Commenting on a fellow classmate's blog, I realized that the advent of communication advancements have not restricted my human interaction much. I still try to conduct much of my business in person, hang out with friends, etc. I also realized that this was a conscientious decision on my part. I purposefully look to foster human interaction. In the old days, business was conducted with a sense of purpose, good relationships, and no substitute for a firm handshake. While I embrace many of today's technologies, I've found that many relationships have become superficial in nature. In my opinion, a face-to-face meeting solidifies a business relationship and loyalty far more than half a dozen emails.
Communication trends show less and less human interaction, which actually makes me sad. Things like gas prices affect this, curtailing business travel. Instead of meeting face to face, it's an email or phone call. There are countless aspects of communication advancements that are beneficial, but I believe this particular example is a step backwards. It appears that we are trading a handful of strong meaningful business relationships for dozens of average relationships.
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4 comments:
When you say that communication trends show less human interaction, I cannot but help think that perhaps you mean less PHYSICAL interaction, rather than any human interaction. The title of your post also indicates that you probably mean physical interaction only.
The reason for the clarification is that I actually believe that human interaction has increased with time. By "interaction", I mean any form of communication between humans. Of course, the number of ways humans can communicate with one another has increased, as have the possibility of connections between humans living geographically apart from each other.
I do however agree with your observation that physical human interaction has probably decreased with time, owing to the reason that the need for physical interaction has decreased with increasing reliance upon new communication technologies that do not require physical interaction.
Kartik makes a good observation--we are communicating as much or more, but maybe less in person. For me, online teaching has opened a new range of opportunities and new students I wouldn't meet if I only taught in person classes--because many of my online students wouldn't be able to participate in an in person class. I've met all sorts of people online, and sometimes I've also gotten to meet them in person. Both ways of interacting are important and provide ways to get to know people.
What savvy organizations have learned is to use in person meetings strategically. For example, a global team may do most of its work together online, then meet once or twice a year for socializing--to build relationships and do nonwork stuff together.
Kartik, you're right - I was talking about personal interaction as in meeting in person. I'll try to be more clear next time. :)
I once read that what help get things done is human relationships. Basically you can be an top notch communicator and get nothing or very little completed. When I started my last job two years ago, it was became very obvious that unless I had a relationship with my co-workers I would not be successful at my job. I was right.
My point is that it seems that people decide to meet in person when there is critical problem to resolve otherwise most of the communication is done via email or voicemail. I really believe though that if people started with the human interaction first, then the number of critical situation to address would not be so high.
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