TRANSACTIONAL AND CONSTRUCTIVIST MODELS OF COMMUNICATION

  

QUESTION

With relevant examples, describe in detail any two communication models used in the business environment.

SUGGESTED ANSWER

Communication is the exchange of meanings between individuals through a shared system of sounds, signs and other forms of message.

The Transactional Model of Communication

In the transactional model of communication, at one point party A is the sender and party B is the receiver; in the next moment, party B becomes the sender and party A becomes the receiver. That is, the sender/receiver status alternates between the two parties. In other words, when one party receives a message from the sender, they become the sender themselves when they give feedback. The original sender now becomes the receiver (the feedback is the message they receive).

As a result of the switching of status from sender to receiver and back, parties A and B are referred to as communicators rather than sender and receiver. This also explains why the model is said to be “transactional”, whichis a word normally associated with the commercial activities of buying andselling. Indeed, in business transactions, there is something to give and also something to receiver for each of the parties (who we call C and D). We give an example of a business transaction in the next paragraph.

C is selling a wrist watch and D is buying the wrist watch at $25. One set of actions involves C physically offering the watch to D and D taking possession of the watch (in which C could be called the sender and D the receiver). There is then a second set of actions in which D physically offers $25 to C and C accepts the money (this now makes D the sender and C the receiver). This is how transactional communication mirrors a commercial exchange.

Transactional communication is two-way interaction. It is real-time exchange of messages. As a result, both parties are normally present, though not necessarily in the same place. Examples of transactional communication include face-to-face speaking, a skype talk and a message exchange in a chat room.

Diagram 1, below, illustrates transactional communication.

 

Criticism of the transactional model

·         A response is a necessity. Without a verbal response, it is not easy for the sender to be confident the message has been received as intended.

·         Since the message exchange is concomitant, interference is a big possibility.

 

The Constructivist Model of Communication

Constructivism was first used by Jean Piaget to describe the learning and cognitive processes of children. The constructivist model of communication is, in the general sense, much in line with that, as it is based on the principle that the real meaning of what has to be conveyed in messages comes out through the social process of communication.

The constructivist model focuses on the common ground or negotiated meaning reached as the communicators (sender and receiver) clarify the key components of the messages going in each direction.

Constructivist communication is exchange of meanings that develops through reaching a common understanding on different things. It is bout people getting to a stage where they start getting the same meaning from particular signals, sounds and other kinds of communication package. The way a child learns to communicate is indeed one example of a constructivist model of communication.

Constructivism learning is influenced by past experience of the learners/teachers which enables them to ascribe meaning to different motions, sounds, and other specific types of communication effort.

To further help one conceptualise constructivist communication, one could imagine two people who spoke completely different languages coming to live together and somehow finding ways to understand each other.

 

Figure 2 illustrates the concept of constructivist communication.

 Significance of the constructivist model of communication

Constructivism in communication provides the basis for mutual understanding. The constructivist model is a reminder that there may not be effective communication if the communicating parties do not ensure that what one word or phrase means to party X is what it also means to party Y.

A lot of communication requires that action be taken by the sender/receiver in accordance with the message sent/received. No action is likely to address the expectation if the sender/receiver do not have a common interpretation of the ideas exchanged in the communication.

Criticism of the constructivist approach

A constructivist approach to communication, among students, could mean an undirected, principle-less study system that eventually leaves learners frustrated and ending up nowhere (as they may not know exactly where they are supposed to go).

Conclusion

The transactional and the constructivist communication models are not the only models of communication identified by different researchers on the subject. However, they are among the most basic and, in that way, could help set the foundation that scholars of communication can build on to uncover or create new perspectives on the subject.