Human beings have been endowed with the power and gift of speech and communication. In the modern age, communication forms an important part in the daily activities of human beings. Without communication, the society cannot hope to succeed. Human communication has always been a subject of study since the days of the past (Stacks and Salwen 2014). The inability to communicate in a proper manner wreaks havoc at various levels. Improper or flawed communication can lead to disruption in the normal functioning at any organization. Aiming to analyze the failures in the various attempts in the communication processes, this essay shall cite examples from the real life to elaborate the central idea. The essay shall take into consideration the processes and the incidents that had occurred in The Good Beer Company in Australia. The following paragraphs shall try to explore the various processes and indulge in an in-depth analysis of the incidents. It shall also try to uphold my personal experience and feelings after the occurrence of these incidents related to communication.
Having worked in The Good Beer Company for a year, I had experienced a series of incidents that had impressed upon me the need for proper communication. As the name depicts, this company is dedicated to profit generation for a good cause (The Good Beer Co 2018). I was extremely happy to associate myself with such a noble company. While I was interning in the company, I experienced certain incidents that made me realize the importance of efficient communication.
Regular meetings were organized in the company with a vision to comprehend the needs and aspirations of the employees and to detect any malpractice. One of the cases of miss-communication had occurred when a meeting was arranged to identify and trace the truth. One of the fellow members had accused another member of sexual harassment. While I was observing the proceedings, I had noticed the fact that the accuser and communicator was not able to communicate her feelings in a proper manner. Owing to her reserved and uncomfortable gestures, the listeners failed to comprehend her actual thoughts. The listeners perceived the idea that the accuser was lying to garner sympathy.
The message that was sent was that the communicator had been sexually molested and harassed by one of her colleagues.
The message that was received was that the communicator was not telling the truth. The receivers received the message that the speaker was endeavoring to garner sympathy.
The message was misconstrued and disrupted due to the demure and resilient gestures of the speaker. Certain unspoken gestures can also impede the process of communication. The failure of the speaker to maintain steady eye-contact had resulted in the various assumptions and mis-communication of ideas and facts.
Further, the communication process broke down due to the sheer failure of the communicator in understanding the value of the audience and the importance of non-verbal gestures. The communicator could have focused on the other important components of communication such as the audience or the discourse (Cornelissen 2015). The employee should also have considered the idea that a speaker is always more privileged than the listeners (Cornelissen 2015). Hence, she should have understood the importance of the situation. In my opinion, the communication process also failed due to the dissonance in the thoughts and perceptions of the listeners. The receivers of the message could not comprehend the actuality due to the rising conflict in their internal thoughts. The cognitive dissonance theory propagates the ideas that individuals holding multiple cognitions can become a subject to internal contradictions and dissonance that can only be resolved by subverting the cognition (Hinojosa et al. 2017). Thus, it can be said that the participants fell prey to the internal contradictions where they could not decide whether to support or reject the claims of the speaker.
In order to fix the situation, The Shanon-Weaver model could have been employed to communicate the ideas in a proper manner. This model explains the communication process in a very simple yet intriguing manner. Employing this model could have assured a proper and clear form of communication. The Shanon and Weaver model of communication also focuses on the manner of proper communication. Though their model was chiefly based on the mechanical form of communication, it acts as an effective tool in comprehending the importance of the tenets and constituent parts of communication. Messages are also interpreted on the basis of prior knowledge or prejudices (Hidalgo 2015). In order to avoid the pre-conceived notions and ideas, the communicator needed to communicate in clear terms by employing the Shanon-Weaver model. In addition to this, the speaker should also have minimized the use of non-verbal gestures. Burke had propagated the idea that language forms an important part in the communication process. Burke had propagated the Dramatist Pentad Theory to establish the importance of language as a major determinant in proper and effective communication (Eadie and Goret 2013). Introducing the term ‘con-sustainability’, Burke proposed the idea that when the receiver understands the language used by the communicator, it helps in enhancing the processes of communication (Eadie and Goret 2013). Had the speaker employed clear and concise language in communicating her feelings, the situation could have been avoided.
Owing to the advancements in technology, most of the communication processes are conducted through platforms such as Email and Whatsapp. The second case of breakdown of communication occurred through the platform of Email. I had come across a scenario where another trainee retired from the company for not being able to understand and communicate in a proper manner. The communicator had tried to communicate the evaluation result to the employee concerned. The evaluation result was a negative one that needed to be discussed with the employee in person. As per my observation, the email that was meant to garner the proper response of the recipient did not achieve the desired results. The sender of the message failed to garner the feedback through technological means.
The message that was sent was that the employee had performed unsatisfactorily in his work and that the employee needed to improve by performing better in the next week.
The receiver had received the message that he is being asked to improve his performance or face the threat of termination.
The communication process was disturbed by the medium through which the communication was conducted. Digital platforms such as email offer little scope of direct confrontation with the persons concerned. A simple and curt email message do not offer the scope of assessing the mental state of the recipient. Face-to-Face communication helps in understanding the conversation and the message that needs to be conveyed (Mishra, Boynton and Mishra 2014).
The communication process broke down due to the non-availability of the option of face-to-face confrontation. Had the communicator communicated to the receiver on a personal level, it would have ensured a smooth communication, with the receiver understanding his faults to improve in the future. Resorting to telephones or technology lead to the loss of a visual encounter between the two participants. (Irvine, Drew and Salinsbury 2013). Visual and personal confrontations pave the way for resolution of conflicts in a concrete manner. The communication process broke down due to the inability of the receiver to perceive the positivity vested in the message. In addition to this, if the communicator could have incorporated the habit of regular feedbacks to the employees, communication would have strengthened. In Cybernetics, Weiner projects the idea that feedbacks help in reducing the chances of miss-communications (Eadie and Goret 2013).
In order to fix the situation, the model propounded by Berlo could have been used. Berlo’s model rests on the belief that a receiver or a communicator often exchange roles. Berlo’s models are chiefly focused on the channel of the sender-message-receiver-communication. Berlo propagated the view that the message to be sent, the receiver and the channel of communication are intricately linked to each other (Daniel 2013). The channel of communication forms an integral part in determining the validity and success of the communication process. Had the sender taken into consideration the method of communication, the receiver would not have misinterpreted the message. The model propounded by Lawsell chiefly focuses on the idea of a sender sending a message that is received by the receiver (Daniel, 2013). Lawsell’s theory also focusses on the idea of a stimuli that generates a reply. In this case, the stimuli was the negative message that had generated a further negative repercussion from the receiver. In addition to this, even in this case, the receiver failed to conglomerate his views and suffered from cognitive dissonance. The employee fell prey to cognitive dissonance. The cognitive faculty was disturbed by the conflicting views (Hinojosa et al. 2017). The situation could have been avoided is the communicator and sender could have realized their respective roles.
Conclusion
After scrutinizing all the above-discussed ideas, it can be concluded that the incidents of failure and successful attempts at communication processes occurs when the sender or the communicator is not able to verbalize and communicate the ideas in a proper manner. According to my opinion, the incidents that had occurred could have been avoided if the communicator could have employed measures to enhance and properly communicate. The moral and emotional dilemma of the communicator and senders could have easily been avoided. Analyzing the incidents, in conclusion it can be said that that these incidents reflect the various problems that can be solved if the communicator communicates in clear terms employing the various communication processes, theories and models.
References
Cornelissen, J.P., Durand, R., Fiss, P.C., Lammers, J.C. and Vaara, E., 2015. Putting communication front and center in institutional theory and analysis.
Daniel, B., 2013. Conceptual Delimitations of Direct Communication, Mass Communication and Mass Media. Annals of Faculty of Economics, 1(2), pp.190-199.
Eadie, W.F. and Goret, R., 2013. Theories an models of communication: Foundations and heritage. Theories and models of communication, 1, pp.17-36.
Hidalgo, C. (2015). Why information grows. The evolution of Order, from Atoms to Economies.(Ebook) New York: Basic Books.
Hinojosa, A.S., Gardner, W.L., Walker, H.J., Cogliser, C. and Gullifor, D., 2017. A review of cognitive dissonance theory in management research: Opportunities for further development. Journal of Management, 43(1), pp.170-199.
Irvine, A., Drew, P. and Sainsbury, R., 2013. ‘Am I not answering your questions properly?’Clarification, adequacy and responsiveness in semi-structured telephone and face-to-face interviews. Qualitative Research, 13(1), pp.87-106.
Mishra, K., Boynton, L. and Mishra, A., 2014. Driving employee engagement: The expanded role of internal communications. International Journal of Business Communication, 51(2), pp.183-202.
Stacks, D.W. and Salwen, M.B. eds., 2014. An integrated approach to communication theory and research. Routledge.
The Good Beer Co (2018). The Good Beer Co. – The Good Beer Co. [online] The Good Beer Co. Available at: https://www.thegoodbeerco.com.au/ [Accessed 24 Dec. 2018]
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