UNIT -IV COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
1.
Communication - Meaning and nature –
2.
Communication in the classroom- Communication cycle –
3.
Types of Communication: Speaking-listening,
Visualizing-observing and Writing -reading –
4.
Classroom Communication – Teaching as a process of
Communication-
5.
Organisation of Communication –
6.
Models of Communication: Linear, interactive and
Transactional Model of Communication.
COMMUNICATION
- MEANING
The word “communication” derived from the
Latin word ‘communicare’ that means to impart, to participate, to share or to
make common. It is a process of exchange of facts, ideas, opinions and as a means
that individual or organization share meaning and understanding with one
another. In other words, it is a transmission and interacting the facts, ideas,
opinion, feeling and attitudes.
DEFINITIONS OF COMMUNICATION
Communication may be defined as interchange of thought or
information between two or more persons to bring about mutual understanding and
desired action. It is the information exchange by words or symbols. It is the
exchange of facts, ideas and viewpoints which bring about commonness of interest,
purpose and efforts.
American Management Association defines, ‘Communication is any behaviour that results in an exchange of
meaning’.
Peter Little defines communication as, ‘Communication is the process by which
information is transmitted between individuals and/or organizations so that an
understanding response result’.
Newman and Summer Jr. state that, ‘Communication is an exchange of facts, ideas,
opinions or emotions by two or more persons’.
According to Keith Davis, ‘The process of passing the information and understanding from
one person to another. It is essentially a bridge of meaning between the
people. By using the bridge a person can safely across the river of
misunderstanding’.
Louis A. Allen defines, ‘Communication is the sum total of all the things that a
person does, when he wants to create an understanding in the mind of another.
It involves a systematic and continuous process of telling, listening and
understanding’.
Therefore, the main
purpose of communication is to inform, or to bring around to a certain point of
view or to elicit action.
NATURE
OF COMMUNICATION
1. For instruction: The instructive function unvarying and
importantly deals with the commanding nature. It is more or less of directive
nature. Under this, the communicator transmits with necessary directives and
guidance to the next level, so as to enable them to accomplish his particular
tasks. In this, instructions basically flow from top to the lower level.
2. For integration: It is consolidated function under which
integration of activities is endeavoured. The integration function of
communication mainly involves to bring about inter-relationship among the
various functions of the business organization. It helps in the unification of
different management functions.
3. For information: The purposes or function of communication in
an organization is to inform the individual or group about the particular task
or company policies and procedures etc. Top management informs policies to the
lower level through the middle level. In turn, the lower level informs the top
level the reaction through the middle level. Information can flow vertically,
horizontally and diagonally across the organization. Becoming informed or inform
others is the main purpose of communication.
4. For evaluation: Examination of activities to form an idea or
judgement of the worth of task is achieved through communication. Communication
is a tool to appraise the individual or team, their contribution to the
organization. Evaluating one’s own inputs or other’s outputs or some
ideological scheme demands an adequate and effective communication process.
5. For direction: Communication is necessary to issue
directions by the top management or manager to the lower level. Employee can
perform better when he is directed by his senior. Directing others may be
communicated either orally or in writing. An order may be common order, request
order or implied order.
6. For teaching: The importance of personal safety on the job
has been greatly recognized. A complete communication process is required to
teach and educate workers about personal safety on the jobs. This communication
helps the workers to avert accidents, risk etc. and avoid cost, procedures etc.
7. For influencing: A complete communication process is necessary
in influencing others or being influenced. The individual having potential to
influence others can easily persuade others. It implies the provision of
feedback which tells the effect of communication.
8. For image building: A business
enterprise cannot isolate from the rest of the society. There is
interrelationship and interdependence between the society and an enterprise
operating in the society. Goodwill and confidence are necessarily created among
the public. It can be done by the communication with the different media, which
has to project the image of the firm in the society. Through an effective
external communication system, an enterprise has to inform the society about
its goals, activities, progress and social responsibility.
9. For employees orientation: When a new employee enter into the organization at that time he or
she will be unknown to the organization programs, policies, culture etc. Communication
helps to make people acquainted with the co-employees, superior and with the
policies, objectives, rules and regulations of the organization.
10. Other: Effective decision-making is possible when
required and adequate information is supplied to the decision-maker. Effective
communication helps the process of decision making.
In general, everyone in
the organization has to provide with necessary information so as to enable to
discharge tasks effectively and efficiently.
COMMUNICATION IN THE
CLASSROOM- COMMUNICATION CYCLE
The transmission of
sender’s ideas to the receiver and the receiver’s feedback or reaction to the
sender constitute the communication cycle. The process of communication begins
when one person (the sender) wants to transmit a fact, idea, opinion or other
information to someone else (the receiver). This facts, idea or opinion has
meaning to the sender. The next step is translating or converting the message
into a language which reflects the idea. That is the message must be encoded. The
encoding process is influenced by content of the message, the familiarity of
sender and receiver and other situation of factors. After the message has been
encoded, it is transmitted through the appropriate channel or medium. Common
channel in organization includes meetings, reports, memorandums, letters,
e-mail, fax and telephone calls. When the message is received, it is decoded,
by the receiver and gives feedback to the sender as the conformation about the
particular message has been carefully understand or not.
ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION
The process of
communication involves the following elements:
1. Sender or transmitter: The person who desires to convey the message is known as sender. Sender
initiates the message and changes the behaviour of the receiver.
2. Message: It is a subject matter of any communication.
It may involve any fact, idea, opinion or information. It must exist in the
mind of the sender if communication is to take place.
3. Encoding: The communicator of the information organises
his idea into series of symbols (words, signs, etc.) which, he feels will
communicate to the intended receiver or receivers.
4. Communication channel: The sender has to select the channel for sending the information.
Communication channel is the media through which the message passes. It is the
link that connects the sender and the receiver.
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Sender
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Message
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Encoding
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Channel
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Receive
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Decoding
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Brain drain
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Feedback
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5. Receiver: The person who receives the message is called
receiver or receiver is the person to whom the particular message is sent by
the transmitter. The communication process is incomplete without the existence
of receiver of the message. It is a receiver who receives and tries to
understand the message.
6. Decoding: Decoding is the process of interpretation of
an encoded message into theunderstandable meaning. Decoding helps the receiver
to drive meaning from the message.
7. Feedback: Communication is an exchange process. For the
exchange to be complete the information must go back to whom from where it
started (or sender), so that he can knowthe reaction of the receiver. The
reaction or response of the receiver is known as feedback.
8. Brain drain: On whole process there is a possibility of
misunderstandings at any level and is called brain drain. It may arise on
sender side if they do not choose the adequate medium for delivery of message,
by using default channel and it may also arise when receiver does not properly
decode the message. In other words, we can say that it is breakdown of cycle at
any level.
Types
of Communication:
1.
Speaking -Listening:
In this
type of communication, there is face to face interaction. There are occasion
when the listener can share the feelings of the source in the same way as in
the case of ye- to-eye contact. The
examples to a lecture.
2.
Visualising: Observing:
Here this
special type of communication is being conducted when the sender and the
receiver are separated from each other, but share the ideas by sharing or
visualising signs or symbols and the receiver receive it through observing. The
observer is physically separated from its producer and yet is able to feel the
impact of the ideas conveyed as in motion film or television.
3.
Writing-Reading:
Here this
special type of experience, the decoder is physically separated from the
encoder are the time and yet the decoder is able to enjoy and appreciate the
feeling of he author. The signal is sent
by the sender in a written from and the receive it by reading.
TEACHING
AS A PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION:
According
to Harold D. Lass-well, there are five essential elements in the ommunication process. These five elements have
been summarised in his question, “who says what, in which channel, to whom with
what effect?”
If
we analyses these questions, it may be stated that:
1.
‘Who’ means the teacher, the text-book writer, TV.
Presenter, radio broadcaster etc.
2.
‘By what means’ means face-to-face speech,
pictures, films, slides, radio, TV. etc.
3.
‘With what effect’ means reaction or feedback.
In
this context, the situation in which the message or lesson is delivered are not
less relevant. This means the learners greatly influence learning and teaching.
The situations of learning mainly refer to external and internal conditions of
the learner.
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The Source
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Teaching
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Learning
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Receiver responds ie Learning
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Receiver decodes the message
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Transmits a Message
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Encodes Message
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Planning
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The Teacher
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The Pupil
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The Lesson
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Information and Ideas to be
Communicated
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By using words and Gestures
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Pictures
Speaking
Showing
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Interprets & Decodes in the light
of Experience
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Making it as part of his Knowledge
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Again,
if we analyse the above diagram, we find that, there are four elements of
communication.
1.
The Source
2.
The Message
3.
The Channel
4.
The Destination
These elements can be applied to both human and
mechanical communication. But education is mainly concerned with personal or
human communication. In this context, a person or an organizer can transmit a
message which may be received by an individual or many. Here communication is
carried on through language-spoken and written.
The message
may be conveyed by spoken or written symbols, verbal expressions, guestures or
by hand-drawn or photograph pictures. The source is also called an encoder, the
message or signal and destination a decoder. These terms indicate the need for
common understanding of language and word meaning for making communication a
process.
MODELS OF
COMMUNICATION
The linear model
views communication as a one-way or linear process in which the speaker speaks
and the listener listens. Laswell’s (1948) model was based on the five
questions below, which effectively describe how communication works:
Shannon and Weaver’s (1949) model includes noise or
interference that distorts understanding between the speaker and the listener. The
Figure(below) shows a linear model of communication:
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This Figure shows A
linear model of communication
Source:Wood,J.T.(2009). Communication in our lives (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson-Wadsworth |
The main flaw in the linear model is that it depicts
communication as a one-way process where speakers only speak and never listen.
It also implies that listeners listen and never speak or send messages.
Schramm (1955) in Wood (2009) came out with a more
interactive model that saw the receiver or listener providing feedback to the
sender or speaker. The speaker or sender of the message also listens to the feedback
given by the receiver or listener. Both the speaker and the listener take turns
to speak and listen to each other. Feedback is given either verbally or
non-verbally, or in both ways.
This model also indicates that the speaker and listener communicate
better if they have common fields of experience, or fields which overlap (please
refer to Figure Below):
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This Figure Shows An interactive model of communication
Source: Wood, J. T. (2009). Communication in our lives (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson-Wadsworth |
The main
drawback in the interactive model is that it does not indicate that
communicators can both send and receive messages simultaneously. This model
also fails to show that communication is a dynamic process which changes over
time.
The
transactional model shows that the elements in communication are
interdependent. Each person in the communication act is both a speaker
and a listener, and can be simultaneously sending and receiving messages.
There are three implications in
the transactional model:
- “Transactional” means that
communication is an ongoing and continuously changing process. You are
changing, the people with whom you arecommunicatingare changing, and your
environment is also continually changing as well.
- In any transactional process, each element exists in
relation to all the other elements. There is this interdependence where
there can be no source without a receiver and no message without a source.
- Each person in the communication process reacts depending
on factors such as their background, prior experiences, attitudes,
cultural beliefs and self-esteem.
Figure below shows a transactional model of communication
that takes into account “noise” or interference in communication as well as the
time factor. The outer lines of the model indicate that communication happens
within systems that both communicators share (e.g., a common campus, hometown,
and culture) or personal systems (e.g., family, religion, friends, etc). It
also takes into account changes that happen in the communicators’ fields of
personal and common experiences. The model also labels each communicator as
both sender as well as receiver simultaneously.
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This Figure Shows transactional
model of communication Source: Wood, J. T. (2009). Communication in our lives (4th
ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson-Wadsworth.
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