From: Jordan Hooten
Subject: E-mail Issues in the Workplace
Date: April 4, 2012
Executive Summary:
In today’s society it is a guarantee that no matter where or who you work for, you will be using a computer and doing tons of electronic correspondence through e-mail. Few people know that e-mail has been around for almost a hundred years. “If 'e-mail ' is loosely defined as 'messages transmitted electronically ', then the first 'e-mail messages ' would have started in the last century with telegraph messages (by wire) and Morse Code transmissions (via airways)” (University of Maryland, 2002). E-mail as we are familiar with today, has come a long way from its origins in the late 1970’s. The patented “You got mail” was the catchphrase of the 90’s and became a staple in our lives. Little did we as a society know exactly how important that little phrase would become in both our personal and professional lives. E-mail is so widely used in todays workforce that individuals often take it for granted and misuse e-mail. In this presentation there will be discussion about proper e-mail etiquette in work correspondence, privacy issues regarding e-mail at work and an employers responsibilities regarding his or hers employees e-mail.
Discussion:
Etiquette: Etiquette within e-mail is harder than a person thinks, but is by far one of the most necessary skills to learn when writing e-mails. When using correspondence within a work place environment there are many universal etiquette rules that everyone should follow regardless of their job may be. One of the rules of e-mail etiquette that is broken in the workplace time and time again is using business e-mail for sending personal e-mails. It is very easy for a worker to mistake their work place e-mail for a personal one and send out e-mails that should be sent solely as a personal e-mail for a multitude of reasons, which we will mention again later. As a worker, it is easy to
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