The Association for Business Communication honored a Brigham Young University business communications professor with its annual 2002 Outstanding Article Award.
The award was presented to Kristen DeTienne, Marriott School associate professor of organizational leadership and strategy, and co-authors Karl L. Smart at Central Michigan University, and Matthew E. Whiting of Microsoft Corporation.
The paper, “Assessing the Need for Printed and Online Documentation: A Study of Customer Preference and Use,” was published last year in the July Issue of The Journal of Business Communication. Their research found that even though many businesses have moved to online help and documentation to reduce costs, many customers still prefer printed reference material.
The authors surveyed 400 users of a popular word-processing program to find out how often they used the print and online help resources. The researchers also directly observed 18 people using the program in their workplace.
“We examined how computer users react to the way information is presented so that companies know how to design information to meet customers’ needs,” DeTienne says. “We found that documentation is an essential part of actual products, not an add-on or secondary support.”
According to their findings, many people, especially less experienced users, prefer printed material. They discovered the importance of printed help manuals when they heard the term “manual thief” among co-workers — describing someone who borrows and never returns manuals.
DeTienne says, “We wrote this article because the focus of our research is the effect of technology on people in the workplace. We wanted to understand human/computer interaction. There hasn’t been much research done in this area.”
Papers considered for the Association of Business Communication’s Outstanding Article Award must contribute significantly to scholarship, research and/or pedagogy, demonstrate originality of thought and careful investigation, be extremely well written, lucid and engaging, and be written by members of the Association for Business Communication.
The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally recognized programs in accounting, business management, public management, information systems, organizational behavior and entrepreneurship. The school’s mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,000 students are enrolled at the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs.
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Writer: April Ebbert
