Emails Phenomenal Growth and Directness

Emails Phenomenal Growth and Directness in Operational Communication:

The use of emails as a means of communication has continued to enjoy phenomenal growth together with the Internet due to the numerous advantages that it provides. As compared to the emergence of social networks sites, chat rooms and surfing the Web, emails remain the most popular feature on the Internet. Hundreds of emails are sent and received everyday through the Internet particularly on the business sector. Actually, regular correspondence and communication in the various sectors revolve around the use of email messages. The phenomenal growth of this means of communication has made it possible and easier to communicate without concerns on the software or type of network in use. The use of email messages in almost every aspect of communication has continued to experience phenomenal growth despite the fact that the universal abilities of E-mail hasn't been in existence for long.

This phenomenal growth of emails is not only attributed to several reasons but is also likely to continue in the future. Some of the reasons why the phenomenal growth of emails has been experienced include:

Universal Capabilities:

One of the major reasons for phenomenal growth of emails is the universal capabilities of this means of communication given that emails haven't been really around for a long period of time. Emails have a unique universal capability i.e. they can be sent to anyone without worrying about the software or type of network being used ("Email: What to Do" par, 2). This is unlike commercial online services that only permitted messages to be sent to members of the same service when they initially arrived. Furthermore, this is a unique advantage that emails have over online chat rooms and some social networking sites that require a person to be a member of the same network or online service in order to receive messages.

Easy and Cost-Effectiveness:

The phenomenal growth of emails is also attributed to the fact that emails messages are so easy and inexpensive to send and receive. They have replaced many telephone and fax communications since they are effective, convenient and economical ways of communicating across the globe. The effectiveness of emails emanate from the fact that they are not only ideal for one-on-one interactions but they are also efficient in sending a single message to a group of people simultaneously. The use of email lists for easy, fast, cost-effective and global mass communication is one of the major contributing factors to its phenomenal growth.

For many institutions and corporations, the use of emails has been widespread since these organizations are able to send thousands or even millions of direct email messages simultaneously, quickly and cost-effectively. For instance, many organizations send their announcements and newsletters conveniently through emails to their distributors, donors, patrons and customers. Furthermore, emails also serve as instant, effective and inexpensive means of internal communication within an organization.

Instant Delivery of Information:

Through the use of emails as means of communication, messages and information are sent to another person instantly regardless of the availability of that person. This is the other reason for their phenomenal growth since emails can be sent virtually to anyone across the globe within a split second. Basically, emails allow individuals to communicate with someone on their own terms during a convenient time (Gibson, p. 1).

Generally, due to the ease of communication and other merits that emails provide, their phenomenal growth is likely to occur in the future. Even with the emergence of social networking sites, the increased use of emails will continue especially in formal communications.

Directness in Operational Communication:

One of the most important factors that determine the productivity of an organization or workplace environment is operational communication. For operational managers, they need to ensure that operational communication is effective within the workplace since it has a direct impact on profitability. However, regardless of this huge effect, operational miscommunication is widespread in most of the encounters in the workplace which are characterized by duplication, delays and unnecessary costs (Harrison par, 8). Operational communication is basically considered as the daily interaction between departments and functional processes in the workplace within an organization.

For operational communication to be effective and ensure that there is profitability within the organization; there needs to be a balance between directness and indirectness. Based on speech acts, directness is explained as harmonizing speech act with the natural grammatical structure. Using directness in operational communication basically means that statements are easily recognizable and can be understood at face value. The use of directness in operational communication is desirable because it results in the easy interpretation of statements. Direct commands or statements sometimes sound like bossing people around since this directness requires a good knowledge of the situation. When stating an opinion during operational communication may seem like an insult particularly if the hearer views you as being lower in the social or organizational hierarchy.

Examples of the use of directness in operational communication can include statements like "Where is the file?" Or "Give me that pen!" It's important to note that asking direct questions or issuing commands to people you're not that close with would result in the hearer feeling that you're intrusive or rude. In such situations, these hearers tend to be rude by giving a direct answer since they feel that you are intrusive or rude to them.

While directness in operational communication results in easy interpretation of statements which in turn prevents delays in the operational processes, its use is not appropriate in certain cases.

This is because politeness necessitates that the increase in social distance needs the use of more indirectness in communication ("Directness v. Indirectness" par, 9). In such cases, indirectness in operational communication may be appropriate in order for hearers not to feel that the speaker is rude to them. Therefore, indirectness in operational communication is more suitable and very effective in socially distant conditions. This is due to the fact that people have different levels of directness tolerance and it's necessary for a speaker to be on the polite side until they know the limit of directness tolerance.