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Running head: How Electronic Communication is Affecting The Way We Do Business Abstract Electronic communication has become a part of every aspect of our society. It is recognized as being one of the most important and influential aspects of the way we conduct business. Electronic communication technology has made it easier to contact other employees in the same office, and even around the world. Computers and software have revolutionized communication within the business office. Programs have made it simple for businesses, small companies, and large corporations, to keep track of any information that passes through the business, whether it is from a secretary or the CEO. Today’s society is dependent upon electronic communication. This paper will concentrate on how the areas of the Internet, electronic mail (EMAIL), E-commerce, and E-Business effect the way we communicate within the business world. How Electronic Communication is Affecting The Way We Do Business In business today there is a growing usage and need for off site communication to manage projects and provide specific training. Businesses are finding ways to reduce costs by bringing information to their sites electronically. Technology has enabled organizations to communicate between domestic and international divisions. In addition, companies can communicate with customers, outside consultants and trainers. These communication trends are advanced by cost reduction, effectiveness and efficiency demands, and the capability of technology (Hoyt, 1998). The World Wide Web or Internet is one of the largest means of electronic communication in business. The World Wide Web is defined as: The leading information retrieval service of the Internet (the worldwide computer network). The Web gives users access to a vast array of documents that are connected to each other by means of hypertext or hypermedia links--i.e., hyperlinks, electronic connections that link related pieces of information in order to allow a user easy access to them. The Internet is defined as: “The world’s largest computer network, which is actually a network of networks” (Thill & Bovee, 1998). The driving force behind the Internet and World-Wide Web (WWW) are facilitating business communication unhampered by geographical distances and provides rapid access to information. The Internet started as a government project in the late 1960’s that connected bulky and slow computers from one place to another by a network line for the purpose of exchanging information. Today, computers have evolved to small, super-fast machines with Internet capabilities that come standard. Since the 1960’s, the use of the Internet has sky rocketed, with a growth rate of 341,634% for the WWW sites. The World Wide Web has accomplished wonders for businesses and consumers around the globe by supplying them with quantities of information on every product or service imaginable. It has become a viable marketing channel for most companies selling goods, from financial services to hot sauce. As the use of the internet continues to weave its way into the fabric of everyday business and personal life, and as the second wave of Internet entrepreneurship takes root, companies of all types are being forced to address how best to make the Internet a fundamental part of their business and their competitive communication strategy. There were an estimated 400 million people worldwide using the Internet in 2001; about 167 million in North America, 105 million in Europe, 122 million in the Asia-Pacific region, 21 million in Latin America, and 7 million the rest of the world.
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