The Perceived Effectiveness of Paperless Communication Tools Used by Globe Telecom with Its External Publics

Abstract

In today’s modern and fast-changing society, communication technology continues to adapt to the rapid changes of society and to innovate to adapt to these changes. Before, people are satisfied with sending letters through snail mail, or long distance calls from here and abroad. Now, it is completely different. People are not just satisfied with sending text messages to their loved ones - they want (and claim to need) unlimited texting. People are not just satisfied with a single email - they publish through their blogs and chat with others through instant messaging. With the wide array of choices of the different paperless communication tools in front of the many, people nowadays just can not get enough of communicating and sharing their lives with other people. As paperless communication is becoming popular and widespread, there now a number of companies here in the Philippines that promote the use of paperless communication for their external and internal communications. This study follows the Cybernetic Systems Theory, developed by Norbert Wiener, which illustrates well the system, elements and variables of this study on paperless communication. The study employed a descriptive study design, and used purposive sampling in choosing the respondents. The respondents of the survey questionnaire are 100 UP Manila students, all of which are Globe subscribers. Also, an interview with a Globe employee who heads the department for the Multimedia business Group who are in charge of making Globe Telecom’s paperless communication tools. It has been found in this study that majority of the respondent are familiar with the most known paperless communication tools used by Globe Telecom, and that they are aware of the systems of communication. Also, taking into consideration the attributes of paperless media, the respondents believe that these communication tools are successful in giving them information yet they most often than not ignore these, since they always receive and encounter these tools, some even considering them as spam. Also, a significant number of respondents claim that these paperless communication tools are costly, contrary to their effect of cost-efficiency to companies. In the interview done with the Globe employee, the interviewer said that paperless media are used for wider reach, yet more than half of the respondents are not aware of Globe’s Internet ads and websites. In conclusion, paperless communication is effective and popular throughout the publics, proving that it is beneficial and advantageous to companies using it. The respondents, who are subscribers of the company’s services, rely on these tools for updates and for easier access to Globe services. Though most often ignored, respondents claim to read most of the information before deleting them. With this it can still be stated that paperless communication is effective. Based on the findings of the study, the researcher recommends that the tools such as announcements and advisories be done on a regular basis, but not to the point of spamming the subscribers’ inbox. It is also recommended for future studies to focus on one paperless communication tool, and determine its effectiveness and how it can be improved.