Benefits of a Paperless Office

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BENEFITS OF A PAPERLESS OFFICE

There are many benefits to working towards a paperless office; these include being cost effective, more convenient, and environmentally friendly. With the introduction of personal computers, it was once thought that, by this time, all offices would be paperless. However, this is exactly opposite of what has happened. Abigail Sellen (2001) noted in her book the Myth of the Paperless Office that printing office E-mail has caused a 40 percent increase in paper consumption in the office. Although more data is being sent and kept electronically, much of this data is still being printed only to be thrown away or shredded.

It is estimated that 90 % of all office work is record keeping. This can be explained by a study done more than 15 years ago; the study approximated that companies in America printed and filed approximately 120 billion sheets of paper each year. Of that paper filed, less than 20% will be accessed again (McCorry, 2005). The physical storage of those pages is a costly practice. With the advent of low cost electronic data management storage devices, it would seem more companies would take greater strides to reduce paper usage. A study by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency estimates that associated paper costs can be as much as 31 times the purchasing price of the paper alone. That would work out to be 155 dollars for a five dollar ream of paper (Sustainability in the Office, n.d.). However, worldwide use of office paper has doubled and is expected to double again by the year 2050. With the many strides in technology, it seems unjustified (McCorry, 2005). At one time, scanners were cost prohibitive for most companies, but with the advancement of technology it has now b...

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