Abstract
E-mail has become an accepted means of communication in working environments, andvirtual teams who infrequently meet face to face tend to use e-mail extensively evenwhen they are involved in complex and sensitive discussions. This paper reports on ananalysis of the e-mails of university students working in virtual teams. It was found thatthe timing of e-mail messages provides implied information and compensates to someextent for the loss of non-verbal cues that are present in face-to-face communication.This implied information contributes to the richness of the information and assists thereader in interpreting not only the message but also the context. As a result, trust canbe established or undermined. Actual examples are provided to illustrate some of theissues.
Publisher
University of Johannesburg
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