INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — College students using the miracle of modern technology to reach out to professors and potential employers may be doing more harm than good, according to a professor at Indiana University.

Never use email or text for important, delicate or questionable communication. It's better not to have a written history of these discussions.

Email and texting are efficient and convenient, but drawbacks include potential misinterpretation of the message or a negative reaction from the recipient, according to Jim Parham, who teaches journalism classes at IU.

“Somewhere in the e-revolution, we found that short-form messages, delivered electronically, are an adequate replacement for face-to-face interaction,” states Parham.

Email “wars”, endless strings of communique and unrepentant language can make a bad situation worse, according to Parham.

“When you write a professor about missing today’s class, it’s probably not a priority on her/his to-do list. It’s even worse to ramble on with long-winded excuses and pabulum.”

Many employers have switched to electronic applications on their Web sites for both job applicants and internships. Unfortunately, this company-centric process eliminates the human interaction, thereby negating any interpersonal skill strength a candidate may possess.

Here’s Parham’s partial list of “Do’s” and “Don’ts”

Do

1. Write emails and text with the same care and specificity of a hard-copy document.
2. Use full sentences and proper grammar.
3. Construct your email as you would any written correspondence, with a beginning, middle and end.
4. Determine if an email or text is a proper way to communicate with another party.
5. Understand that colleges and universities retain most student emails in their databases, keeping a record of your informal banter.

Don’t

1. Take the easy route on an internship or job hunt by simply “applying online.” Press hard and find a warm body willing to talk.
2. Use popular online abbreviations and electronic shorthand. The recipient may have no idea what you mean.
3. Use email or text for important, delicate or questionable communication. It’s much better not to have a written history of these discussions.
4. Use electronic correspondence to wage war or bicker. In the heat of the battle, it’s much too easy to “fire off an email.”
5. Rely on email as your sole source of social and business interaction. Human interaction and telephone calls can help you gauge another person’s demeanor and viewpoint much more accurately.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Workplace ostracism hurts employees’ feelings, and the impact on job performance can hurt the company’s bottom line, according to new research from Purdue University.

“Most of us have been given the silent treatment on occasion, but being out of the loop, especially if it frequently happens at work, may have more negative consequences than we thought,” says Kipling D. Williams, a professor of psychological sciences who studies ostracism. “Even when people are included and acknowledged to some extent in a group setting, there is still some damage accruing when they experience periods of being in the dark. And, because this happens more frequently, its effects may be more serious than the cold shoulder.”

When people feel uninformed they may not perceive themselves as an equal group member, which could have other harmful effects for individuals and the group. Partial ostracism could lead to dislike and feelings of inequity that can lower group cohesion.

These out-of-the-loop experiences can occur when co-workers exclude someone from a hallway conversation after a meeting or a human resources manager meets with people from other departments but someone feels left out of a discussion, says Janice R. Kelly, a professor of psychological sciences. Kelly, who studies small-group decision making, said other examples of partial ostracism involve not being told about an important decision, revised deadlines, office gossip or office holiday traditions.

Williams’s and Kelly’s research findings are published in March’s Group Process and Intergroup Relations. Purdue doctoral students Eric E. Jones and Adrienne R. Carter-Sowell also are study co-authors.

In the first study, 75 participants visited with their group members in a setting where information was freely exchanged. Later, some participants were excluded from related information during a group task. Compared to those in the loop, the out-of-the-loop participants experienced incompetency, anger and sadness. A second study with 145 participants reaffirmed the results of the first study, and it also showed that people felt incompetent and treated unfairly whether they were intentionally or unintentionally excluded.

“Out-of-the-loop experiences are interesting to study because of their prevalence and subtlety in relationships and social groups, as well as their potential negative implications for groups and organizations,” Kelly says. “The psychological consequences of partial ostracism could affect performance outcomes on morale, productivity and interpersonal functioning.”

For example, when people feel uninformed they may not perceive themselves as an equal group member, which could have other harmful effects for individuals and the group. Partial ostracism could lead to dislike and feelings of inequity that can lower group cohesion.

“Because of this research, I am more sensitive about being inclusive,” Williams says. “Colleagues need to be more aware about including everyone from a group in discussions or updating those who missed a conversation or piece of information.”

This work was funded by the National Science Foundation and supported by the Department of Psychological Sciences.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Keeping workers happy is an issue many employers struggle with, but a Purdue University professor says creating a harmonious workplace starts with good communication.

“The number one cause of employee turnover is a lack of organizational commitment, and the way you establish commitment is through effective communication,” says Rodney Vandeveer, an associate professor of organizational leadership and supervision. “When people are informed, they feel connected and valued and want to invest more effort into the company.”

He says a recent study found that 62 percent of employees don’t feel that they are well-informed by management, 64 percent said management does not involve them in the communication process and 68 percent don’t believe the information they are being told.

“When workers aren’t informed completely and consistently, it makes them feel insecure,” Vandeveer says. “That makes for unhappy employees who don’t trust management, and these workers are much more likely to leave the organization.”

Vandeveer, who has more than 30 years of experience in industry working as a plant manager and director of human resources, says to improve communication in an organization managers should do the following:

• Make sure the lines of communication are open. He says in top-down organizational structures, people feel intimidated talking to managers, but in an effective workplace, employers sincerely listen to all concerns. “You have to really care about people. It has to be genuine. The interaction you have with workers could make or break the company.”
• Make yourself visible. That includes getting out of your office to talk with workers, not just about work issues but also about personal subjects. “Shake hands, put people’s anniversaries on your calendar, take the time to congratulate them and simply create positive relationships.”
• Create a balance between ensuring a task gets done and friendmaking. Vandeveer says it is important to maintain a managerial relationship and not become too much of a buddy because workers will have a tough time taking direction from a friend. “But finding the right balance helps workers have commitment to the organization, which helps the bottom line. People will even work for less money if the commitment to the company is present.”