COMMUNICATION CHANNELS

In the basic communication process, a sender puts a message
in words and transmits it to a receiver who interprets
the message. The medium the sender chooses to transmit
the message is called the communication channel.
Traditionally, it was thought that the words chosen
and way they were interpreted were solely responsible for
a successful message. Beginning in the 1960s with Marshall
McLuhan, however, many came to believe that the
medium was the message. Today, with the help of media
richness theory and its extensions—and variants such as
channel expansion theory—most people realize that the
appropriate choice of communication channel (medium)
contributes significantly, along with the words, to the success
of a message. Appropriate choice helps senders communicate
clearly, saving them and their businesses time
and money. Therefore, examining various communication
channels to understand their appropriate use is important.
Media richness theory ranks communication channels
along a continuum of richness, defining highly rich
channels as those handling multiple inherent cues simultaneously,
such as using feedback, nonverbal cues, and
several senses simultaneously. A face-to-face meeting,
which employs feedback as well as audio and visual senses,
is considered extremely rich. A newsletter or brochure is
lean, however, involving only the visual sense and slow or
no feedback. Several of these channels—brochures and
Web pages, letters, electronic mail (e-mail) messages,
video e-mail messages, text messaging, instant messaging,
telephone conversations, videoconferencing or virtual
meetings, and face-to-face meetings—will be reviewed,
along with some guidelines for appropriate use.
BROCHURES/WEB PAGES
Writers usually create brochures or Web pages to provide
information on a product or service. While often used for
persuasive purposes, they are usually presented as routine
informational documents. Writers lay out the information
carefully, often designing the visual layout as carefully as
they compose the text of the content. These lean channels
work effectively when one-way communication in a visual
medium is needed. In choosing these channels, the sender
is eliminating any extraneous information a richer source
might include, keeping the content of the message clear
and focused.
LETTERS
Letters are primarily printed, formal business documents.
They are best used when one wants to convey important,
nonroutine information, such as job offers or refusals,
promotions, awards and honors, and other kinds of special
announcements. Also, they are an appropriate channel
for certain attempts at persuasion, such as soliciting
contributions to a special cause, asking someone to speak
to a group, or proposing the acceptance of an idea. Print
letters are still used as advertising tools; the most effective
ones, however, are those that are individually customized,
making them a special message.
E-MAIL MESSAGES
E-mail messages are widely used in business as well as in
personal life. While e-mail is a fast and efficient channel,
it is considered lean because it allows no eye contact and
few nonverbal cues. Because e-mail messages are not
totally secure and because they are legally discoverable,
these messages are used primarily in routine contexts,
leaving special or nonroutine messages for other channels.
The notes writers send to family and friends are usually
accounts of day-to-day activities, with more important,
special messages communicated through richer channels.
VIDEO E-MAIL MESSAGES
A variant of e-mail, video e-mail is much richer than textbased
e-mail, but it is still a one-way communication
channel. The lack of interactivity makes it appropriate for
messages that need richness but not real-time feedback.
Personal use of this channel might be appropriate for such
situations as showing a new haircut, introducing new
friends, and even showing a new baby. On the other hand,
business use of video e-mail is still evolving. Obviously,
when one needs to show something, say a new package
design, it would be a good choice. A short sales message
might be appropriate in some contexts. At this time, the
best use of this channel appears to be special messages.
TEXT MESSAGING
Text messaging is predominantly for short messages sent
from one cell phone to another cell phone by typing in
written messages. Because it takes time to enter the text,
senders often use shortcuts such as “u” for “you” or “thx”
for “thanks.” Some technologies, however, are making it
easier to send these messages. Not only are there Web sites
where users simply enter messages via a keyboard, but the
predictive technology built into phones that completes
words is reducing the amount of typing needed. Additionally,
voice-input software that converts voice to text is an
up-and-coming technology. Sending text messages allows
the senders to communicate with receivers in a way that is

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE, SECOND EDITION 125
Communication Channels
less disruptive than a phone call and usually more immediate
than an e-mail message.
INSTANT MESSAGING
Similar to text messaging, instant messaging (IM) is used
to exchange short messages, usually with abbreviated text,
sent over the Internet. Most senders and receivers connect
and engage in highly interactive real-time communication.
Its use in business is just beginning—not only
because a large percentage of young people competent at
using it are just entering the workplace, but also because
of the recent development of enterprise IM software,
which keeps records of these messages. Until this technology
became available, many businesses were reluctant to
allow IM, fearing such things as problems with sexual
harassment, loss of intellectual capital, and other potential
problems the technology might enable. Furthermore, the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires that written company
communications be auditable, so until enterprise IM
software became available, IM’s use in business was not
widespread.
PHONE CONVERSATIONS
A somewhat richer channel is the phone. It transmits
sound rather than printed words and sound can enrich the
message’s words with emphasis and emotion. It also allows
for immediate feedback, qualifying it as a richer channel
one would use to get important, immediate responses.
The choice of this channel to transmit a message is highly
contextual. Some receivers view the telephone as invasive
and prefer to rely on voice-mail systems to get messages.
Others view the phone as an important way of doing business.
Most receivers carry cell phones so they can get
important messages wherever they go. Knowing the
importance of one’s message, as well as the receiver’s preferred
way of doing business, is critical when opting to use
this channel.
VIDEOCONFERENCING/VIRTUAL
MEETINGS
As communication channels, videoconferencing and virtual
meetings are extremely rich. These technologies allow
people in different locations to interact with one another
using audio and video. Users choose them for their convenience
as well as cost-effectiveness. They are available in
most large companies as well as on the Web by subscription
for use by smaller companies and individuals. For
example, a company might want to have the vice president
for sales in on its planning meeting for a new product
launch without asking that person to travel to its site
for a thirty-minute meeting. Or a company might want to
screen job candidates and then bring in only the top candidates
for on-site interviews. As a rule, these channels are
best used when the communication needs are special,
immediate, or otherwise expensive.
FACE-TO-FACE MEETINGS
Face-to-face meetings are ranked at the top of the richness
scale because they allow complete use of all senses and
continuous feedback. Companies find such meetings to
be a good choice for nonroutine business, such as planning
new products, analyzing markets and business strategy,
negotiating issues, and solving or resolving problems.
Additionally, the face-to-face meetings of teams often provide
a synergistic effect that improves the outcome of their
actions. The collaboration efforts face-to-face meetings
evoke are often worth the time and expense of using this
channel.
SUMMARY
While these channels are not the only ones available, they
clearly show that the sender of a message has range of
choices from lean to rich. To help ensure successful communication,
the sender needs to select the channel appropriate
for the context. Additionally, in choosing an
appropriate channel, one needs to consider not only richness
but also other factors such as message content, sender
and receiver competency with the channel, receiver access
to the channel, and the receiver’s environment. For example,
while an e-mail is relatively easy to send, some people
may not have easy access to receiving it, while others could
easily have it forwarded to a cell phone or pick it up on a
wireless device.
The appropriate choice of a communication channel
leads to productivity increases and positive social effects.
Understanding how the appropriate choice affects the success
of a message helps senders decide which communication
channel to use.