the right media mix to maximize the advantages and minimize the disadvantages of each communication channel. Within organizations, doing so requires excellent writing and reading skills, along with a good sense of timing, design, and awareness of one's audience. The use of message- testing—presenting written texts to samples of potential readers for feedback and suggestions—is one way to help ensure that organizational messages are achieving their intended purpose.

Discussion Questions

1. Do you think that modern technology-mediated communication is really an improvement over more traditional communication channels, or are we using new technology simply because it's there and it's "new"?

2. Given that many older people have had less exposure to new technology, how should organizations deal with employees and customers who are less experienced in the skills of the digital age?

3. Is telecommuting—working from home on your computer—an organizational practice that you �ind to be appealing? What problems and issues might be connected to telecommuting?

4. This chapter discusses both telephone etiquette and computer messaging etiquette. Do you believe that people use their phones and email in ways that re�lect good manners?

5. With principles of good communication in mind, how would you assess the websites of organizations of which you are a member? What do their websites do well, and what needs improvement?

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6. The use of social media such as Facebook is always tempting for anyone who's sitting at their desk and feeling a little bored. How should organizations handle non-work-related uses of social media during the normal workday?

7. Various social critics—the late Neil Postman, for example, in his book Technopoly—have argued that with every new gain which comes from an advance in technology, there are also corresponding losses. With respect to the computer, what do you regard as those gains and losses?

8. Do you see a day when we will actually have a true "paperless" society—that is, a situation where organizations basically eliminate paper and do virtually everything electronically?

Key Terms

Agenda setting Involves raising public consciousness about key organizational issues, activities, and products, typically involving the use of news stories about the organization carried by both organizational media (such as websites and brochures) and external media (such as newspapers and television), media releases, and organizational advertising.

Blogs Websites that display linked user commentaries (such as Twitter), descriptions of events, or other material, such as videos online. Specialized blogs examine organizational activities, political events, and other public issues, providing organizational participants with access to a wide range of relevant information.

Branding Involves establishing a clear image for the organization through the ways the organization communicates, such as the use of organizational taglines (such as Nike's "Just Do It"), logos, and advertising.

Closure When organizational participants interpret the messages they have attended to.

Computer etiquette The appropriate use of email, including appropriate uses of language and images, tactful decision making about whom to copy messages to, and topics that are acceptable for electronic communication.

Computer literacy The ability to evaluate the credibility of information obtained via computer, avoid malicious computer infections and computer scams, and effectively interpret information obtained online.

Computer security Using computer surveillance services and technologies.

Cyber bullying When organizational participants use their computers to send intimidating and manipulating messages to others.

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Decoding The cognitive process of translating the message that we attend to into meanings that can help us understand our world and the people with whom we communicate.

Encoding The cognitive process by which we translate the meanings we hold into strategic messages that we send to others.

Habituation When organizational participants block out of their consciousness less important messages.

Hackers People who breach the security of organizational computer systems, including government computer systems, to access and steal proprietary information.

Hypertext Text displayed with references, or hyperlinks, to other text that the reader can immediately access.

Impression management In�luencing the ways that other people perceive you.

Information authenticity All computer-based transactions are genuine and not fraudulent.

Information availability Systems are not shut down due to unforeseen or malicious events.

Information con�identiality Prevents the disclosure of organizational information to unauthorized individuals.

Information integrity Organizational data cannot be undetectably modi�ied.

Information overload What occurs when so many different messages are impinging on a person that the person has dif�iculty making sense of all the information available.

Intranets Specialized in-house computer portals that provide organization members, certain suppliers and customers, and other key constituents with access to specialized organizational information and support.

Malware and spyware Malicious computer programs.

Media convergence Where a number of powerful communication technologies have been miniaturized and integrated into small mobile organizational communication devices.

Media mix The interplay between organizational communication across a range of channels and media.

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Mediated channels of communication Mediated channels include a wide range of print media (such as books, memos, letters, pamphlets, newsletters, etc.), telephonic media (landlines, cell phones, smartphones, fax machines, etc.), computers (desktop computers, laptops, tablets, networked computer systems, etc.) and mobile devices (smart phones).

Message chunking Providing information in short bulleted sections surrounded by white space.

Message testing A form of user-centered research that involves presenting written texts to samples of readers representing the audiences the texts are being developed for, asking these readers to provide feedback about their interpretation of the messages, and encouraging them to provide suggestions about the best message strategies to convey the intended information to them.

Panopticon The process of using surveillance systems to track the use of computer systems by organizational participants.

Scannability Doesn't require users to read long, continuous blocks of text.

Selective attention When organizational participants focus in on key messages.

Selective perception process When strategic organizational communicators make active decisions every moment to help them make sense of all the messages available to them.

Small-world phenomenon The ability to establish and maintain relationships and close coordination with organizational partners in many different locations.

Social media Sites such as Facebook and Twitter that provide organizational participants with organizational updates, invitations, and instructions.

Technology-mediated channels Phones, computers, and videoconference equipment are examples of technology-mediated channels.

Telephone etiquette Cultural norms when it comes to telephone communication.

Usability studies Involve observing typical users navigating the website, asking them to �ind information on the website, and asking them questions about what they like and don't like about the website.

User-centered design Design that guides the development of websites that meet user needs and abilities.

Video technology The use of moving video footage on websites, smartphones, teleconferencing, and other electronic media.

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