Purposive Communication- GE 106

Lesson 2: Communication Processes, Principles and Ethics

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1. relate their personal experiences with the input or lesson presented;
2. examine how communication works as applied to various texts and situations;
3. identify the variables involved in the communication process; and
4. recognize the importance of a code of ethics in communication.

COMMUNICATION MODELS
In the earlier discussion, you learned about the types of communication mode,
context, and purpose and style. In this lesson, you will review the nature of the
communication process and some important communication models. Why is it important
that you know the communication models?
You will realize their importance because they will help you understand how a
communication process works. It is only by knowing the flow of communication that you
will be able to make the communication process effective.
A model is often abstract. It is a representation of a real-world phenomenon applied
to different forms. The interplay of variables in the model is represented graphically. Try
to assess later what comprises the communication models and what variables are
common to each of them.
There are many conceptual models for human communication but in this lesson,
you will be exposed to only four: (1) Aristotle's model; (2) Laswell's model; (3) Shannon-
Weaver's model; and (4) David Berlo's model of communication.
ARISTOTLE'S COMMUNICATION MODEL
Classical rhetoric dates back to ancient Greece during the time of Plato, Aristotle,
and the Greek Sophists who were great rhetoricians, Effective public speaking was an
important consideration in the study of communication. They were good at argumentation
and debate and speech was characterized by repartee.
Aristotle emphasized that there are three variables in the communication process:
speaker, speech, and audience as illustrated in the communication flow below:

Speaker Speech Audience

Note that the speaker variable here is very important. Without the speaker, there
will be no speech to be produced. Depending on the profile of the audience, the speaker
adjusts his/her speech. Some considerations for the audience demographics are age,
sex, background, culture, race, religion, gender, social and economic status, and political
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orientation or inclination, among others. Even beliefs, views, and attitudes also play an
important role when talking about audience consideration since oftentimes, the audience
bring these with them when they decode a message in any given situation.
LASWELL'S COMMUNICATION MODEL
In 1948, Harold Dwight Laswell described communication as being focused on the
following Ws: Who says What in Which channel to Whom and with What effect as seen
in the model below:

The whole process of communication begins with the communicator (who) sending
out a message (what) using a medium (in which channel) for a receiver (to whom)
experiencing an effect (with what effect) afterwards. The process may be analyzed
through the content sent, the medium used, as well as the effect on the recipient of the
message.
While this model is similar to Aristotle's in the sense that both are linear and have
the same components, Laswell's also differs in that there are five variables involved, with
the addition of two: medium and effect.
SHANNON-WEAVER'S COMMUNICATION MODEL
Claude Elwood Shannon and Warren Weaver's model of communication was
introduced in 1949, a year after Laswell's, for Bell Laboratories. Originally, it was
conceptualized for the functioning of the radio and television serving as a model for
technical communication and, later on, adopted in the field of communication. In this
model, other components such as noise, reception, destination, and feedback have been
identified. Other terms such as information source for the sender, transmitter for the
encoder, decoder (reception), and receiver (destination) were introduced.
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Could you explain the communication flow in the preceding model? How different
is it from the first two models discussed earlier?

BERLO'S COMMUNICATION MODEL

David Berlo's model conceptualized in 1960 is probably the most well-known
among the communication models. Initially, Berlo's model was called SMCR which stands
for sender of the message, sent through a channel or medium to a receiver. However,
it was modified later on to include noise, hence the acronym SMCRN.

The major variables involved in the communication process are (1) source, (2)
message, (3) channel, and (4) receiver.
The source being the originator of the message acts as the encoder. As such, the
encoder should practice communication skills such as listening, speaking, reading, and
writing. His/Her attitude towards the audience or the subject as well as his/her knowledge
about the topic on hand likewise counts along with the social system that he/she is in
which includes values, beliefs and practices, and culture.
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The second variable which is message includes (1) content; (2) elements such as
the language used and gestures employed; (3) treatment or the manner by which the
message is transmitted: and (4) structure which refers to the arrangement of parts or flow
of the message. The code shows how the message is sent: that is, the language (verbal
code) used and the accompanying gestures (non-verbal code) employed. Note that there
should be no mismatch between the verbal and non-verbal codes.
The third variable which is channel refers to the different senses: seeing, hearing,
smelling, tasting, and touching. Finally, the fourth variable is receiver, the one who
decodes the message. Note that the components of this last variable are similar to those
of the first since for communication to be effective, both the source and the receiver
should have good communication skills.
If you were to insert noise as an additional variable for SMCR, where do you think
will it fit?

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Since communication is a two-way process, it is important that you know the
principles to be observed to make it effective. For both oral and written communication,
you should be able to apply the following principles:
1. Know your purpose in communicating. Are you communicating basically to
inform, to entertain, or to persuade? While you may have more than one
purpose, there is still a more dominant objective or reason why you
communicate.
2. Know your audience. In both speaking and writing, you should know your
audience as it will dictate the speaking or writing style you are going to employ.
Consider the age, educational background, profession, culture, and other
salient features of your listeners or readers.
3. Know your topic. You communicate essentially because you want to share
something. In speaking situations, speakers are invited because they have
something to share. This also applies to writing. You write because you wish
that other people learn something from you. You may then utilize several or
multiple communication techniques to easily catch the attention of the
audience.
4. Adjust your speech or writing to the context of the situation. The environment
in which your speech or writing is to be delivered determines the kind of
language you will use.
5. Work on the feedback given you. Once you receive comments from the
listeners/readers, work on them. Take kindly to criticisms. In the long run,
constructive criticisms will prove beneficial to you as you learn to address them.
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PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE ORAL COMMUNICATION:

1. Be clear with your purpose. You should know by heart your objective in communicating.
2. Be complete with the message you deliver. Make sure that your claims are supported
by facts and essential information.
3. Be concise. You do not need to be verbose or wordy with your statements, Brevity in
speech is a must.
4. Be natural with your delivery. Punctuate important words with the appropriate gestures
and movements. Exude a certain degree of confidence even if you do not feel confident
enough.
5. Be specific and timely with your feedback. Inputs are most helpful when provided on
time.

PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE WRITTEN COMMUNICATION: THE 7Cs

1. Be clear. Be clear about your message. Always be guided by your purpose in
communicating.
2. Be concise. Always stick to the point and do not beat or run around the bush. Be brief
by focusing on your main point.
3. Be concrete. Support your claims with enough facts. Your readers will easily know if
you are bluffing or deceiving them because there is nothing to substantiate your claims.
4. Be correct. It is important that you observe grammatical correctness in your writing.
Always have time to revise and edit your work. Even simple spelling errors may easily
distract your readers.
5. Be coherent. Your writing becomes coherent only when you convey a logical message.
The ideas should be connected to each other and related to the topic. Make sure that
you observe a sound structure that will present a smooth flow of your ideas. Use
transitional or cohesive devices so that the ideas cohere with one another.
6. Be complete. Include all necessary and relevant information so that the audience will
not be left wanting of any information. Always place yourself in the shoes of the
audience, who is always interested to receive new information.
7. Be courteous. The tone of your writing should be friendly. Avoid any
overtone/undertone or insinuation to eliminate confusion and misinterpretation.

ETHICS OF COMMUNICATION
Communication ethics emphasizes that morals influence the behavior of an
individual, group, or organization thereby affecting their communication. For instance,
given the unethical communication practice of a certain company of concealing the non-
remittance of deducted premiums from employees' salaries to the SSS or the Social
Security System (or GSIS or Government Service Insurance System in the case of
government offices), the company's accountability to its employees is undoubtedly
affected. Compare this situation with that of an organization that observes ethical practice
and remits the employees' monthly contributions to the SSS or GSIS regularly. It is
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important to note that one's behavior should be regulated by honesty, decency,

truthfulness, sincerity, and moral uprightness.
Be guided by the following to achieve ethical communication:
1. Establish an effective value system that will pave the way for the development
of your integrity as a person. One's behavior and decision-making style affect,
in turn, the operations of an organization.
2. Provide complete and accurate information. Whether it is needed or not, the
data you provide should always be contextualized and correct.
3. Disclose vital information adequately and appropriately. Never conceal or hide
information that are necessary for purposes of transparency.
Observing a code of ethics is essential as it determines the kind of behavior that
is proper and desirable over one that is displeasing and offensive. A code of ethics sets
the standards to be observed by a person or a company that will create a good reputation
or a positive image not only for an individual but also for the organization. It will, therefore,
pave the way for the attainment of the desired results leading to the success of an
individual or the entire company. Success in decision-making will likewise impact the
company’s reputation.

Reference:

Madrunio, M., Martin, I. (2018). Purposive Communication Using English in Multilingual

Contexts. C&E Publishing, Inc. Quezon City, Phillipines.
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ACTIVITY
Name: Year/Course:
Check your understanding of the lesson by answering the following questions, 5
points each. Use your OWN WORDS in answering.
1. What are communication models? Why do you think they were introduced?

2. How can one observe ethics in communication?

3. How does one model differ from the other/s?

4. How do principles of effective oral communication differ from those of effective

written communication? Do they have similarities at all?

5. Why is it important to have a code of conduct or a code of ethics?