#3 option 2-media selection

In the event that i was involved in a particularly nasty fight with a friend, it would probably be best to talk things over afterward, in hopes of coming to a resolution. I would choose interacting over the phone, or communicating face to face to try and reach a compromise. A fight is never straightforward because each party has a different perception of what happened, and what they want the outcome to be. This highly equivocal social event requires a rich medium, which offers a multiplicity of cues, and allows both parties to respond to one another. Speaking face to face provides for both of these circumstances, making it the best choice for the conflict resolution that needs to occur. According to the Media Richness Theory, fewer social cues can sometimes be a good thing, if the social event is straightforward. However, in this rather ambiguous case, a richer medium is necessary to achieve the best results in communicating each party's opinions and views. Therefore my choice for a richer medium based on the ambiguity of the situation fully supports the Media Richness Theory.

Opposingly, if i needed to know a homework assignment, i might choose a text based medium to contact a friend. Sending an e-mail, or an instant message is completely sufficient, and preffered for this straight forward task. There is no need for a lengthy discussion. This simple question-answer situation is completely unequivocal in nature, therefore, a lean medium is suitable. This event is in keeping with the Media Richness theory which suggests that people choose media based on the task they want to achieve. Unlike the CFO model, which supports the technologically deterministic theory that fewer social cues are always a bad thing, the Media Richness Theory allows the user to choose the media that best suits the task at hand. Inquiring about a missed homeowork assignment is completely straight-forward, therefore requiring a lean medium. This point of view is directly in line with the definition of the media richness theory.