MGT502 Business Communication: Impact of Digital Solutions

This essay examines the critical role of digital communication solutions in modern workplaces, emphasizing their impact on productivity, employee satisfaction, and organizational identification. It highlights how digital tools bridge the gap between staff and the larger organization, fostering stronger employee-organization relationships. The analysis draws on studies that demonstrate the positive effects of social media, like Facebook, on departmental and organizational identification by blurring the lines between personal and professional life. The essay also addresses the psychological well-being aspects of digital communication, noting that its impact depends on individual goals, relationship closeness, and communication exchange quality. Ultimately, the essay concludes that embracing digital communication is essential for organizations aiming to enhance employee satisfaction, improve productivity, and achieve overall success. Desklib provides access to similar essays and study resources for students.

Running head: BUSINESS COMMUNICATION 1
Business Communication
Name
Institutions

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION 2
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Introduction
Digital communication in the workplace is not a choice. As companies diversify their
means of driving innovation as well as the speed to market, a dependence on technology in
automating a company’s transactional aspects of work is clear. However, organizations do not
embrace such communication technologies because they exist but rather because they need them.
This has been reiterated in this paper which supports the use of digital communication solutions
in the modern workplace.
A study conducted by Sias & Duncan (2018) suggests that an organization’s Facebook
page is an essential communication bridge between the larger organization and the staff, which
translates to enhanced employee-organization relationship. Results from this research contribute
to the understanding of social media and organization identification. The basis of this argument
is supported by research conducted by Hanna, et al., (2017). The scholars noted that job
satisfaction was directly linked to the intensity of Facebook use among staff. Also, employees
that spent most of their time interacting with their colleagues through Facebook had a higher
feeling that they were called to their line work compared to those who spent a lesser amount of
time on Facebook. An example of an organization that has embraced the application of
technology over the years in getting the work done is SAP. Brigette, - SAP’s EVP of HR- asserts
that digital communication has been the company’s linchpin in promoting remote and dispersed
teams. With digital communication, employees can create connections while at the same being
precise and having some fun.

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION 3
Nonetheless, Bartels, et al., (2019) in their study, they examined how Facebook affected
departmental as well as organizational identification by eliminating the barrier between personal
life and work. By applying the proxy efficacy as well as the social identity theory, the study
argues that having colleagues as friends of Facebook possibly has an impact on employee
identification at different organizational levels. As a result, the study further proves the need for
utilizing digital communication in the modern workplace. The results obtained from the research
indicate that the quality linked to online relationships among employees on Facebook enhances
departmental identification while the concerned authority of these contacts improved
identification within the company. Thus, by blurring the barriers between personal life and work
by the use of social media, an organization can reap from the positive effects social media has on
organizational functioning.
With new communication technologies, there are always questions about the impact these
technologies have on psychological well-being. Primarily, the focus has been Social Networking
Sites which attracted the attention of scholars to determine the link between online
communication and outcomes that comprise of effect, loneliness, and social support. Research
conducted by Burke & Kraut (2016) reveals that there is an emerging agreement that the effect of
online communication on a person’s well-being is dependent on an individual’s goals, the
closeness of the communicating individuals, as well as the communication exchange. In the
long-run, organizational success will be as a result of communication because it enhances the
level of employee satisfaction. This has been supported by results from a study conducted by
Sias (2017) that reveals that employee relationship is impacted on by communication, which may
affect productivity.

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION 4
Conclusion
From the foregoing, it is evident that the use of digital communication solutions in the
workplace is a necessity for an organization if it is to achieve its goals, enhance productivity,
employee satisfaction, and organizational identification. Digital communication solution offers a
bridge between the staff and the larger organization, thus enhancing the employee-organization
relationship. Besides, eliminating the barriers between work and personal life through the use of
social media, an organization can benefit from the positive impact of digital communication
solutions on organizational functioning.

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION 5
References
Bartels, J., Vuuren, M. V., & Ouwerkerk, J. W. (2019). My colleagues are my friends: The role
of Facebook contacts in employee identification. Management communication quarterly ,
33 (3), 307-328.
Burke, M., & Kraut, R. E. (2016). The relationship between Facebook use and well-being
depends on communication type and tie strength. Journal of computer-mediated
communication , 21 (4), 265-281.
Hannah, M. A., & Lam, C. (2017). Drawing from available means: Assessing the rhetorical
dimensions of Facebook practice. International journal of business communication , 54
(3), 235-257.
Sias, P. M. (2017). Company Facebook and organizational identification. Communication
Research Reports , 34 (4), 335-343.
Sias, P. M., & Duncan, K. L. (2018). Not just for customers anymore: Organization Facebook,
employee social capital, and organizational identification. International Journal of
Business Communication , 1-21.