EFFECTIVENESS OF WEB CONFERENCING

As globalization increased the number of countries in which companies have offices, it became increasingly difficult for employees in one country to have effective communication with employees in other countries. Faxes and e-mails aided communication, but required that each party to the "conversation" wait until the other party responded, often for long periods of time due to the differences in time zones and schedules. Traveling to another country is expensive, and because of the logistics involved, travel is often limited to events rather than casual meetings. Yet much can be discussed in brief--30 minute or less--meetings held face-to-face. Video conferencing helped ease the transition and make remote meetings possible, but this required investment in technology in both the host and destination country. Web conferencing is simple to install and can be used to bring groups together for short or long sessions. This analysis considers the use of Web conferencing and its effectiveness in one organization.