Large companies may use communication technology better than small companies. Some small companies may use these resources better than other small companies. Large companies have more assets to be able to provide better communication resources to employees. The company however needs to provide training, especially to older employees, on how to use this technology. Not knowing how to fully utilize new technology will frustrate workers who will revert back to and use what they know. Intracompany communications like Wikis or PDA’s are tools that would be found in larger companies rather than small ones.
I worked for a small company where communications consisted of email, phone, fax, or get out of your chair and go talk to someone. This was only two years ago. The company owner would always say, “Sometimes you have to get off the computer and get on the phone.” The phone conversation would need email confirmation in order to make changes. If key personnel were out of the office and you did not have his or her personal cell phone number, you would have to wait hours or even days to contact them. This would frustrate not only office personnel, but customers who could not get timely answers.
In the other hand, the owner of the company my husband works for uses newer technology daily. This is not good though, since he uses this technology only to spy on employees. He has GPS tracking on company supplied cell phones, cameras on job sites and in the shop that he can access from his computer or cell phone, and tracking devices on company vehicles that tell not only where it is at all times, but where it has been and the miles driven. At the same time, supervisors have problems getting materials they need to job sites or information about customer contract requirements because of miscommunication.
I think many companies, large and small, do not use communication resources effectively. One resource every company has is its employee’s ability to talk. With...