Communication Process

BCOM/275
November 8, 2012
BCOM275 Week 1

Assignment 1.1 Communication Process Model

Directions: Think of a misunderstanding you experienced when communicating with someone else at work, home, or school. Then fill in the blanks of the chart below.

Who was the sender? | | Who was the receiver? | | What was the message? | | What channel was used to send the message? | | What was the misunderstanding that occurred? | | How could the misunderstanding been avoided? | |

1. What did you learn about the communication process from this activity?
2. What seemed to be the main causes of the misunderstandings?

The 1st situation:

Who was the sender? Myself (Todd)

Who was the receiver? Life Insurance Representative

What was the message? Payment of premium

What channel was used to send the message? Telephone

What was the misunderstanding that occurred? Insurance representative failed to understand the accuracy of my request to apply one quarterly payment to my account, and then continued on a monthly basis.

How could the misunderstanding have been avoided? I should have asked the representative to repeat my request and ensured dates and withdrawals were noted on my account as I intended.

1. What did I learn about the communication process from this activity? I learned that phone communication can easily be misconstrued and to never assume that the other person understands your intent without verifying.

2. What seem to be the main cause of this misunderstanding? That neither party performed a check and balance to ensure all the information was understood.

The 2nd situation:

Who was the sender? Maintenance Management

Who was the receiver? Maintenance workers

What was the message? Reserved parking area

What channel was used to send the message? E-Mail

What was the misunderstanding that occurred? Personnel continued to park in reserved areas during non-working hours and weekends.

How could the misunderstanding have been avoided? Management should have clearly stated in the e-mail, all parking in reserved areas is restricted, regardless of time of day and day of the week. 1. What did I learn about the communication process from this activity? When using e-mail, the sender must use prudence and state all parameters of their request or demand.

2. What seemed to be the main cause of this misunderstanding? The order that was given through e-mail was not concise and detailed on parking restrictions.