Understanding the use of communication media in the workplace : an exploratory study

• Main Author: Nair, Mala
• Other Authors: Lee Chei Sian
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: DRNTU::Library and information science::Knowledge management
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/44896
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Information and Communication technology (ICT) drives organizational performance and plays a critical role in determining a company’s competitive advantage in the market place. Companies are looking at improving productivity and efficiency through better communication infrastructure. Having a robust communication infrastructure is particularly important for multinational organizations which are spread over many countries and continents. Communication is a process that occurs between individuals and ICT provides the media for the communication. Therefore, communication through ICT is influenced by the infrastructure and the human elements involved in the process. Human elements include age, gender, personality and competence. Personality is the innate trait that influences cognitions & behavior. Competence is the possession of knowledge, skill and motivation to integrate with the media and message factors in a given context to bring desired outcome. The objective of this study is to understand the use of communication media in workplace by finding the impact of demographics, personality and communication competence on ICT usage in the context of specific work activities. The study was conducted through a survey and responses of 149 respondents were analyzed. The survey was conducted from March 2010 to May 2010. XYZ Company from the financial industry was chosen for this study. The respondents included staff from managerial to non-managerial positions from different countries.