TECHNOLOGY
 

 “Technology is a two-edged sword with the potential to make us more productive,
 or to drain away our time.”

中國經濟管理大學  IM Mgt Comm 4e

I. Life in the Digital Age
 
A. It’s quicker, cheaper and easier to ship electrons (as in e-mail attachments) than it is to ship atoms and molecules (as in FedEx overnight packages).
 
B. The way we work and live has changed.  We can find anyone with a cell phone or personal computer in a matter of seconds.
 
C. Since the advent of PC’s just over 25 years ago, more than a billion have sold worldwide.
 
D. By 2002, more than 60 percent of all U.S. households had at least one personal computer, compared with 99 percent who own a television.
 
II. Communicating Digitally

A. The means of production are now in our minds, in our hands, and on our desk tops. 

B. For all of the advantages which this new technology brings to our homes, our businesses, and our lives, there are complications.

1. There is no longer a distinction between work and home.

2. Employee abuse of corporate-owned e-mail and Internet access costs U.S. companies $54 billion each year.

3. Managers rely on fewer nonverbal and visual cues to gather meaning due to working across time zones and with geographically dispersed groups and teams.

III. Managing Electronic Mail

A. If you have a problem, admit it.  White collar workers waste an average of three hours a week sorting through junk mail.  If you spend more time than that, you have a problem.
  
 B. Send less. Get less.  If you send less e-mail you’ll reduce the volume of return mail in your inbox.

C. Escape the endless reply loop.  Finish a message with “No reply needed,” or follow a request with “Thanks in advance.” 

D. Check the “To” field before you click “Send.”

E. Don’t copy the world.  Think twice about the people you put on your “cc” list.

F. Pick a subject, (almost) any subject.  Crafting a relevant subject line will prompt people to open your messages and act on them quickly.

G. Think before replying.  If you respond to e-mail messages immediately, you establish the expectation in your readers’ minds that you will always respond quickly.

H. Think again before replying.  If you’re angry, upset, or irritated at something you’ve just read in an e-mail message, give yourself a day – or at least a few hours – to cool down before responding.  You may end up saying something you’ll regret.

I. Be careful with criticism.  E-mail eliminates virtually all of the important nonverbal cues we’re accustomed to seeing and hearing as we judge a message sender’s intent.

J. Handle each message just once.  If it’s unimportant or irrelevant, hit the delete key.  File each message you want to keep in a folder as it comes in.

K. Don’t check your e-mail constantly.

L. Don’t ignore the conventions of correspondence.  You should not write to people in all lower case letters, ignore punctuation, or abandon conventional spelling.

M. Avoid abbreviations and cyberjargon.  You can’t assume everyone is familiar with the endless acronyms circulating out there.

N. Try to keep messages under two or three paragraphs.

O. Make URLs Useful.

P. Be cautious about attachments.  Don’t attach documents, pictures, or spreadsheets to your messages unless you’re certain the recipient wants or needs to see them.

Q. Include a signature file.

R. Check your time/date stamp.

S. Get help when you need it.
IV. Privacy and Workplace Monitoring

A. Why Do Employers Monitor?

1. Security. Every business has information that it wants kept confidential.

  2.   Productivity. More than one-third of all lost productivity is attributed to Internet abuse at work.

3. Protection. Many companies faced with costly lawsuits are monitoring e-mail, voice mail, and other communication systems to uncover and discipline workers who harass or intimidate others in the workplace.

4. Industry Regulation. State and federal regulatory agencies have published numerous rules requiring businesses of many sorts to hang onto all of their e-mail, just as they would retain their paper-based correspondence.
 
B. Does an Employee Have a Right to Privacy?
 
1.   No federal law covers all aspects of an employee’s right to privacy on the job.  Instead, a patchwork of federal and state laws regulates everything from electronic monitoring to visual surveillance, drug testing and locker searches.

2. Employees really do not have a right of privacy in e-mail communication on their employer’s system, unless the employer acts in a manner giving rise to a reasonable expectation of privacy.

3. The Electronic Communication Privacy Act of 1986, as amended, protects e-mail messages from interception by and disclosure to third parties.

C. Employer Rights.  An employer has the right:

1. To intercept and review e-mail messages generated, transmitted, stored, or received on a company-owned or leased system;

2. To conduct an e-mail audit to determine how the system is being used, when, and under what conditions, for what purposes, and by whom;

3. To disclose certain e-mail content to third parties if an appropriate authority (postmaster or system administrator) suspects or discovers illegal or unauthorized use;

4. To require employee training in e-mail system use;

5. To receive employee acknowledgment of training and understanding of e-mail system policy guidelines, restrictions, and limitations. 

D. Employer Expectations.  An employer may reasonably expect:

1. That company-owned e-mail systems will be used principally or exclusively for official business purposes;

2. That employees will not use company-owned e-mail systems for profit, private gain, or personally owned businesses;

3. That employees will not use company-owned systems for illegal purposes;

4. That employees will not use company-owned systems for unauthorized disclosure of proprietary data or confidential information;

5. That employees will not use company-owned systems to send inappropriate messages, including rude or discourteous messages, sexually harassing messages, sexist or racist language, profane language, obscene language or graphic images or correspond with unauthorized addresses.

E. Can my Employer Listen to My Phone Calls at Work?

1. Employers may monitor calls with clients or customers for training purposes to assure quality control.

2. Federal law, which regulates phone calls with people outside the state does not allow unannounced monitoring for business-related calls.

3. Under Federal law, when an employer realizes a call is personal, he or she must immediately stop monitoring the call.

F. Can my Employer Obtain a Record of My Phone Calls?

1.   Telephone numbers dialed from phone extensions can be recorded by pen registers.  It allows an employer to see a list of phone numbers dialed by your extension and the length of each call.

  2. A new programming concept called “presence awareness” is able to determine whether a PC, cell phone or wireless device is turned on or in use.

G. Can my Employer Watch my Computer Terminal While I Work?

1. Since your employer owns the computer network and terminals, he or she is free to use them to monitor employees.
  
2. Union contracts may limit an employer’s right to monitor.

H. What Sort of Things Can They Monitor?

1. Very inexpensive software and easy-to-operate hardware make it possible
            for almost any employer to know who has company-provided Internet access, who’s online, what they’re watching, how often, and for how long.

2. New software will now permit an employer to follow what’s happening on each employee’s computer screen.

I.  How Can I Tell If I am Being Monitored?
 
1. Most computer monitoring equipment allows employees to monitor without an employee’s knowledge.

2. Some employers notify their workers that monitoring takes place.  If you know they’re watching, you’re more likely to behave yourself.
  
J. Is My Voice Mail Private?
 
1. Voice Mail and e-mail are regarded as being nearly the same in the eyes of the law.

2.         The telephones, switching equipment, and the computer hard drives on which the voice mail is stored are the property of the company, and the company can access, store, and listen to anyone’s voice mail.
 
K. Is There Any Way I Can Keep My E-mail and other Work Private?

1. Yes, but an employer may forbid it.

2. You could encrypt a personal e-mail message before you send it.

L.  Can Instant Messages be Monitored?
 
1. An employer can monitor just about anything including AOL Instant
    Messenger.  
  
2. Many corporations have brought instant messaging into the office to make small groups and teams more effective.

V. The Internet and Online Behavior

A. A survey of college students across the country found that 86 percent use the Internet, compared with just 59 percent of the overall U.S. population.

B. Another survey revealed the following about their use of the Internet.

1. The overwhelming majority of these students are online several times or more each day.

2. The vast majority are online only for a few minutes at a time.

3. There are very different reasons for using the Internet.

C. The Internet has become central to the way college students conduct research for their courses; communicate with their professors, friends, and family, and gather information about everything from sports to the stock market and the weather.

VI. Etiquette and Office Electronics

A. Cell phones
  
1. Turn them off while driving.

2. Turn them off while in any location where people expect some measure of privacy and quiet.

3. Don’t assume those around you are interested in hearing your conversation.

4. Don’t assume that because your employees own a cell phone that they are available to talk business 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
 
B. Voice Mail

1. Keep your outgoing message brief.

2. One outgoing message is fine unless you plan to be gone for a week.

3. Tell people how to get past the outgoing message.

4. When leaving a voice mail message, identify yourself, give your call back number, and explain briefly why you’re calling.
  
5. Don’t listen to your voice mail messages on the speaker phone.
 
C. E-Mail
 
1. Don’t send e-mails that make angry demands.

2. Don’t waste recipients time with the latest “jokes du jour.”

3. Don’t order people to visit your web page.

4. Don’t write to anyone in all lower case letters or shout at your readers in all capital letters.

5.   Don’t ever insult, malign, harass or demean your readers or anyone else in those e-mail messages you write.

6. Include a salutation, complimentary close and –  in the first paragraph or two – a statement of purpose.
  
VII. Working Virtually

A. Advantages

1. Cost – paying less for office space and employee support;

2. Productivity – reduced absenteeism and increased employee retention;

3. Access – to its own employees at unusual times and places;

B. Disadvantages

  1.  Costs – initial outlay to purchase equipment can be significant;

1. Technology – concerns about providing technical support to remote workers;

2. Culture – telecommuters may not be given the same opportunities for training, advancement, or promotion;

3. People – many take pride in their office, enjoy socializing and interacting with their co-workers and colleagues and find the climate in their work locations energizing and inspiring;
VIII. Teleconferencing

A. Planning a Teleconference

1. Identify the purpose of your teleconferencing meeting.

2. Identify the person who will chair the meeting.

3. Plan the agenda.

4. Distribute the agenda.

5. Schedule the teleconference.

6. Confirm the teleconference with the participants.

7. Share important resource materials with participants.

B. Conducting a Teleconference

1. Get to the conference site early.

2. Watch what you wear.

3. Act as if people are watching you.

4. Start on time.

5. Take control of the conference.

6. Ask participants to introduce themselves as you begin. 

7. Jot down people’s names and locations.

8. Ask participants to identify themselves when they speak for the first time.

9. Speak a bit more slowly to ensure that everyone can understand you.

10. Avoid side conversations.

11. Be patient if the system includes a slight delay.

12. Try to make eye contact with the camera.

13. Don’t read a speech or prepared statement.
14. Summarize key issues as you move along.

15. Establish what’s next for the group.

16. Stop on time.

  17. Prepare and distribute minutes of the teleconference.

IX. Technology on the Horizon

A. Most new technology will be as easy to operate as a cell phone and as unobtrusive as a supermarket check-out scanner.

B. Despite a downturn in the economy during the early years of the 21st century, students and intellectuals will continue to flock to computer science, engineering, and information studies. The prospect of breakthrough technologies and life-altering innovations will continue to draw new inventors and designers.

C. Computing will make visuals and the graphic arts far more accessible to ordinary people, including managers who hope to show their readers what they’re saying and to illustrate their ideas.

D. The laws will invariably run behind both technology and human behaviors.  Protecting everything from intellectual property to our own privacy will become not only a legal concern, but a personal concern, as well.