PRDV008: Preparing and Delivering Presentations

Communication technologies support many types of messaging and information sharing in organizations.

Learning Objectives

Explain the role of technology in supporting communication in organizations

Key Takeaways

Key Points

• Business communication often relies on the use of technology to connect and facilitate the flow of information among individuals, groups, and organizations.
• Technology can enable real-time interaction or delayed response, that is, asynchronous with gaps in time between when a sender transmits a message and when the recipient processes it.
• Communication technologies can support unidirectional information sharing or more interactive and collaborate work.

Key Terms

• Delayed Response: In communication, pertaining to the ability to respond at a later time (the opposite of real-time, such as speaking).
• Unidirectional: Communication designed to provided information or data that does not require a response.
• real-time: Communication occurring in that instant, necessitating immediate response and engagement (i.e. conference call, business meeting, etc.)

Business communication often relies on the use of technology to connect and facilitate the flow of information among individuals, groups, and organizations. Technologies for e-mailing, messaging, video conferencing, and document-sharing in most organizations are fully integrated into how work is conducted and how people interact.

Communication methods: Technology in communication can include e-mail, texting, and social media.

Some technologies support simultaneous, or real-time, interaction, including among individuals in different locations. In these cases, interaction is immediate and direct. Examples of this type of technology include teleconferences and web chats. Other communication tools are asynchronous, meaning messages may be transmitted by senders and processed by recipients at different times. E-mail and digital documents, such as spreadsheets and presentations, are examples of asynchronous tools. Responses from recipients may be delayed, which means the sender must wait for confirmation that the message has been interpreted as intended and resulted in the desired action. Many mobile apps used on tablets and smartphones allow for both real-time and asynchronous communication.

Communication mediated by technology can be unidirectional, flowing from a sender to one or more individuals, groups, or organizations. Unidirectional communication is typical when the sender primarily seeks to inform or influence the recipient(s). Electronic memos that are e-mailed or documents shared via computer servers are examples. Alternatively, communication can be intended as reciprocal and interactive. A collaboration tool such as Google Docs is an example.

Organizations use communication technology to support and drive their business activities. Some examples of technology used to communicate in business include:

• E-mail among employees, management, and customers
• Social media sites used to communicate with customers
• Video conferencing used to hold meetings with remote workers
• SMS (texting) among employees
• Internet marketing as way to advertise products and services to customers
• Mobile marketing strategies to advertise products to customers based on their current location
• Mobile applications such as QR codes and Shazaam offering additional information to customers about a company or service

The predominance of communication technologies in organizational life means it is vital that employees have the skills to use them. Many organizations make training available, but increasingly employers expect prospective employees to be experienced users of desktop and even mobile technologies.