E-MAIL and Business

Communication in business has changed dramatically over the past 50 years, with a rapid pace of change taking place in the last 20 years. For many years, written communication was the standard both inside and outside the company--letters and memos became the standard form of communication when transportation and communication options were limited. Meetings, and even brief conversations in the hallway, were used when information could be disseminated in these ways. The telephone made it easier to have two-way conversations with individuals down the hall or down the road without having to leave the office, and voice inflection could still be heard, although facial expressions were lost. Faxes made communication instant and global, but removed even voice inflection hints from the communication process. E-mail is the most recent communication innovation, and while it is fast becoming a ubiquitous tool in business, there are problems with its implementation and use. This research ide