Page 352 - Effective Communication Soft Skills Strategies For Success by Nitin Bhatnagar, Mamta Bhatnagar

340 | Model Question Papers

Communication models are visualizations of the communication process. They are
explanations of the basic theories concerning these elements of communication and
how these elements operate and interact.
According to Devito (1978), communication models serve to organize the various
elements and processes of the communication act. No model can organize all the data
pertaining to communication, but we can expect a reasonably good model to organize
at least some of the data into meaningful and interesting way. These models aid in the
discovery of new facts about communication. Thus, they serve a heuristic function.
These models enable us to make predictions concerning communication—what will
happen under certain conditions. The models to a great extent can provide a means of
measuring the elements and processes involved in communication.
The most important function of model is to assist in the development of more precise
theories. Such functions can be enumerated as:
Descriptive function: A model is constructed to describe a particular form of
behaviour of which either no theory exists or the theory is grossly inadequate. The
model supplies more precision and specificity.
Explicative function: Models explain important but poorly developed concept in an
e xisting theory and define more rigoursly a concept central to relatively well developed
theory thereby rendering theory more testable.
Simulative function: Models simulate functional or process relations among concepts.
An essential property is that, components be given values, relations among components
be specified clearly and
b. Apollo Syndrome is a term that describes a team consisting of highly talented or quali-
fied members who, however cannot function effectively as a team. ‘A group of people,
working together, reporting to one boss, flexibility, co-operation, having one aim, syn-
ergy, whole is greater than sum of its parts’ are the terms and phrases that are used
to describe ‘a team’. For example, ‘whole > sum’ is a feature of a team that is working
well together—but there are some teams whose collective performance falls short of
what you might expect given the quality of individuals. The Apollo Syndrome is a good
example of this—where a team composed of highly intelligent people often performs
worse than teams made of up ‘less-able’ members.
c. Feedback refers to those messages sent by listeners and received by speaker, which
enable speaker to gauge their effect on their receiver. Without feedback, we have no
precise measure of how well the others are functioning in the communication system.
Both positive and negative feedback can provide with valuable information as to the
current qualitative state of communication in the group or between two individuals.
Positive feedback increases the magnitude and frequency of the communication.
Hence, behaviour can have beneficial effects when it follows desirable communica-
tion. Conversely, positive feedback is that which follows undesirable communication.
Behaviour can have undesirable effects on the quality of communication.

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