Alternative methods of communication
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|
| Post | - everyone can receive post
- tangible items can be sent, ie parcels
| - it costs more to receive confirmation that the letter or parcel made it to its destination
- post is slow when compared to email or faxfax: a technology used to digitise hard copies of documents, transfer them across the telephone network, and print them on receipt
|
| Fax | - fast - a hard copy is received by the recipient almost as soon as the fax is sent
- tamper proof - the hard copy cannot be altered electronically, which is useful for legal documents
- a confirmation receipt can be requested showing that the fax was delivered successfully
| - fax machines are usually shared in an office, the delivery receipt confirms it arrived successfully, but it could've been picked up by the wrong person
- the quality of faxed documents can sometimes make them difficult to read
- if the recipient's fax machine isn’t turned on or working then you cannot send the fax to them
|
| Video Conferencing | - no need for people to travel for face to face meetings
- effectively face to face meetings can take place between people dotted all over the world
| - special hardwarehardware: the physical components of a computer is required for video conferencing and everyone who wants to take part has to have compatible hardware
- the quality of the video depends on the quality of the hardware and the connection between the different sites, the connection is usually made using the Internet
|
| Telephone calls | - instant response to whatever you say
- no special hardware required – one phone can call any other phone
- voicemailvoicemail: a message left as a recording that can be listened to later by the recipient can allow messages to be taken even when the phone isn't answered
| - may be difficult to get hold of someone on the phone (they may work in several offices or spend time outside the office)
- voicemail isn't always regularly checked
|
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