Page 256 - Encyclopedia of Business and Finance

eobf_E 7/5/06 3:00 PM Page 233

Electronic Mail

accounts and software, and using company time have no important message details such as grammar and spelling,
expectations of privacy. Companies feel free to examine an will indicate professionalism in corporate communication.
employee’s e-mail. In addition, e-mail has been sum-
moned on court cases to prove work environment status.
ETIQUETTE
Employees should never write anything in an e-mail When communicating with e-mail, etiquette is an impor-
that they would not say face-to-face to the concerned par- tant convention that should not be overlooked. E-mail
ties. E-mail is not like private letters that are received in
lends itself naturally to brief messages. A message can be so
the mail, torn up, and thrown away. E-mail is backed up,
brief, however, that it is terse and may seem both rude and
placed on other servers, and will be retrievable for a long
abrupt to the receiver. Tone, therefore, is an important
time. Also, the person to whom e-mail is sent may decide
issue of etiquette. This is especially true in communicating
to forward it to others without the sender’s permission.
with international audiences who may expect a more
extensive exchange of courtesies in the e-mail message.
SECURITY Correct use of e-mail etiquette includes such courte-
E-mail is now available in many venues. Checking e-mail sies as asking a message sender for permission before for-
on office or home computers is no longer the only option. warding the sender’s message to others, using an
E-mail can be transmitted to personal digital assistants, appropriate and clearly understood subject line, and send-
pagers, and cell phones. These media frequently use wire- ing messages only to people who have an interest in receiv-
less networks. Wireless signals have more security issues ing them.
than wired systems. Just as a cell phone call can be inter- Some message senders use emoticons or symbols to
cepted and heard by others, so can the related e-mail be indicate nonverbal communication cues, for instance, :-)
compromised. When dealing with issues that should be (which indicates happiness). Reviews are mixed on whether
secure, how the e-mail will be received should be consid- emoticons are acceptable in the business use of e-mail.
ered. Most companies would not want third parties to be
able to easily glance at a cell phone display and see propri-
JUNK MAIL AND FRAUD ATTEMPTS
etary company information.
Along with receiving a large volume of e-mail is the issue
of junk mail including spam, viruses, and phishing. Spam
ACCESS
is unsolicited e-mail that is delivered usually in mass mail-
E-mail is of value only if it is sent to a valid e-mail address ings to the electronic mailbox. The sheer volume of spam
where it will be reviewed by the person one is attempting can cause systems to crash. In 2003 the CAN-SPAM Act
to contact. Addresses may be changed and if an address is was passed in an attempt to better regulate spam. Spam
not current, the e-mail will not be delivered, resulting in a filters have been taking a bite out of spam by excluding
communication delay. One cannot communicate effec- suspicious e-mail messages and sending them to a quaran-
tively if one is missing e-mail addresses or has bad tine area. The e-mail reader should go to the quarantine
addresses, the other parties do not use e-mail, or the other area periodically to see if important messages have been
parties are not checking their e-mail. sent there by accident. Because the spam filter looks for a
wide variety of subject lines, care must be taken to include
ORGANIZATION an explicit and appropriate subject line. Using something
In order to keep up with a barrage of e-mail arriving daily, such as “hi” or “it’s me” might send messages straight to
it is a good idea to organize one’s e-mail. E-mail is received the receiver’s quarantine box.
in chronological order, but most e-mail software will let Viruses can be attached to e-mail messages, usually
users sort the chronological list by name of sender or sub- through attachments. A good plan is to scan attachments
ject. This way users can find that message they remember with a current virus scanner before opening any that
getting but cannot see in their mailbox at first glance. might be suspicious. As more computer users use strong
Another option is to move messages one is finished with antivirus programs, this issue may become less important
to specific folders. Users can even designate that certain in the future.
incoming messages be sent directly to a folder or mailbox Phishing occurs when a message is received that pur-
rather than their inbox. Users do have to remember to ports to be from an entity e-mail readers would know,
check their e-mail in that special folder or mailbox, such as their banks, popular shopping sites, or auction
though. services. If the message is not examined closely, the screen
Handling e-mail in a prompt and effective manner is image and presentation may seem authentic. The message
increasingly important as the volume of e-mail continues is phishing for information by trying to get users to reveal
to build. Accuracy in responses, as well as attention to valuable personal information such as account numbers

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE, SECOND EDITION 233