E-mail as way of communication in business Essay

E-mail as way of communication in business - Essay Example The paper tells that email is a way of transferring digitised information from the source to one or more recipients using a web enabled device. It requires that the two parties have access to the internet to make the exchange complete; its servers receives information from the sender, directs it to the recipient and stores the content to be accessed at will thereafter. With improvements in computer technology, traditional forms of communications shifted from physical print outs for instance, memos to modern digitised forms which include internal email. This is used by businesses and organisations for communicating with its employees. This form of communication has brought with it some challenges which were only realised after corporations realised that there was minimal control over information exchanged among employees and the outside environment. Despite compliance standards set by corporations to guide employees on the right email content to use for internal communications, the nu mber of emails exchanged in a day is so many that internal control mechanisms cannot effectively handle. In 2008, about 103 billion emails were sent in corporate companies the world over. These are some of the problems associated with internal mail. Phones 4u is a large mobile phone retailer based in Britain, since its inception in 1987 by John Caudwell and his brother Brian, the store has grown leaps and bounds to boast of 550 outlets in the United Kingdom. This company operates in a tough business environment and transformed its internal processes over time, to cope with increasing consumer needs. Britain’s communications regulator (Ofcom) found Phones 4u liable of various malpractices ranging from lying to clients about their coverage, and delay in refund processing to those who purchase faulty phones. Due to such damaging allegations, the store did an internal check to determine the root cause of these inefficiencies and address them. Among the resolutions was rejection o f internal email as a communication medium within and outside the company to monitor information flow to protect its brand from lurid accusations that were threatening its existence. Along with other changes effected for instance, provision of insurance packages for Smartphone buyers to reduce costs associated with customer returning damaged phones that are within the warranty period, it performance has rebounded with turnover growing 22% in 2010. Disadvantages of using internal email Liability: Unmonitored use of email can lead to consequences relating to violations of internal corporate rules and government regulations. Companies have internal intelligence and secrets that they may want to be kept private within its boundaries, they however, do not have the capacity to shield employees from knowing the same. Other modes of communication can be monitored to gauge its compliance; however, information contained in email is drafted by the sender, who decides on the context. The copy s ent to the recipient can however be retrieved by investigators at the request of the authorities if it results in a civil lawsuit. The aims of corporate compliance is: to protect employees from unwanted behaviour, protecting company’s assets from misuse due to inefficiencies, minimise corporate risk and streamline operational processes to increase output. This secretive nature of email message exchange makes employees be tempted to use the medium to exchange private, but damaging information to other people for whatever gain. For instance, an employee might leak a product diversification plan by his company, the competitor who requested for the intelligence then wards off competition by introducing his own version of the same, with the same formula, to sabotage the originator (Smith & Mounter, 2008, p. 127)2. The government engages with corporate bodies on a daily basis, these businesses might hide some information from the government especially on matters relating to financi al position. For

Issues and Risks of the Performance a Management System in the Merged Coursework

Issues and Risks of the Performance a Management System in the Merged Organization - Coursework Example Implementing a single performance management system would not be appropriate to measure the performance of all employees due to the differences in their competencies and skills. Since the performance management system would have its own rating parameters, there are chances that it could be fair for some individuals and unfair with some. This is because staffs perceive fairness with regards to comparisons. Employees compare inputs with one another, such as their efforts and expertise, their job performances and compensations with other employees. Due to the disparity in skill levels and the varying levels of inputs, efforts or expertise among employees, the performance evaluating parameters would be improper indicators of actual performance levels and productivity. Some employees are likely to get overrated while some of them would remain underrated. This would appear to be unfair for staffs which would eventually render the system ineffective. It is important that the performance man agement system measures the different activities accurately. If they do not, then the system results would differ from the actual results which would give its managers an inaccurate picture of the conditions of the firm and results of their decisions. All members from the two organizations might not be equally educated and updated about the use of the system. All managers might not be adept in a single technology which can cause differences in the ways they use or operate the system. This could also arouse differences they interpret results or outcomes of measurements. Improper and inaccurate ratings can generate out of difference in assessments methods and techniques which can yield inaccurate results in the system (Markus, 2004, p.6-10). Mitigating risks of the performance management system in the merged organization Firstly, it must be ensured that parameters for measuring performance must be based on fairness and equality. The different skills, expertise and competencies of staf fs must be measured through different parameters in order to yield unbiased and accurate results. Aspects like extent of criticality of tasks, difficulty of work activities, time taken for performing a particular work activity must be considered while measuring task performances. It is essential to train staffs and employees on the new system of performance management. The first step must be to educate staffs with regards to the importance of the system and make them understand the key concepts, terminology and best practices. It is crucial to clearly set out environmental and personal factors required for delivering top performance and the importance of supervisors to facilitate a high performing work environment in the organization. One method to eliminate discrepancies in use of parameters is to include a structured and quantitative approach. This is particularly effective in cases where the performance management is likely to be used as an input to a pay for performance scheme. Ideally, it is crucial to associate a certain weight to the job accountability and accountability in proportion to its importance and also each relevant competencies and skills if the organization wishes to reward certain behaviors. It is important to align the system with the organizational objectives and goals. Skills which are critical for the attainment of those