Thanks for pointing out these other resources and your MBA work. Folks like you and me who communicate for a living must always be careful what we write and how we write it, since 80% of the non-verbal communication is missing.

Regards,

Harry

I am very happy to see that you are writing about one of my favorite topics - the misuse and abuse of email. During my MBA work two years ago, I had an opportunity to do research on this topic during a course on Organizational Communications. One of the more interesting references I found was this:

A 5-step process to use in situations where conflict escalation could occur
[From Grandgenett & Grandgenett (2001)]. To construct e-mail for collaborative problem solving, they recommend following these 5-steps, using each question as a guide to constructing effective e-mail:
1. What is the problem? – keep to a single major issue.
2. What makes it a problem? – explain unemotionally.
3. What can be done? – suggest options.
4. What should be done? – say which option is preferable.
5. What will be done? – provide a bottom line, professionally stated, of what will or must be done.

If you are interested, you can check out a complete summary of my research at my project website: “The Impact of Globalization and Communications Technology on Conflict Management”

In my research, I also found this site that you might find interesting: “Email Happens”

Regards,
Mike Demler
“http://synopsysoc.org/analoginsights”