COMMUNICATION THEORY

COMMUNICATION THEORIES

There is much discussion in the academic world of communication as to what actually constitutes communication. Currently, many definitions of communication are used in order to conceptualize the processes by which people navigate and assign meaning. Communication is also understood as the exchanging of understanding.
There are three common settings of communications: Interpersonal, machine-assisted, and mass communication. Popular theorists of communication are Harold Laswell, Shannon & Weaver, Wilbur Schramm, Katz & Lazarsfeld, Westley & MacLean, and Kincaid. We might say that communication consists of transmitting information from one person to another. In fact, many scholars of communication take this as a working definition, and use Lasswell's maxim, "who says what to whom in what channel with what effect," as a means of circumscribing the field of communication theory. Lasswell emphasis on speaker, message, and audience and provides a more generalized view of goal or effect of communication.
The Shannon-Weaver model is typical of what are often referred to as transmission models of communication. The Shannon-Weaver Model (1947) proposes that all communication must include six elements: A SOURCE, AN ENCODER, A MESSAGE, A CHANNEL, A DECODER, and A RECEIVER. This model of Shannon and Weaver is applicable in our daily lives e.g. we use radios, newspapers and telephones almost everyday in our lives.

Schramm developed his first model in 1954. It is a simple model of communications where a source encoders a signal, sends it to a destination which has to decoder the signal. In his second model Schramm introduced the “field of experience” on sides, source and destination, for the correct interpretation. The purpose was to overcome the problem of noise. Communication becomes circular and a relational model is created. Schramm’s third model is a further development in terms of feedback that the destination sends to the source.
The model developed by Katz and Lazarsfeld laid emphasis on mass communication. It was assumed that a message would be transmitted from the mass media to a 'mass audience', who would absorb the message. Furthermore, it involves opinion leaders who influence the message on its way from the source to the public.
The Westley-MacLean Model states that communication begins with a potential message. Then, an advocate is involved and selects an event to form a new message. The model accounts for both, interpersonal and mass media communication. It broadened and elaborated the feedback concept.
Communication is the production and exchange of information and meaning by use of signs and symbols. Thus communication theories, with the help of signs and symbols make it easy for us to understand the complex communication process and leads to the better understanding of the message sent by the “encoder or sender”.
Almost every medium used today in the business or the work environment is the examples of the above discussed models such as televisions, telephones, radios, internets, intranets etc
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: everyday when I drive to college or drive back home I listen to radio. Radio is the perfect example for the model developed by Shannon – Weaver. For most of my assignment I use internet and internet fits into the model developed by the Westley- MacLean.

RELATED LINKS:
http://www.answers.com/topic/communication-theory-1?cat=technology
http://www.cultsock.ndirect.co.uk/MUHome/cshtml/media/kl.html
http://web.bentley.edu/empl/c/rcrooks/courses/en381/en381010.html