Online interaction also appears to stimulate a more equal distribution of talk, as group members are less likely to be inhibited by status, gender, and power cues that are prominent in face-to-face communication. Online interactions can produce written archives of discussion and their ongoing quality can help to maintain the momentum of the group over time. Individuals brainstorming through electronic mail or chat, on the other hand, may express themselves continuously, taking brief breaks to read the contributions of others. For example, individuals are able to produce more good ideas working alone than they can in brainstorming groups simply due to the amount of time required to take turns and listen to the ideas of others. Such costs occur due to inherent inefficiencies of group communication. A variety of factors motivate the helpful behavior of weak ties, including the ability to increase one's self-esteem, personal identification with the organization, and the organization's ability to foster a sense of employee citizenship and reciprocity.įurther, researchers have argued that the use of e-mail reduces certain costs of decision making incurred whenever organizations bring employees together for face-to-face group communication. Researchers have documented that electronic mail calls into existence and mobilizes a network of weak ties-distant and infrequently contacted others who possess potentially superior knowledge resources and who are frequently willing to provide information or advice as needed. Chief among these was the ability to find answers to organizational problems by using e-mail lists that made it relatively easy and convenient to transmit questions and consult those with whom one was not necessarily acquainted within the organizational community. However, e-mail quickly demonstrated some interesting additional social uses that further enhanced its attractiveness within organizational environments. The cost of transmitting information normally distributed in paper to multiple receivers was negligible and the ability to create, maintain, and update e-mail distribution lists was highly flexible. Furthermore, e-mail provided a systematic, reliable, and relatively inexpensive means for distributing information across numerous and diverse constituencies within organizations. E-mail reduced the amount of time spent in attempts to contact colleagues through the telephone, a vast percentage of which (estimated at up to 70%) are unsuccessful. Initially, the sheer efficiency of e-mail in organizations presented a compelling argument for its use. Harrison, in Encyclopedia of International Media and Communications, 2003 III.B Organizational Contexts
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