Full Project Report: Electronic Mail and Listserv:
An Effective Combination for Improving Communication
Organizations of every type must regularly and effectively communicate to its participants. To be informed not only promotes the chances that the goals of an organization will be accomplished, but it also gives the individual members of the organization an opportunity to know "what is going on". As a consequence, they will feel a greater involvement with the organization and can identify more closely with it. Importantly, they will likely experience greater satisfaction in being a member of that organization. This need of regular and effective communication is a necessity with all organizations�manufacturing, service, religious, education, social, etc.
In the case of the local University of Georgia chapter of Kappa Delta sorority, the primary method of communication with individual members is by means of a weekly chapter meeting. At these meetings, announcements are made about a variety of items, events, and issues, such as on- campus events, formation and duties of various committees, and social plans. (Less often used methods of communication are the posting of announcements on the sorority bulletin board and printed sheets highlighting chapter meeting announcements.) For the most part, attendance at weekly chapter meetings is necessary for members to have complete and accurate access to sorority information. We do not feel this method of communication is adequate, and in this project, it is our plans to improve the communication process of Kappa Delta sorority.
A survey was conducted to indicate the chapter attendance patterns of sisters of Kappa Delta, and to determine if lack of attendance had implications concerning members being informed/uninformed about sorority-related matters. As shown in Table 1, only sixteen girls indicated that they did not miss any chapter meetings. Thirty-two girls reported missing one meeting per month, while as many as ten said they missed two or more meetings each month. Table 2 was developed to present the reasons cited for missing meetings and "studying" was by fare the most often mentioned reason. Other specific reasons identified include "illness" and some expressed that they just "didn�t feel like coming". It also seemed relevant to find out of the membership of Kappa Delta felt that missed meetings contributed to members having inadequate information about sorority business. Sixty-three girls responded to a question focusing on this issue: thirty-one said they eventually received the information presented at the meeting, while 32 reported they did not receive all of the information. Practically all who reported having received the information said the source was a sister or roommate. The answers to another question appear pertinent, namely, whether or not the sisters have ever had announcements they wished they could have communicated at chapter meetings but could not because they were absent. Of the 60 respondents, 35 replied "yes" to this question.
Based on these results, it can be concluded that a number of communication problems exist because the chapter meeting is the primary vehicle used to communicate to the membership of Kappa Delta Sorority, and many of the sisters are not being adequately informed regarding sorority announcements, activities, problems, etc. The major explanation for this is because the absenteeism rate for the chapter meetings is relatively high. Additionally, some information is being denied even those members who attend the meetings because often individuals who had planned to make announcements do not themselves attend the meetings.
Having identified a process requiring improvement, it was decided that the use of e-mail in the context of a Listserv would be an effective means of improving the providing of information to the membership of Kappa Delta sorority. (Obviously, this would not represent a substitution for chapter meetings, but a supplementary means of transmitting information.) according to the CONTACT Manual, a Listserv is an electronic discussion group that "provides a convenient way for people of similar interests to share their knowledge, thoughts, and opinions via electronic mail." When a person joins a discussion group, he/she will receive mail from the discussion group just as a person receives electronic mail from individuals. It is also possible for each subscriber to send mail to the discussion group.
A Listserv has now been established for the Kappa Delta sorority of the University of Georgia. Each sister who has an e-mail address is a subscribing member. One of the sisters has volunteered to e-mail a detailed summary of "minutes" for each chapter meeting. Obviously, it is not only possible for each sister to read the message at her convenience, but also to make a hard-copy, that can be saved or posted for future reference. Further, each sister has the opportunity to react to the "minutes", to ask questions, make personal announcements, and offer opinions regarding a particular issue.
Having identified a process in need of improvement, namely, the reliance of Kappa Delta sorority on chapter meetings as the primary means of sharing information with its members, we think the use of electronic mail and Listserv as a supplementary information being disseminated to a much larger percentage of the Kappa delta sisters. One major question remains: will the membership bother to read the e-mail messages being provided through Listserv? First, it should be noted that a survey question inquired as to whether or not the members of Kappa Delta already use e-mail at least on a weekly basis. More than two-thirds (44 of 64) of the Kappa Delta sisters said that they did. In response to the question of whether or not the girls would use e-mail to get access to Kappa Delta information, almost all of them, or 60 out of 64, responded positively.
Table 1: Number of Chapter Meetings Missed Each Month by Kappa Delta Members
Number of Members Missed Meeting Per Month
16 0
32 1
6 2
1 3
4 4
Table 2: Reasons Given by Kappa Delta Members for Having Missed Meetings
Number of Members Reasons for Missed Meetings
4 night classes
11 illness
33 studying
7 did not feel like coming