Communication and Human Development

Communication and Human Development

1.0 Objectives

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Communication: Definitions and Concept

1.2.1 Understanding communication through definitions

1.2.2 Concept and Overview of communication

1.2.3 Issues and challenges of communication in development.

1.3 Human Development: Definitions and concept

1.3.1 Role of communication in human development

1.3.1.1 Perception

1.3.1.2 Personality

1.3.1.3 Values and Attitudes

1.3.2 Group Dimensions

1.3.2.1 Teams

1.4 Theories of OB

1.5 Let Us Sum Up

1.6 Key Words

1.7 Some Useful Books and References

Answers

OBJECTIVES:

The objectives of this lesson are:

• To Have an Overview of Communication
• To Know About the Concept of Communication
• To Know About Some Definitions of Communication

1.1     INTRODUCTION:

The word communication has been derived from the Latin word “communis” which means “to share”. Thus, communication is the activity of conveying information through the exchange of messages, information, and thoughts, as by signals, visuals, writing or behavior. The history of communication dates back to ancient times, speech which revolutionized the human communication was developed some 200,000 years ago; symbols were developed about 30,000 years ago while writing about 7,000. Communication is considered as a natural process for humans as they communicate messages to the outside world routinely. Without communication, the lives of human beings would be very different as communication is critical for growing and maintaining everything around us.

Communication is the act of conveying meanings from one person or group to another through the use of equally understood signs, symbols, and semiotic. “Communication should be meaningful and it can be expressed in several ways. In our daily interaction communication plays an essential role in making communication faster. For making our life easier we need to communicate in the fastest way. As a social being our one and only way to solve out any problem. As the world has developed we also need to develop our skills in every sector. Without communication, you cannot even think about a part of development.

DEFINITIONS OF COMMUNICATION:

Communication is a dynamic process that takes place around us all the time. In fact every day we spend 70% of our time receiving and sending messages.

The meaning:

The origin of the word “communication” is “communicare” or “communis” which means “to impart”, “to participate”, “to share” or “to make common.” The sense of sharing is inherent in the very origin and meaning of “communication.”

Now let us see how some experts have defined communication. Different scholars have defined communication in different terms. The following are some of the important definitions of communication.

• According to Newman and Summer, “communication is an exchange of facts, ideas, opinions or emotions by two or more persons”
• Communication• is also defined as intercourse through words, letters, symbols or messages and as a way through which the member of an organization shares meaning and understanding with another
• According to Leland Brown , “communication is the transmission and interchange of facts, ideas, feelings or course of action”
• According to Allen Louis • “communication is the sum of all the things one person does; when he wants to create understanding in the mind of another. It involves a systematic and continuous process of telling, listening and understanding”
• Ordway Tead • thinks communication is a composite information given and received out of a learning experience. In this, certain attitudes, knowledge, and skills change, carving with them alterations of behavior, of listening effort by all involved, of a sympathetic fresh examination of issues by the communicator himself, of sensitive interacting points of view, leading to a higher level of shared understanding and common intention
• According to M. T. Myers and G.E. Myers•, “communication refers to a special kind of patterning: a patterning which is expressed in symbolic form.” For communication to take place between or among people, two requirements must be met: (1) a symbolic system must be shared by the people involved (we need to speak the same language or jargon or dialects) and (2) the associations between the symbols and their referents must be shared
• According to Katz and Kahn•, “communication is the exchange of information and the transmission of meaning. It is the very essence of a social system of an organization”
• As per Davis•, “communication is a process of passing information and understanding from one another.” Davis also believed that the only way that management can be achieved in an organization is through the process of communication
• Chester Barnard• believes that “in the exhaustive theory of organization, communication would occupy a central place because the structure, extensiveness and scope of organizations are almost entirely determined by communication techniques”

CONCEPT OF COMMUNICATION:

Now let us try to understand the concept of communication. In very simple terms we can describe communication as S-R model. These two letters stand for stimulus and response. A stimulus is the message that is communicated and response is the reaction to the message that is received back. This is also we known as the Sender-Receiver model. This model is one of the earliest models of communication. Here we find only two elements in the process of communication. According to this model every communication has the potential to have an effect. This effect sometimes is simple and direct. It could be complex and delayed in other cases.

Another important aspect of communication, as can be understood from this model, is that all communication occurs at a personal level. That is many people may receive the same message, but the individual receivers react and respond to this same message or stimuli in different ways. Communication is often considered as an activity only. In reality, it is actually a process. The process of communication includes transmission of information, ideas, emotions, skills, and knowledge. This is done with the help of symbols, words, pictures, figures, graphs, drawings, and illustrations, etc.

Again, “communication” is the process by which we understand and in turn try to be understood by others. It is dynamic, constantly changing and shifting in response to the overall situation. Therefore, “communication” can be described as “the interchange of thoughts or ideas”. This is also referred as sharing of meaning. Again, communication is viewed as creation and transmission of information, consisting of distinctive stimuli, from a source to a recipient. Speaking about the role of communication in everyday life, one can say that communication is a system through which the messages are sent, and feedback received. So it is not a one-way process. Rather it is a two-way process. Communication is, therefore, the process of transferring a particular information or message from an information source to a desired, definite or a particular destination. This process also involves feedback from the receiver.

COMMUNICATION – AN OVERVIEW:

Communication is the ability to share information. We need communication. Communication keeps businesses and work running. It helps people in to contact each other. We contact police, fire departments, ambulances and doctors through communication. A lot of things would be useless, and almost nothing would work without communication. Transportation and food supplies would not meet the needs of the people. We would lose contact with our families and friends that live far away. There would be no newspapers, no radio or television stations to entertain us, or movies to see. Society would surely not be the same as it is now.

Now let us think a little about the future. Maybe some years from now, we will have telephones like wristwatches. There could be televisions with interactive 3D programming. May be we will have a mental connection with things so all we have to do is think, and things will be done. Most likely computers will be able to visually connect with anyone in the world. Are all these things possible? Only the future will tell. After all, 100’s of years ago no one would have dreamed of all the things we have today.

Categories of Communication

• Intrapersonal:

This occurs within and with the self. It includes: Perception, Cognition (thought processes), Emotional Responses, Attitudes, Values and Beliefs, Subjectivity and Self-concept, Creation and Interpretation of Meaning

• Interpersonal:

This is often defined as what occurs when two people are engaged in a communicative exchange. In most cases the exchange may take place though more than one channel like verbal and non-verbal. The interpersonal sphere is often presented as the main way that we confirm or question our sense of self.

• Group:

This requires a collection of individuals who share some common attributes, goals or interests. The participants will display common values or norms of behavior.

• Mass Media:

The media are usually defined as “formal bodies engaged in the industrial production and circulation of meaning”. In 1939 Herbert Blumer distinguished 4 categories of human collectivity: group, public, crowd, and mass communication are the exchange of thoughts, messages, or information, as by speech, signals, writing, or behavior. It is the art and technique of using words and other symbols effectively to impart information or ideas.

Communication is the field of study concerned with the transmission of information by various means, such as print or broadcasting, etc. It includes any of various professions involved with the transmission of information, such as advertising, broadcasting, or journalism. Communications means communicating, especially with the help of a system, such as mail, telephone, or television, etc. for sending and receiving messages. Communication, specifically, human communication is the field dedicated to understanding how people communicate:

Graph No 1 (Created by writer)

Importance of Communication in Human Development

Communication is a process of sending and receiving information among people. Humans communicate with others not only by face-to-face communication, but also by giving information via the Internet and printed products such as books and newspapers. Many people believe that the significance of communication is like the importance of breathing. Indeed, communication facilitates the spread of knowledge and forms relationships between people.

First of all, communication helps to spread knowledge and information among people. For example, authors write books to impart knowledge to the World, and teachers share their experience with their students. Also, friends or co-workers discuss their ideas with each other, and companies exchange information with their subsidiaries and customers. Besides, the advent of the Internet not only allows people to have better access to knowledge and information in all fields, but also makes it easier and faster to contact with people around the World. Undoubtedly, the sharing knowledge and information process cannot function without communication. As a result, companies cannot operate, and humanity will be drowned in the abyss of ignorance.

Moreover, communication is the foundation of all human relationship. At first, strangers start talking and getting to know each other, and then the relationships are formed when they have more interaction and communication. Communicating helps people to express their ideas and feelings, and it, at the same time, helps us to understand emotion and thoughts of the others. As a result, we will develop affection or hatred toward other people, and positive or negative relationships will be created. It is no doubt that communication plays a vital role in human life.

It not only helps to facilitate the process of sharing information and knowledge, but also helps people to develop relationships with others. Therefore, the importance of communication cannot be underestimated. Every day, we communicate with a lot of people including our families, our friends, our colleagues, or even strangers. We should learn how to communicate effectively to make our lives better.

Relationship between Communication and Human Society

The relationship between the communication and the human society is immense. They have achieved a huge growth during their long partnership. Humans simply could not achieve this kind of development and growth without the existence of communication. In our society, all relationships and social connections rely on the communication. Humans understood the importance of communications after their arrival on earth and developed different communication methods and processes. The development of these processes gave a great boost to the development of human society. This is continuing process as people always want to develop new communication methods and processes. This process in-return automatically develops the human society.

Communication and Development of Human Society in Old Times

During the stone ages, the communication was in its initial development stages. There were no languages, resultantly little communication processes were followed by humans. The swift development of the human abilities made way for the development of communication and human society.

Humans started using signs and non-verbal communication to communicate with fellow humans. During this period, communication methods such as runners, birds, arrows, smokes and shouting were used to communicate. As humans become more and more organized, different kinds of languages and communication methods were developed. Major developments during the Stone Age were:

• Cave paintings
• Petro glyphs
• Pictograms
• Ideograms

Later, during the Bronze Age, human beings invented writing which revolutionized the communication methods and processes. It helped people to step forward to a new period of communication. Accepted examples of such writings are of Egyptian hieroglyphs and the Indus Valley script. By 2700 BC Egyptian writing had a set of some 22 hieroglyphs to represent syllables. Some of the prominent developments of these times are:

• Writing
• Alphabet
• Paper

Development of Human Society during Communication Revolution

The next major development after the invention writing, alphabet and paper was the discovery of printed text in Europe in the late 1500s. Before this discovery, the humans could only produce a single document at a time, but now they could easily produce printed documents at mass level. This discovery also made way for the mass communication and mass-production of newspapers.

In the nineteenth century, a series of technological innovations powerfully changed the way humans communicated with each other. This period is called “Era of Communication Revolution” by historians. New means of communication increased the pace of life and accelerated trade and the exchange of ideas. During this period, Great Britain, Portugal and France colonized many countries in Africa and Asia.

These colonies were effectively controlled and administered through these newly invented means of communication. Knowledge, information and inventions were also shared with these colonies which helped in the development of society of native people. Major technological innovations affecting communication and human society in this period were:

• Postal system
• Telegraph
• Telephone
• Phonograph
• Photography
• Improved Newspaper presses
• Motion pictures
• Fiber Optics

Communication and Development of Human Society in Modern Era

Communication is considered extremely important for the growth of human civilization, culture and society. It plays a cardinal role in the existence and development of human society. As the time progressed, more developments were made in the field of communication which helped humans to better understand the fellow human beings living in far-flung areas. New means of communications were discovered in the 20^th century. Prominent ones are:

• Radio
• Television
• Computer
• Internet

During the world wars of twentieth century, new mediums of communication were discovered. These discoveries not only helped the war efforts but also played important role in the development of nations participating in these wars. The events and developments during these wars were made known to humans with the help of radio and newspapers. Just before the start of World War 2, Television was introduced to general public in 1939 and was quickly made an important tool for development of society by Americans. Television played an important role in connecting the people of Western hemisphere with that of Eastern. To show the landing of Neil Armstrong, first man on moon, special broadcasting arrangements were made by America. This move made people of the earth realize that they all are living on the same planet, thus giving feeling of oneness and unity everyone.

In the last quarter of 20th century, cell phones and internet made its way into mainstream of life. This rapidly changed the global scene as it made communication between different parts of the world easier than ever. These new ways of communication opened new chapters in development of human society.  It made development in the rural sector much more convenient as resources could be easily mobilized for effective development. Great progress was made in the field of education due to advancement in communication techniques.

The flow of information and knowledge has been made much easier. Researches, new studies and improved techniques are being shared by using advanced means of communication. Now, a researcher living in Canada can easily share his study or research with people living in South Korea, that too without physical movement. Internet has made it easy for the people living in first-world and third-world countries to interact; the gap between the two has been narrowed. Different tools of communication have been used to create awareness and public understanding of the harmful things such as AIDs and drug-abuse.

Communication also helps in transfer of heritage from old generation to new generations so that it can be preserved for the coming generations. Today, communication is used for transfer of ideas, education, and entertainment, interaction with society and to update one-self and better understand the world.

1.3       SUMMARY:

• Communication is a process by which information is exchanged between or among individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, and behavior. As a process, communication is also known as: Expressing feelings, Conversing, Speaking, Corresponding, Writing, Listening and Exchanging, etc.
• Intrapersonal communication occurs within and with the self. It includes: Perception, Cognition (thought processes), Emotional Responses, Attitudes, Values and Beliefs, Subjectivity and Self-concept, Creation and Interpretation of Meaning.
• Interpersonal communication is often defined as what occurs when two people are engaged in a communicative exchange. In most cases the exchange may take place though more than one channel like verbal and non-verbal. The interpersonal sphere is often presented as the main way that we confirm or question our sense of self.
• Group is a collection of individuals who share some common attributes, goals or interests. The participants will display common values or norms of behavior. Human communication is the field dedicated to understanding how people communicate:
• Communication is the process by which we understand and in turn try to be understood by others. It is dynamic, constantly changing and shifting in response to the overall situation. Therefore, “communication” can be described as “the interchange of thoughts or ideas”. This is also referred as sharing of meaning.
• Communication means ‘exchange’ to some. It means ‘interchange’ to others. To still others it means ‘sharing’. We all understand what communication is. Most of us take part in the process of communication all the time. We participate as senders of messages and also as receivers of messages.
• Dennis Mcquail defined communication as a process that increases commonality…. But it requires commonality for it to occur at all.
• Communication is not simply the verbal, explicit, and intentional transmission of messages; it includes all the processes by which people influence one another.
• Communication is the process by which an individual (the communicator) transmits stimuli (usually verbal symbols) to modify the behavior of other individuals (receivers of communication).

KEY WORDS:

Communication: Communication is a process by which information is exchanged between or among individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, and behavior. As a process, communication is also known as: Expressing feelings, Conversing, Speaking, Corresponding, Writing, Listening and Exchanging, etc.

Intrapersonal:

This occurs within and with the self. It includes: Perception, Cognition (thought processes), Emotional Responses, Attitudes, Values and Beliefs, Subjectivity and Self-concept, Creation and Interpretation of Meaning

Interpersonal Communication: This is often defined as what occurs when two people are engaged in a communicative exchange. In most cases the exchange may take place though more than one channel like verbal and non-verbal. The interpersonal sphere is often presented as the main way that we confirm or question our sense of self.

Group Communication: This requires a collection of individuals who share some common attributes, goals or interests. The participants will display common values or norms of behaviour.

Communication as a Process: Communication is often considered as an activity only. In reality, it is actually a process. The process of communication includes transmission of information, ideas, emotions, skills, and knowledge. This is done with the help of symbols, words, pictures, figures, graphs, drawings, and illustrations, etc.

Human Communication: Human communication is the field dedicated to understanding how people communicate:

With themselves:  intrapersonal communication;

With another person: interpersonal communication;

Within groups: group communication;

Within organizations: organizational communication;

With masses: mass communication;

Across cultures: cross-cultural communication

Communication and Commonality: Dennis Mcquail defined communication as a process that increases commonality. But it requires commonality for it to occur at all.

Communication and Influence: Communication is not simply the verbal, explicit, and intentional transmission of messages; it includes all the processes by which people influence one another.

Communication and Behavior: Communication is the process by which an individual (the communicator) transmits stimuli (usually verbal symbols) to modify the behavior of other individuals (receivers of communication)