Media Channel Preferences of Mobile Communities

Contemporary organizations are drastically changing, in large part due to the development and application of newer communication technologies and their respective media channel options. Within virtual organizations, business leaders are increasingly faced with issues associated with managing and communicating with their mobile workers. According to Richard L. Nolan and Hossam Galal of the Harvard Business School, global businesses are aggressively exploring and investing in the virtual organization paradigm. Furthermore, organizations of all sizes increasingly have become virtual in nature. In the case of organizations involved in information processing, newer communication technologies are being used by 71.9% of small firms and 81.3% of large firms, according to a Small Business Administration study. The same study also concluded that the number of U.S. companies that have virtual and telecommuting programs have more than doubled since 1990. The challenge for leaders within this rapidly changing environment is to determine the best ways to lead and communicate with increasing numbers of mobile staff members. These leaders have an astounding array of high technology communication tools to choose from when communicating with their employees. They also Peter J. Natale Regent University, USA