ACCA Applied Knowledge · Business and Technology · Communicating in business
Which of the following is a disadvantage specific to using email rather than a face-to-face conversation to resolve a sensitive disagreement between two colleagues?
The key disadvantage is that email lacks tone and non-verbal cues, so a sensitive message can easily be misinterpreted and the disagreement made worse. Email can reach many people, can be stored and is delivered quickly, so the other statements are incorrect.
- AEmail cannot be sent to more than one person
- BTone and non-verbal cues are missing, so the message may be misinterpretedCorrect
- CEmail cannot be stored or retrieved later
- DEmail always takes longer to deliver than speech
Explanation
Email lacks body language, tone of voice and immediate feedback, so messages can be misread and conflict can escalate. The other options are false: email can go to many recipients, is easily stored and is delivered almost instantly.
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