Effects of Recent Communication Technology in the Office on Organization Structure and Work Responsibilities (Service Companies)

Communication flow in a large German concern. Means of communication
used and characterization of office jobs of respondents. Acceptance of
recent communication technology by operators and users.

Topics: The complete project is divided into a series of different
questionnaires each covering different areas of office communication.

1. Basic conditions of communication: department; function of
respondent; number of persons in work room; occupation learned; office
next door; characterization of type and extent of telephone
conversations; notes; disturbances of telephone conversation;
characterization of deskwork carried out; type of typewriter used; use
of dictating machine; information on type and extent of photocopies
made; carbon copies; susceptibility of copier to repairs; type and
extent of teletype messages as well as faxes received and sent; type
and extent of company mail or regular mail; delivery times and type of
reports received; characterization of noise development at work;
subjectively perceived stress from noises arising from the means of
communication.

2. Technology in the office: judgement on the ´new technology´ in the
office (scale) and the ability of the secretary to deal with it;
attitude to the research project.

3. Description of job situation: characterization in general as well
as relative to the situation of one´s own work demands and
characterization of a desirable job by means of the same scale.

4. Various forms of exchange of information: characterization of
various forms of exchange of information (personal conversation,
telephone, fax, telegram and regular mail) by means of corresponding
equivalent ´semantic differential´.

5. Choice of means of communications: most important criteria for
choice of a means of communications.

6. Communication relations: characterization of internal, external as
well as intra-department communication relations according to type and
frequency; characterization of all information exchange; primary
communication partner.

7. Communication with teletex: type and frequency of communications
with individual function areas of the business; local accomodation of
these function areas; personal contact with contacts; perceived
possibilities of improvement for intra-company communication; primary
communication partners and purpose of making contact; decision-making
in the selection of communication channel (scale); replaceability of
letters, telephone conversations and personal contacts by other
communication channels; perceived effects from organizational changes
undertaken.

8. Description of tasks: description of tasks at work according to
their variety, their dependence on preparatory work, cooperation with
further colleagues, frequency of occurrence of work peaks, absence from
the workplace, substitute arrangement, contacts within the company and
outside the company, structural characteristics of area of
responsibility and office activity; provision of examples of individual
tasks.

9. Writing duties: assessment of correction effort for typewritten
documents; use of teletype and fax; obstacles to use of teletype
experimental equipment; use of word processors or memory typewriters;
certainty in operating teletype equipment; demands of a secretary;
satisfaction with office organization; requirements for reasonable use
of a teletype system; personal use of DP.

10. Telephone conversations during a business trip: characterization
of reason for and content of telephone conversations that had to be
conducted with one´s company during a business trip; result of
conversation.

11. Letter mail: detailed description of correspondent, content of
letter and external form of a letter received.

12. Arriving telephone call: characterization of a telephone call
according to telephone partner, reason for call, importance, duration
and content of conversation; teletype capability of partner.

13. Out-going mail: characterization of correspondent, of information
in the letter as well as the form and content of the letter.

14. Out-going telephone call: characterization of telephone call
according to telephone partner, importance, duration, reason and
content of conversation.

15. Conversation: characterization of a conversation that took place
according to major cause, conversation duration, conversation partner
as well as reason for choice of this means of communication.

16. Exchange of data sheet information: recording of all information
exchanges relative to tasks according to originator of contact,
communication path, place of occupation of communication partner and
urgency.

17. Job description: description of proportion of job for writing
letters, out-going mail, handling in-coming mail, telex, fax and
telephone.

18. Office technology: attitude to increase in technology in the
office work world (scale).

19. Job demands: (this questionnaire was directed to secretaries)
characterization of stress situation in the office; over-burdened;
urgency of writing tasks; employment interruptions; desire for more
independence; attitude to increase in technology in the office work
world; perceived double burden as a woman.

20. Only for secretaries participating in the field experiment with
word processors: adequate training time; support from superiors during
introduction; reasons to use the word processor as well as the
typewriter; general characterization of word processor (semantic
differential); advantages and disadvantages of word processor;
judgement on schooling on equipment.

21. Time budget: detailed recording of time budget of secretaries and
characterization of written work according to production, shipment and
type (secretary questionnaire).

22. Job demands: characterization of one´s own mood by means of a
semantic differential.

23. Effects of changes on secretaries: type of changes from use of the
new equipment; characterization of work on the test equipment;
description of office organizations; production of written work and
consequences of test equipment; exchange of reports with foreign
countries; judgement on telex, telefax and telephone; running a filing
system; characterization of job situation (scale); critical situations
and differences of opinion in connection with installation of test
equipment; characterization of schooling and training; substitute
arrangement; demands of secretaries, with command of newer office
technologies; training.

24. Acceptance: characterization of office job and improvements or
deterioration resulting from participation in the experiment (scale);
classification of secretary activity according to popularity and
character of one´s own job; personal demands on quality of written work
and those of superior; general judgement on test equipment and work
with this device; decision criteria for use of alternative
communication channels.

25. General characterization of an electric typewriter, word
processing, the sending and receiving possibilities with letter by
mail, fax, telex and telephone.

Demography: school education; occupational training; exercising (in
years) the current occupation (classified); exercising (in months) the
current job (classified).