Who Should Take the Responsibility? Why?
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Abstract
The word communication is derived from ‘communicare’ (Latin), and its meaning is to ‘share’ or ‘impart’. Communication starts right from the beginning of life. Basically, communication satisfies the need for expressing ideas, opinions, views, feelings, commands or directions In fact it is the medium through which speaker or sender conveys message. Communication can take many forms viz. written, spoken, pictures, dance, digital, facial expressions (unspoken) or gestures (unspoken). Communication can take place between individuals and masses. It is a bridge that joins/links sender and receiver. Communication is viewed as a social responsibility. There are many theories of communication, depending upon the field chosen. This paper discusses some theories (models) of communication. The paper also discusses ‘where, what, how and why’ related to communication.
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Jurgen Ruesch (1972:127) states, “The word 'communication' will be used here in a very broad sense to include all the procedures by which one mind affects another. This, of course, involves not only written and oral speech, but also music, the pictorial arts, the theatre, the ballet, and in fact, all human behavior.” In other words, any interaction involves communication. Humans can associate meanings of pictures and symbols with written word. “We are forced by our very nature to interact with other people in a fundamentally different way than to interact with, say, stones and sticks" (Strawson.1962). Communication is the response to the need of expression.
Evolution of communication was perhaps the first step in evolution of civilization. Initially, gestures, facial expressions and grunts or yells served the purpose of communication. Then, speech and language forms evolved followed by written and printed modes of communication. Modern world now communicates with digital/electronic formats.
Theories (Models) of Communication
Various models of communication are practiced depending upon the relevance of communication in different fields; for example personal communication, mass communication, social communication, communication in health and education, business and organizational communication, religious communication and propagandaTheories are named according to underlying concept in its formation. H. D. Lasswell (1990. 216) states, “Convenient way to describe an act of communication is to answer the following questions: Who, Says What, In Which Channel, To Whom, With What Effect?”
McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory comprehensively describes mass communication and mass media. (Piet Bakker.2005. 4). Describing the role of media communication, McCombs and Shaw (1993) state, “The media not only tell people what to think about in broad terms, but
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additionally how to think about specific items, and then what to think.”
The two-step flow theory of communication (Lazarsfeld, Berelson, and Gaudet.1944) and (Katz & Lazarsfeld, 1955/2006) propounds that people form opinion based on the interaction with “opinion leaders. Media imparts information to “opinion leaders” who, in turn pass the information to people. Katz (1957) mentions, “important shared traits and behaviors that can be divided into a few dimensions:
Who one is—This includes certain personality characteristics or values held
What one knows—This includes the degree of knowledge and expertise that
one has about a particular issue or product; and
Whom one knows—This includes the number of contacts one has as part of
their circle of friends and acquaintances."
Communication process is illustrated in the graphic below.
Fig 1.2: Communication process (Managerial Skill Development. P.18)
(www.sagepub.in/upm-data/34371_1.pdf)
Thus, communication has two ends; the sender and the receiver and information is the ‘package’ that is sent by the sender and is received by the receiver. The next step is to know the essentials of good/effective communication. Communication becomes futile if it does not ‘communicate’ to the receiver, the intended message and the meaning desired by the sender. The communication should prompt a response and feedback from the receiver.
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Essentials of Good/Effective Communication
That the receiver of the message must exactly interpret/understand the information/message as intended by the sender is the most important aspect of communication. APR (Accredited in Public Relations. n.d 8) mentions seven ‘C’s of Communication that “help overcome barriers”. These ‘C’s are: 1.Clarity 2.Credibility 3. Content 4.Context 5.Continuity 6.Capability 7.Channels
Katz, Blumler, & Gurevitch, (1974, p. 20) describe the functions served by the content/medium of communication, “To match one’s wits against others, to get information and advice for daily living, to provide a framework for one’s day, to prepare oneself culturally for the demands of upward mobility, or to be reassured about the dignity and usefulness of one’s role.”
Berg, K. T. (2012) states, “For human communication to take place we need intelligence, senses to perceive, reasoning, memory, imagination, meaning and interpretation." It is evident that any communication, that fails to have the essentials and does not perform the desired functions, is not a good communication. This concept applies to all fields of activity.
The graphic below shows barriers to communication and highlights the pitfalls in communication. It stresses the need for comprehensive understanding the need and acquiring skills for effective communication. It is always important to know the ‘Do’s and Don’ts in communication. Communication is simultaneously an art and science.
THE TIMES 100. p. 32 (Building Societies Association)
(www.thetimes100.co.uk)
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Who is responsible? Why?
Everyone involved in communication is responsible. Senior management, line managers, supervisors and trade unions are responsible in business/organizational communication. Media, writers, copywriters, news reporters, public speakers and political propagandists are responsible in mass communication. Parents are responsible for interaction with children. So are the school and college management, teachers and professors have to respond to students’ needs. Manufacturers of goods, merchandise, commodities, drugs and medicines have to address consumers’ needs. Government is required to communicate with people about policies and plans for people welfare. Individuals and society have to respond to mutual concerns. Everyone is responsible for response and feedback. In essence, communication is all pervading in modern times and in modern world.
Lack of communication creates adverse situations. For example, absence of parent-children communication results in children going astray, falling victims to drugs/alcohol/gangsters. Divorces are mostly/mainly consequences of lack of communication. Communication in business organization is of vital importance for growth and development. Commenting on the importance of communication, JM Klotsche (1962) states, “This is a great tragedy for we do have something of great importance to say to others. Yet our failure to communicate in a manner that others can understand represents one of our greatest shortcomings.”
Conclusion
Life and communication are inseparable. Communication, verbal or non verbal, is the tool with which humans shape their course of life, interacting with one another. Different theories analyze the process of communication; but all are built on the common foundation of the human need, nature and behavior. Communication motto is simple and straight forward: Get the message across to others and get it straight.
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References
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www.praccreditation.org/secure/documents/APRSG_Comm_Models.pdf
Berg, K. T. (2012). The ethics of lobbying: Testing an ethical framework for advocacy in public
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poq.oxfordjournals.org/content/21/1/61.abstract
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Schulz, DE GRUYTER, MOUTON 2013
