Entire Issue - National Association of Legal Assistants

members demonstrates the importance of how technology
is changing the way NALA conducts business. As a member,
I believe NALA’s efforts to communicate more regularly
and efficiently with its members makes me feel important
to the organization. I feel like my membership counts
because NALA is making the effort to keep me informed
in a timely and efficient manner.
Are you a better communicator because of technology?
Do you get what you want more often because you use technology
to construct an argument that identifies your need and
the desired outcome? Or, do you tend to communicate via e-
mail in order to avoid face-to-face contact? How does this
avoidance affect workplace relationships?
Technology, while not yet recognized by the workplace
relationship (organizational communication) gurus for its
powerful influence on our workplace relationships, does
have a powerful streak within those relationships. This
power is worth examining. Next time a conflict arises at
work, examine it through a technological lens by considering
the following factors:
Personnel: Everyone involved in a project should be able
and amenable to using specific technologies in order for a technological
solution to be successful. A person who is not willing
to learn new things can make a workplace miserable trying to
rely on old methods to get the work done. Try to bridge the
comfort gap for a person having trouble adjusting to the technology
and see if tension eases.
The Knowledge Factor: Do you (or a colleague) have
more practice-area knowledge or more technological knowledge?
Which is more important in your job? A firm may
have hired a person based on their technological abilities
thinking that the practice-area knowledge could be learned.
Or, perhaps the firm hired a person with vast experience in
the practice area without considering whether the person
could handle the technological demands of the job. How does
knowing so much (or so little) about technology affect the
satisfaction you get from doing your job? Consider evening
out your own skills—upgrading your technological knowledge
or your practice-area knowledge—to ease any tension or
frustration you may be feeling.
Technological Power: Technology offers two kinds of
power that we need to recognize. First, technology gives us
power. Legal assistants offered jobs in the early 1990s because
of their technological knowledge understand this point, but
it still holds true today. Being confident and constantly
striving to upgrade technical skills creates a level of personal
confidence and power.
Second, technology also has power over us, and this is an
important point to remember. If our e-mail server goes down
for an afternoon we certainly feel that power, but the power I
mention here is different. This kind of power is the kind that
forces us to seek the first kind of power—to keep upgrading
our skills so that we are not left behind.
In other words, as technology changes, the change serves
as a force that keeps us moving and upgrading our own skills.
This second kind of power can also make some people feel
helpless, and this is a real feeling that affects how we feel about
the work we do. Some people will load new software and seem
quite adept at using it. Others might load the same new software
and be unable to find the main menu. This powerful
technological influence can lead to frustration.
Harnessing this power of technology is important for both
the efficient use of technology and for determining its role and
influence on workplace relationships. Technology can be stifling
(I have to learn what just to print a docket sheet?) and
can offer endless possibilities (Should we post a Power Point
presentation on the Web or an interactive HTML page?)
Regardless, both result from the power of technology and both
can be paralyzing—the first because of lack of knowledge and
the second because of too many choices.
Next time you find yourself frustrated by a task on
your desk, your work environment, or your relationship
with a colleague, examine the situation through a technological
lens. Do you gain or lose power through technology to do
your job well and to enhance workplace relationships?
The answer may surprise you.
charlsye.smith@ttu.edu
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FACTS & FINDINGS / AUGUST 2003 47