The present discussion, and the topic I have chosen, concerns the use of memos in the workplace. Lumen learning supposes that this type of communication is quickly being displaced in the current corporate climate (“Formatting business writing | Business communication skills for managers,” n.d.). In my experience, calling memos “a trend of the past”, which is being replaced by email and other technology is understandable, although a bit premature. When examining many of the workplace settings I have been part of, the presence of memos was never especially prevalent. At my first workplace, most of the communications between the staff, management and various parts of the organization was done through messaging apps or email, barring the use of memos entirely. This climate makes me think that memos do not provide sufficient flexibility and speed in communication, subsequently losing to messengers’ capabilities. I heard about other members of the team receiving memos, and remembered the principles of writing one, but this practice did not prove useful to me.
On another job, the situation was practically the same. In most cases, the communication was limited either to the capabilities or whatever software that was used, or face-to-face interaction. Comparatively, using email and writing formal memos fell too stagnant, rigid and impractical. Both of these workplaces were comparatively progressive with their practices, making many older workers unfamiliar with the conventions of quick digital communication. Looking at the experience of these employees, and thinking about the companies they likely came from makes me feel that memos will take a long while to fully disappear. Much like the conventions of coffee machines and cubicles, memos are an integral part of the default corporate experience. Despite being actively pushed out by innovation, change and technology, it is unlikely that the corporate culture will be capable of getting rid of them.
References
Formatting business writing | Business communication skills for managers. (n.d.). Lumen Learning – Simple Book Production.