Implementing a Ban on the Sue of Internal Email Services in an Organization - Case Study Example

Management Khosrowpour (32) suggests that management involves process like administration, and supervision in an organization. Management process deals with the daily running of an organization; in relation to the laid down goals and aims of the organization. A good management leads to a smooth running of the organization, as there would be good relationships between the management and the employees of the company who carry more weight for determining the goals and the general performance of the company. Lehman and Dufrene (68) affirms that every management decision made has its impacts it brings on the organization; and thus there should be critical evaluation of the anticipated impacts and some of the solutions to deals with the impacts before engaging in the implementation of the decisions arrived at in any meeting. This would foster better relationships among the parties concerned as there would be less negative impacts due to good evaluation process engaged in before launching the issues arrived at in the discussion. The problems and benefits of implementing a ban on the sue of internal email services in an organization Cappelli et al (32) reveals that every management decisions to effect change have both the dark and light side of it. In this case, there are problems associated with every decision the management arrives at. On the other hand, there many benefits anticipated in every change that any organizational management wishes to implement at any instance. To this end, there are various problems associated with the ban of using internal emails in an organization. The decision of banning the use of internal email arises after evaluation of the costs and inconveniences the technology brings about in an organization. Moran (56) affirms that banning internal emails leaves options like the use of instant messaging that assumes the position of people at one point, for instance, at the office desk all the time. Many organizations handle there operational work on the floor or the work site and there are few options that provide the instant messaging options. This is because instant messaging options require almost a face-to-face conversation due to its answering mode needs an immediate answer. This receives the propelling power by the synchronism nature of the system that allows immediate attention, which interferes with the general working of an individual. This posses a bigger problem than the internal email option as the persons involved would frequently need time too attend to the instant message sent. This presents an on off duty time pattern and it creates very many loop holes that allows laziness as more time would get wasted between the transitions of responding to the messages and back to the area of assignment. To this level Smith and Mounter (25) agrees that the productivity of such employees would go low as their concentration. Studies show that instant messaging process that many organizations opt to use instead of internal messaging increases interruptions to a very high factor of about twenty, thus this is a key contributor to the employees’ unproductiveness. It is evident that the use of instant messaging and services and the social network leads to more timer wastage while engaging in personal issues more than the real business requirements. The other serious problem posed by the use of social tools for communication is that, almost eighty percent of communication with instant messaging takes its key channel to the public or social networks. This presents a security problem to the organization involved as important, and sensitive corporate data transmission is over channels that are possibly unknown, and worst of all unsafe networks that may be prone to hacking and other cyberspace crimes. The fact that all instant messaging programs or process takes place outside an organizations mail server allows incoming messages and attached files to go through to recipients without the use of virus scanning and blocking mechanisms. Lack of measures to use security mechanisms especially on social sites or channels like blogs that are more vulnerable to uncontrolled leaking of the organizations internal information without security notice, increases the risk of data loss through the high tech cyber space crimes. This puts the company data at risk as malicious programs may easily infect the company database and lead to a massive file and data destruction amounting to millions damage costs. Internal emails simplify communication in an organization as it requires less time to attend to it and it is more or less not urgent. Thus, disrupting or eliminating such communication channels seems somehow dictatorial on employees and it may amount to negative reactions from the employees involved in a way that posses risk of tasks boycott. Some studies reveal that this reduces the power of teamwork; usually fostered by good communication among employees. The decision by the management of any organization to ban internal email posses a risk to the company engaging in heavy paper for official documentation. This makes the process of give and take transaction difficult and almost impracticable. This is because, the pace required to draft and complete transaction and the day-to-day instruction issuing difficult and time consuming. This comes in the wake of printing the instructions, availing them for issuing and getting a good feedback. It consumes time between the transactions or information exchange period and that is why it is problematic to eliminate the services provided through the internal emailing process. The problems are evident in organizations that use the internal emails for attachments transmissions and feedback reception. Banning internal email usage and adopting other methods of communications like the social network and instant messaging just increases the information overload for the organization involved as other mechanisms for handling the information traffic. Thus, time and resource wastage experienced while engaging in the scrutiny and management of information overload. On the other hand, there are various benefits associated with banning of internal email usage in an organization. The first benefits is the capability of such social and instant messaging services to establish informal and fast internal communication capable of fostering high team work skills and the general effective communication of commands among the employees and also including the management. Instant messaging also provides a real time knowledge exchange community. There is a provision that allows instant message to give fast and easy communication with people usually outside the organization environmental set up, thus the real time communication natures the good relationship capable of providing necessary information between the parties concerned at manageable costs and in limited periods (Wesley, 2004, p.42, Bilton, 2007, p.35). According to Singh (39), eliminating the use of internal emails allows the use of fast and better options like P2P that allows easy file sharing g at work places relevant for boosting productivity as little time is required to share the files needed at any instance. The growth and development of alternative channels like blogs; after the banning of internal emails present great advantages especially for business where it has been seen to have ever increasing number of users. Blogs are important business tools that result into better business operation when well applications and management procedures put in place for the utilization of the services availed by the use of blogs. The other key and important factor of engaging in the banning of the use of internal email is to reduce costs and generally, the time needed to truck and maintain emails across the organization as one way of safeguarding the organizations data for m internal and external intrusion including the hacking behaviors. Scholes (28) argues that, this gives the management a humble time to concentrate on other management issues and factors. The costs saved in this way could receive utilization in the employment of appropriate communication tools necessary to boost the level of communication in the company. The other benefit emerges from the fact that many social communication tools employed in response to the banning of the use of internal email services have a priority procedure necessary for helping the involved persons to organize and utilize their time well. It also reduces time for finding specific data among consecutive amount of data received. The diversity of alternative technology poses great benefits that keep the needs and the requirements of successful communication among employees and between the management and the employees. The best part of it all is that the rising customer trends go in line with the advantages posed by these new technologies like Skype and blogs that aggravates the technological advancement. This increases customer satisfaction and the general aims of communication relating to the existence of an organization in a given environmental set up. The employing of the new technological approaches that increases the productivity the employees could reduce info-mania problems common while using internal emails that lead to reduced mental sharpness that contributes to the low productivity. The various risks posed by the use of internal email involving accidental disclose by the organization’s employees. This leads to loss or exposure of sensitive information due to responses given in unbound email responses. This could cost the involved organization millions of money in the end when such accidental incidences happen consecutively or randomly. Thus, the ban on the use of internal emails saves a large amount of money that the company may lose due to the loss of data and sensitive documents. Banning of the internal emailing reduces risks incurred by internal threats where the employees opt to liaise with external attackers to intrude and steal some data in the company. This move helps the company or organization focus on a few areas that could lead to hacking and other cyber space crimes. This is cost effective and manageable. Thus, losses and costs that were used to protect and prevent probable online crimes reduces drastically and the small number of areas to receive protection makes the whole work of protection easy and every follow up program is very possible and practical ( Quirke, 2008, p.30, Conference Board, 2008, p.18). Examples of companies that have pursued such a course of banning the use of internal emails Various companies engage themselves in the banning of the use of internal emails by introducing new and better communication tools. The new technological tools address the weaknesses or shortcomings of the internal email approach. Many companies now use the emailing service for a few specialized external uses only. This is mostly with regular or major clients of the organization. Among the many companies that have banned the use of internal emails, the Canadian digital marketing company Klick takes part and it has opted to develop and utilizes new technological advances; that are able to meet the requirements of modern day communication within and outside an organization’s environment. For internal communication or messaging, the management of Klick developed the Genome system that is able to facilitate internal messaging within the company. This new system of communication presents high expectations and has good working power. It helps its users to monitor workflow in the organization with easy. Another company that has implemented the ban on the use of internal email by introducing or focusing on other better ways of communication is Capgemini, which is an information technology company. The company has drastically reduced its email traffic by an amazing percentage figure in a short span of time. This follows the adoption of social networking tools for communication that are less demanding and which posses few risks to the company’s sensitive database. The company now uses Yammer, one of the most promising social network tools. This tool has helped the company to reduce the internal email traffic to more than thirty-nine percent of the total email traffic. The other company that is following suit to the internal email ban even though with a different approach is Intel. The company tries an alternative method of controlling the use of emails by encouraging no-email Fridays that focuses on allowing engineers solve problems either face-to-face of using other alternatives like the use of phones (Bowman et al, 2010, p.320, Bidgoli, 2004, p.39). Discussing about companies that have implemented the ban on the use of internal emails and living out John Caldwell’s phones 4 u company in this list does not sound well since. The company has successfully implemented the program to a level where no more internal emails used for internal communications within the company goes on. This effective method has seen the company save on costs incurred in the securing of the online communication through trucking down strategies required to safeguard the company’s data and intellectual property for accidental leakages and the general fraudulent behaviors. Even though there are some initial problems associated with the new technology for communication, the benefit the technology brings with it are worthwhile. All the companies mentioned here have successfully introduced and managed the ban on internal email have began experiencing big changes because of the new ways of communication (McShane et al, 2004, p.45, D’Atri, 2010, p.59). Alternative systems Moran (53) and Lee Kaid & Holtz- Bacha (37) assertions reveals that banning the use of internal emails leaves so many alternative systems that give better functioning capabilities for any organization. The alternative systems try to reduce the overload internal emails bring with it. The alternative systems give room for technological advancement that favor the market trends and satisfies the needs of an organization that wishes to improve on its data security through affordable communication tools that have easy security management requirement. There are many alternative systems to internal email use. They include; Yammer, Genome, P2P, instant messaging, and most of the advanced social networking provisions like Face Book, Skype and many other socially appropriate technologies. To begin with, instant messaging seems to provide an appropriate alternative to the use of internal emails where a direct feedback given in a short span of time. The information responded to gets an easy access as the answer, question or the inquiry of the information is instant, and thus it needs an instant response. Skype has so many advantages it provides when in use. Some of it is the provision that allows instant messages to stream in and it is appropriate in various environments that need instant messaging. This is applicable in areas where internal communication is required to facilitate the channel of commands and order issuing. From D’Atri et al’s (43) and Quirke’s (28) views, another important factor about Skype is the provision by which video interviewing is made possible. This option provides a face-to-face interview that aim at reducing costs of conducting and holding interviews in an organization. The same application could find its easy and important application in the internal communication of a large organization. Here managers could issue orders and instructions from any point of the organization provided the other facilities that make its connection possible get along with it at every required point. Skype presents itself in every aspect of communication ranging from the simplest external communication to the most demanding internal communication modes. This eliminates the costs of managing and trucking internal emails that also seem time wasting. The risk of accidental slipping away of emails to unknown destinations an extend risking the loss of important company data that may allow the entry of hackers. The other important system that finds its application in the modern internal communication is the use of Genome that finds its application at the Canadian company Klick. The company pioneered the invention and use of the system after the inconveniences that the internal emailing system caused. With this mode of a system, the ease of communicating among employees and the management seem possible, it eliminates the need of using email servers, and other security measures to eliminate risks associated with internal email. The other alternative method or system of communication is Yammer. The technology find its origin and design detail from Deloitte AU, and easily found its application in various offices around the United States within a short span of time due to its wide range of internal communication applications and due to the many advantages, it brings with it. It has helped the employ turnover, where it also develops solutions faster while it highly improves executive communication download. This is a major milestone in enhancing better management process at any given organization. Through its vast modes of application, it is very easy to identify and develop new talents while reducing the need for meetings that generally waste time and resources. The other thing is that it enhances executives to engage in communication that allows easy conversations with the company employees at all levels of the organization without any major hindrance. Thus, communication is faster convenient and affordable at all times in an organization. It is possible for executives to use this mode of communication system to crowd source more than one thousand four hundred taglines in twenty-four hours. This reduces both time wastage and costs of hiring a marketing firm when a company engages itself in a marketing campaign. All the above methods or systems make it more convenient and easy to handle the needs and requirements of internal communication (Mounter & Smith, 2008, p.82, Guffey & Loewy, 2010, p.25). List References Bidgoli, H 2004, The Internet encyclopedia, Chicago: John Wiley and Sons Bilton, C 2007, Management and creativity: from creative industries to creative management, London: John Wiley & Sons Bouwman, H., van den Hooff, B. & van de Wijngaert, L 2005, Information and communication technology in organizations: adoption, implementation, use and effects, Washington, DC: SAGE. 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