Abstract

Information technologies such as the Web-Mediated Communication (WMC) are changing the way people think, work, collaborate and coordinate at the workplace. Corporations and organizations seeking to gain competitive edge are looking at Web-mediated communication technologies to make organizational communication more effective. Whereas the impact of Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) technologies has been studied extensively (Hiltz & Turoff 1978, Sproull & Kiesler 1991, December 1996), the impact of Web-mediated communication technologies on the workplace is relatively a new phenomenon, and as such has received little attention (Jackson 1996). This paper examines the effects of using the intranet-based Web as a medium of communication through a case study at US WEST Communications Inc.--a telecommunications company based in Englewood, Colorado. It examines the human impact on employees at the workplace and discusses the threats and opportunities of Web-mediated communications.