Managment- has email replaced the need for face-to-face contact Essay

Managment- has email replaced the need for face-to-face contact between managers and staff - Essay Example (The Industry Standard 2000). Interpersonal communications are an essential foundation upon which organizations are built as was observed by Barnard(1938) who said â€Å" an organization is born when there are individuals who are able to communicate, and who are determined to engage in actions oriented towards a common goal†. It has been estimated that a manager spends 95% of his time in written and verbal communication. (Mintzberg 1973). It is essential that such technologies impacting upon the organizational is examined with greater attention it deserves. In a study reported in Jan 1995(Sullivan), it was found that e-mail users among the of the Florida House of Representatives, an information-intensive public organization, preferred the just introduced system for document delivery, request for information and answering queries only and not for drafting documents, assigning tasks and making decisions. And it was also found that e-mail was less preferred than face to face interaction but more preferred than telephone, memos and letters. This observation was 10 years ago and in a public organization where formality is the norm. It is undisputed fact that e-mail is used to replace time-consuming and expensive conventional workplace communication methods. It is not surprising therefore that 80 percent of all organizations now use e mail for business communication. It will continue to increase as the cost and resistance decline. (Louis 2002) Interpretation of a message depends on the choice of communication method selected by the sender. The selection of communication media is an executive skill driven by the factors of expediency and efficacy. As a unique communication channel, e-mail enables creation and dissemination of messages in organizations. It is not just a medium between sender and receiver but could be a complex form of communication with