In applying for a campus job, I was required to provide at least one campus or local reference, but as a new transfer student I have not yet built a strong enough rapport with any of my professors or TAs to offer their names. I felt like the best true reference I could offer of someone who could attest to my personality and work ethic was one from a girl in a class with whom I am working on a group project. To ask her permission for her reference, I gave her a call and left a voicemail figuring calling was most appropriate. I wanted her to understand the sincerity of my request and given our recent acquaintance I thought she would best understand if I used a “rich channel.” In response, she text me back and sent me a follow up e-mail to ensure I received her text. In her text, she apologized for not calling, explaining that she was in the library but that she was flattered by my consideration and to go ahead and use her name. I chose to respond to her text message in the interest of time (for her and my sake), saying, “Ur so great! Thank u! I’ll see u wed.” I knew that if I called my classmate back it would negatively affect her impression of me because I would be demonstrating a lack of consideration of her not wanting to talk while in the library which supports O’Sullivan’s model.
The second instance of media selection came this weekend in reinitiating contact with a recent ex-boyfriend. My goal in the communication was to apologize for the way things ended, to let him know that I was no longer upset over the whole ordeal, and to ask him to mail me some of my things. Knowing that he would want to talk and that I was not ready, I sent him an email figuring that a text message would be more likely to lead to a phone call because of its limited ability to convey the emotional consideration I knew I needed to express.
Both of these choices of media support O’Sullivan’s model and the Media Richness Theory. In both cases I wanted to manage my impression with each person as well as use channel that offered the appropriate dialectic. In the case of my ex-boyfriend, I wanted to create a “buffer” between the two of us to convey my comfort level, but I also wanted to make sure that I said what I needed to say without any interference or confusion. As for my classmate, I followed her lead on using the lean medium to express my understanding of her needs (time and environment) and convey my goals. I also wanted to ensure that I continued to present myself to her in a positive light.
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4 comments:
I think that is a great idea to use a girl that you worked with on a group project as a reference because I never thought to do that and I always get stuck in situations where I need references but don't know who to use because my classes are all huge lectures where I haven’t been able to get to know my professors or TAs well enough. I also think that by calling your classmate and leaving a voicemail, you were trying to make your message as clear as possible and therefore used a richer communication medium which is an example of the Media Richness Theory (MRT). I really enjoyed reading the examples you provided for media selection because unlike most examples I have read, you used ones that support both O’Sullivan’s model and the Media Richness Theory. In both instances you were acting as the impression manager by controlling the information that you were presenting to your ex boyfriend and the girl in your class.
Melissa, I think you chose good examples to highlight when both Media Richness Theory and O’Sullivan’s model come into play. I think it would be really interesting to analyze the etiquette behind different choices in media. If you return a text message immediately with a phone call that sends a message of urgency or surprise in my opinion. However, the reverse would show that you are either dismissing the issue or to show that you are currently occupied. Most of the time returning an email with a phone call would be uncalled for and just plain weird. Though the person initiating the contact chooses a communication channel based on either theoretical model oftentimes it is the person receiving the communication that has the final say in the method of communication. I feel like both O’Sullivan’s model and Media Richness Theory can play a non exclusive role on medium choice based mostly on situational context.
Its always strange when you call someone on a cell phone and then they txt you back. The reasons why it is strange include: 1) they don't know whether you have a txt plan or not, so they could be charging you 10-20c per message. 2) they don't know whether you know how to check your txt messages or if you even use them. 3) they dont know if the phone they are txting is a cell phone or a land line. 4) saying Hey that sounds g00d gurl!1! doesnt exactly seem professional to me, so they dont know how it is going to come across.
Anyway, the point of that was that Im always complexed by people who use texts as a reply before they know the person well enough to at least know there text plan, you know?
Anyway. As much as I am complexed by the above problem, I do think that using texts in this example supports that osullivan model if you were only thinking of her consideration. However, I think that maybe the "correct" response might have been a richer form of media since you were confirming what she said, and thus in a way praising her. (albeit indirectly). But, I think in the long run, if I were in your situation, I would have done the same thing.
Hmm... ;-)
Hey Melissa, I liked both of your examples. They were both very clear cut and completely in line with O’Sullivan’s theory of Media Richness. In both examples, emotions and the thought of the other person played a very important role. In these examples, you were considering the media which would be most effective for both you and the person you were contacting. This is still examples of O’Sullivan’s theory, but it is an interesting and slight difference from the way most blogs have discussed the theory. Not only is the impression management most important, but it seems as though you valued the task of the other person with whom you were communicating. Granted, this is a type of impression management, since you didn’t want to come off mean, but it is also a type of media selection with the other person in mind. As I stated, emotions also played a large role in your media selection. I think emotions are one of the most powerful driving forces for type of media with which we should use. O’Sullivan really captures the essence of this, based on the fact that he stresses that his theory is not all about efficiency but rather, how emotions and other factors effect your decision of which channel of media to use.
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