The advent of new forms of communication technology and associated social media have benefited organizations and their employees in many ways, but they have also led to an assortment of problems and conflicts. Several themes are apparent in the scenarios presented in this exercise. For one thing, contemporary communication media have blurred the distinction between the work and non-work domains. Second, the scenarios suggest communication contradictions—Facebook postings could be grounds for firing, but the medium can also facilitate work related communication. Third, much contemporary communication occurs in a context in which one is not sure just who the receiver might be. The exercise can be conducted in several ways: Students can independently prepare their reflections on the scenarios for class discussion. Alternatively, learning teams can discuss one or more scenarios and report their reflections to the class. Finally, the instructor might organize a debate around each scenario. In any case, use your imagination when reflecting on the scenarios. How would you feel if you were an employee in the scenario? How would you feel if you were a manager?

Atos, a European IT services firm with 74 000 employees in 42 countries, announced that it would put in place a “zero email policy” for internal communications, claiming that email contains too much (90 percent) time-wasting trivia. Instead, its CEO touted the advantages of communicating in person, by phone, by text, or via various real-time social media such as Facebook or business collaboration software. Supporters of the plan noted that younger people had already deserted email for more social media and texting. Critiques asserted that people will “waste” time communicating no matter what media or technology are used, as it’s just human nature. What do you say? And is email passé for internal business communications?