ASSIGNMENT

Semester 4 Fall Drive 2014

M.A. Journalism and Mass Communication
Subject Name: Organizational Communication
Subject: MJ1601

Answer1:The Importance of Communication in Management

The importance of communication in management can be judged from the following facts:
1. Necessary for planning Planning, the most important functions of management, requires
extensive communication among the executives and the other personnel. Communication is
important in executing a planned programme and then controlling the activities of the personnel
with the help of feedback information. In order to evaluate the performance of the personnel in
the light of the planned objectives, communication is necessary.2. Basis of co-ordinationThe
present day big organisations are designed on the basis of specialisation and division of labour,
constitute a large number of persons. In order to achieve the desired objectives, it is very
necessary to coordinate the efforts of the labour engaged in the various activities of production
and organisation. Co-ordination requires mutual understanding about the organisational goals,
the mode of their achievement and their inter-relationship between the work being performed by
various individuals, this all can be achieved only through effective communication.
3. Establishment of effective leadershipCommunication is the basis of effective leadership.
By developing the skill of communication, a manager can be a real leader of his subordinates. A
good system of communication brings them in close contact with each other and removes
misunderstandings.
4. Increases managerial efficiencyFor the smooth running of the organisation, management
conveys directions, goals and targets; issues instruction, allocates jobs and responsibilities; and
looks after the performance of subordinates. This all is not possible without effective system of
communication. As a matter of fact it lubricates the entire organisation and keeps the
organisation at work. Moreover, management cannot work efficiently unless it knows the
grievances of its subordinates and removes it. Thus the skill of communication has become an
essential quality of successful management.
5. Promotes Co-operation and industrial peaceCommunication is a two-way traffic which
helps promoting cooperation and mutual understanding between both the parties. The efficient
downward communication helps the management to tell the subordinates what the organisation
wants and how it can be performed. The upward communication helps the workers in putting
their grievances, suggestions and reactions before the management. Thus it promotes the
industrial peace and good relations.

6. Basis of Decision-makingIn order to make prompt decision, fact and information should be
collected. Thus communication is primary requirement of decision making. Again to implement
the decision effectively, it becomes essential to convey the decisions to the subordinates
concerned through an effective system of communication.
7. Morale Building and MotivationCommunication system enables management to change
the attitude to motivate influence and satisfy the subordinates. Proper and timely communication
between the interested parties reduces the points of friction and minimise these that inevitably
arise. Good communication improves good industrial relations and ensures participative and
democratic pattern of management.
8. Smooth Working of Enterprise-Communication makes the working of the enterprise
smooth. All organisational interaction depends upon the communication. It is the process of
communication which makes cooperative action and coordination possible. When
communication stops organised activity ceases to exist.
9. Job satisfactionGood communication removes the possibility of misunderstandings among
the parties concerned. Workers know what they have to do and how. It creates a sense of
cooperation among them. It will increase the morale of the worker and each worker will be fully
satisfied in his work.
Thus, we see that communication is very vital for the very existence of an organisation.

Answer 2: The Historical Evolution of Organizational Behaviour

Theory and practice of organizational behavior bring us many promising concepts and skills:
Coaching, transactional analysis, one-minute management, self-managing teams, authentic selfpresentation, 360 feed-back, etc.. Also a wide arsenal of skill-training has been developed:
Problem solving, feed-back skills, decision making, negotiating, effective leadership; to name
only a few.
In all these areas the handling of emotions seems rather neglected. I will describe how a few
centuries ago emotions in the workplace could not be neglected; emotions were very visible.
People experienced great difficulties in coping with fierce even outrageous impulses. We have
tamed these impulses. But they are still of critical importance for organizational behaviour.
Moreover our manners and standards of emotion management show a close relation with patterns
of power and dependency. This is another neglected area for authors and trainers concerned with
skill-training. How realistic are the insights of organizational behavior when neglecting the
overriding importance of power relations? How helpful is modern skill-training in its disregard
of emotional drives, power differences and dependency relations? I will explore these questions
by applying a historical perspective.
In this article I will describe how over the past 600 years behavioral standards in the West have.
This contribution starts with the behavior in meetings of rulers and authorities in the Middle
Ages. In part 2 Increasing discipline nd informalization I will address behavior in modern
organizations. Both parts will conclude with some suggestions to improve our understandig of
behavior in the workplace.

Struggling with violence

The Dutch historian Huizinga (1924) writes about the more ferocious and rather unpredictable
shifts of behavior in medieval Europe. There undoubtedly were norms and agreements to
regulate mutual interaction, but time after time the fierce roughness breaks through the
embellished forms.
At the coronation banquet of Charles VI, in 1380, the Duke of Burgundy seeks, by force, to take
the place to which he is entitled, as doyen of the peers, between the king and the Duke of Anjou.
Already the train of the Duke begins to thrust aside their opponents; threatening cries arise, a
scuffle is breaking out when the king prevents it, by doing justice to the claims of the Duke of
Burgundy (Huizinga, 1924, p. 38, 39).
According to an observer at the peace conference at Atrecht in 1435, the participants throw
themselves on the ground, sobbing and groaning. The relatively refined life at the court is
characterized as continual noise and disorder, swearing and quarrels, jealousies and injuries, in
short, the court is an abyss of sins, the gate of hell. A ferocious fight can erupt at any time over
anything, whether it be a game of chess or a ceremonial funeral.
Even-temperedness
To my knowledge, the earliest publication in Europe to propagate other rules of conduct among
authorities is a treatise by Bernard du Rosier (1404-1475), also known in his days by the more
commonly used Latin name Bernardus de Rosergio. His treatise was written at the court of the
King of Castile. Central to the text is equanimities - even-temperedness. What does it refer to?
Well, as the term itself suggests, it refers to keeping emotions under control continuously. Two
examples:
... although offended, surmount these injuries of the heart and rise up to the most exalted
attitude ... suppress emotions and show oneself in command (Rosier, chapter 15, p. 15, 16).
Let outrage yield to friendliness, impetuosity to wisdom, rigidity to adaptability and curtness to
approachability. Remain distinguished and unmoved to those whose responses are less pleasant
or negative, (Rosier, chapter 20, p. 20).
Rosier keeps on repeating the necessity to temper and control all kinds of apparently normal and
powerful affects. For example:

being inflated with supercilious, conceited arrogance

tyrannical behavior, clinging to greed

brazen and presumptuous forcing ones own way

mocking religious matters

committing foul acts, being choleric or malicious

pursuing fame based on vanities. (Rosier, chapter 2, p. 5)

Recent advice for administrators and managers lacks such colourful references to untamed
behavior. In our days containment of these strivings is obviously more matter-of-course.
Restraint en regulation

Despite of periods of stagnation, behavior at the European courts gradually became more
restrained and refined. Also, next to the courtly military-aristocratic elites, merchant and artisan
guilds, predecessors of modern work-organizations emerged which tried to regulate interaction.
In the 15th and 16th century guild regulations we find the precursors of current meeting
procedures. The bakers apprentices guilds register of 1404 states: Someone who uses violence,
spills beer or utters offensive language, will be fined .... (Van Vree, 1994, p.298).
These regulations describe in detail what is not allowed: swearing, breaking glassware,
delivering blows, and attacking someone with knife drawn. Furthermore, one must be on time
and wear decent clothing. The fines imposed to enforce this behavior were considerable. In 1457
the guilds-dominated town council of Utrecht in the Netherlands even issued a regulation that
addressing other issues than those on the agenda during a meeting was punishable by death
(Van Vree 1994, p. 58).
Early capitalism and increasing discipline
In our first industrial organizations only the company-owners and their immediate environment
had been part of the development described above. The workers had to be coerced to toe the line
through rules that closely resemble those in the 15th century guild registers. In his description of
the emergence of the factory regime in the 19th century, Van Iterson (1992, p.82) wrote:
The problems for the manufacturers were first of all problems of discipline and coordination.
Factory regimes are based on a tangled combination of i) coercion (from the side of the
manufacturers) and ii) willingness or motivation (on the workers part).
The discipline which seems so natural to us now, was not in evidence then:
Bringing together men, women and children in one space implied the danger that people would
get in each others way, that arguments could erupt, sexual relations engaged in, or that they
would overindulge in other activities which were considered debauched (drinking) or idle
(games).
Labourers also had to learn to control their language: subversive and obscene utterances also
posed a threat to orderly labour and they were fined heavily. The same dangers also existed
outside the factory, especially in combination with alcohol consumption. So conformance with
the industrial regime was indirectly threatened by corruption of the morals in their free time.
(Van Iterson, 1992, p. 83-84)
This can be illustrated by the case of the earthenware industry of Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1790),
a liberal reformer in public affairs and a patriarchical factory owner in eighteenth century
England. During his lifetime he transformed a local pottery, with a dozen men at work, into an
international firm.
Waste and idleness
Wedgwood had to fight a long local tradition of customs in common, in particular the
stoppages for Wakes, (a local annual feast lasting several days and nights which were spent
eating and drinking intemperately and fornicating), but he also had to combat waste,
idleness, the bane of drinking, working by the rule of thumb, inefficiency, arbitrariness,
irregularity (McKendrick, 1961, p. 38).
His own personal control over his men was effective enough. But he was forced with increasing
frequency to leave them without any head to look after them (McKendrick, 1961, p. 39). There
was no tradition of supervision in his factory in his absence. For instance, when he put an older

worker in charge, it turned out that this man lacked authority due to his familiarity with
colleagues. The resulting informality lapsed too easily to irregularity. As Wedgwood
describeds:
Daniel does pretty well at work and I am here every day, but he often leaves the work and
drinks two or three days together, and has no taste to direct at any time (McKendrick, 1961, p.
39).
Supervision and regulations
Wedgwood formalized his disciplinary rules by writing them down in the Potters Instructions
(1780) and in the Common Place Book. Some examples of the rules and sanctions for
enhancing ones self-control:
Any person seen throwing within the yard of this manufactory forfits 2s.6d,.., any workman
striking or otherwise abusing an overlooked to lose his or there place.., any workman conveying
Ale or Licquor into the manufactory in working hours forfeits 2s..., any person playing at fives
against any of the walls where there are windows forfeits 2s.. (McKendrick, 1961, p. 45).
The scientific method
Taylor, the founder of scientific organizational design (1856-1915), made a contribution to
organizational science that fits well into this perspective. His methods were largely intended to
impose discipline on the activities of subordinates, something which was sorely needed as far as
Taylor was concerned. He gave many descriptions of how employees managed to restrict
production by soldiering or loafing. (Taylor, 1947, pp. 19-24).
He repeatedly stated that his scientific method, using individual training, separation, special
reward systems and other measures, could gradually overcome these tendencies (Taylor, 1947,
pp. 32, 34, 69, 72-74). Taylor vividly described his experiences as a foreman in a steelworks:
No one who has not had this experience can have an idea of the bitterness which is gradually
developed in such a struggle .... And there are few foremen indeed who were able to stand up
against the combined pressure of all the men in the shop .... If the writer had been one of the
workmen, and had lived where they lived, they would have brought such social pressure to bear
upon him that it would have been impossible to have stood out against them. (Taylor, 1947, pp.
50-51).
From these tumultuous experiences Taylor distilled his, as he called it, scientific management
(Taylor, 1947, pp. 52-53). His experiences provide a good impression of how personal power can
be replaced by more neutral mechanisms of control. Despite the strong resistance Taylor
encountered, his methods were introduced on a large scale. This was possible because of the
much greater power of management. At the same time management was forced to exploit this
power surplus due to the fierce competition with other companies. Taylors own intentions were
entirely different. He believed that the interests of employers and workers were essentially the
same. The great mental revolution which occurs under scientific management would do away
with contention and antagonism and replace them with friendly co-operation and mutual
helpfulness. Maybe we can see this idealistic dream as a precursor of more recent images of the
learning organization, empowerment and shared values.

Answer 3: 14 Elements of Communication and the 6 Elements of

The Communication Process
1. Source
The source is the person (or thing) attempting to share information. The source can be a living
or non-living entity. The only qualifications necessary for a source are an origin of information
(in Information Theory, the source generates data that one would like to communicate) and an
ability to transmit this information, through a channel, to a receiver.
2. Message
At first glance, the message is simply the information you want to communicate. But it goes
deeper than that. Communication theorists examine messages from a semiotic perspective (the
study of signs and symbols, and how meaning is created through them; note: it is not the study of
meaning, just how meaning is created). For example, a commencement speaker produces
meaning through several criteria. First, there is the object (in this case, the speaker has an
inherent meaning, maybe through being a local celebrity or famous alum). The second criterion
would be his or her image, acting as a symbol or representation of the meaning of the object (a
well-dressed, professional and successful person). The third criterion is interpretation or derived
meaning. If the object and image (and, in this case, speech) are successful, then the audience
will leave with an understanding of how to proceed toward a life of personal fulfillment.
3. Encoding
Encoding is the process of assembling the message (information, ideas and thoughts) into a
representative design with the objective of ensuring that the receiver can comprehend it.
Communication is only established when it results in both the source and the receiver
understanding the same information. People who are great communicators are great encoders;
they know how to present their message in a way that their audience (receivers) can easily
understand. They are also able to identify information that is superfluous, irrelevant or even
accidentally offensive, and eliminate it in advance through anticipation.
4. Channel
An encoded message is conveyed by the source through a channel. There are numerous channel
categories: verbal, non-verbal, personal, non-personal, etc. A channel could be the paper on
which words are written, or the Internet acting in the client-server model that is allowing you to
read these words right now.
A good communicator is one who understands which channels to use under different
circumstances. Unfortunately, there is no perfect channel. All channels have strengths and
weaknesses (smartphones are great, for example, but a marriage proposal is best done in person).
5. Decoding
Now would be an appropriate time to remind yourself that you can just as easily fill the role of
decoder as you can encoder. This is where listening, and reading directions carefully, makes its
claim to famedecode with care, my friends. As we discussed in Encoding, communication is
only successful when it results in both the source and the receiver understanding the same
information. For this to happen, there can be no errors in processing. The most common among

these would be, for example, a first-grader sitting in on a lecture on differential equations, i.e.
decoding is impossible if the decoder cannot even understand the message.
6. Receiver
Ultimately, the message is delivered to the receiver. A good communicator takes the receivers
preconceptions and frames of reference into consideration; how they will react, where common
ground is shared, their sense of humor, their moral conduct, etc. All of these things will affect
how the receivers decode messages.
7. Feedback
A better word might be reaction or responses. The source judges its success based on the
feedback it receives, so pay close attention. If Googles servers crashed tomorrow, there would
be a lot of confused sources. The same would be true if you delivered a flawless marriage
proposal, only to receive a look of bewilderment and horror. And then there are famous
marketing nightmares, such as Aqua Teen Hunter Forces LED signs that were mistakenly
identified as explosive devices. Feedback is the moment of reckoning. Whether things go right
or wrong, it serves as one of the most important learning opportunities we have.
8. Context
Context is simply the environment in which your message is delivered. For Bob Dylan, the
context was the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s, with a heavy focus on The Big Apple
(though he would probably disagree). Context could be a boardroom meeting focusing on
international expansion or the 2006 World Cup final in Germany (poor choice, Zidane).
Needless to say, context can easily make or break the effectiveness of communication.
The main components of communication process are as follows:
1. Context - Communication is affected by the context in which it takes place. This context
may be physical, social, chronological or cultural. Every communication proceeds with
context. The sender chooses the message to communicate within a context.
2. Sender / Encoder - Sender / Encoder is a person who sends the message. A sender makes
use of symbols (words or graphic or visual aids) to convey the message and produce the
required response. For instance - a training manager conducting training for new batch of
employees. Sender may be an individual or a group or an organization. The views,
background, approach, skills, competencies, and knowledge of the sender have a great
impact on the message. The verbal and non verbal symbols chosen are essential in
ascertaining interpretation of the message by the recipient in the same terms as intended
by the sender.
3. Message - Message is a key idea that the sender wants to communicate. It is a sign that
elicits the response of recipient. Communication process begins with deciding about the
message to be conveyed. It must be ensured that the main objective of the message is
clear.
4. Medium - Medium is a means used to exchange / transmit the message. The sender must
choose an appropriate medium for transmitting the message else the message might not
be conveyed to the desired recipients. The choice of appropriate medium of
communication is essential for making the message effective and correctly interpreted by
the recipient. This choice of communication medium varies depending upon the features

of communication. For instance - Written medium is chosen when a message has to be

conveyed to a small group of people, while an oral medium is chosen when spontaneous
feedback is required from the recipient as misunderstandings are cleared then and there.
5. Recipient / Decoder - Recipient / Decoder is a person for whom the message is
intended / aimed / targeted. The degree to which the decoder understands the message is
dependent upon various factors such as knowledge of recipient, their responsiveness to
the message, and the reliance of encoder on decoder.
6. Feedback - Feedback is the main component of communication process as it permits the
sender to analyze the efficacy of the message. It helps the sender in confirming the
correct interpretation of message by the decoder. Feedback may be verbal (through
words) or non-verbal (in form of smiles, sighs, etc.). It may take written form also in
form of memos, reports, etc.

Answer 4: The Importance Of Communication

Effective Communication is significant for managers in the organizations so as to perform the
basic functions of management, i.e., Planning, Organizing, Leading and Controlling.
Communication helps managers to perform their jobs and responsibilities. Communication
serves as a foundation for planning. All the essential information must be communicated to the
managers who in-turn must communicate the plans so as to implement them. Organizing also
requires effective communication with others about their job task. Similarly leaders as managers
must communicate effectively with their subordinates so as to achieve the team goals.
Controlling is not possible without written and oral communication.
Managers devote a great part of their time in communication. They generally devote
approximately 6 hours per day in communicating. They spend great time on face to face or
telephonic communication with their superiors, subordinates, colleagues, customers or suppliers.
Managers also use Written Communication in form of letters, reports or memos wherever oral
communication is not feasible.
Thus, we can say that effective communication is a building block of successful organizations.
In other words, communication acts as organizational blood.
The importance of communication in an organization can be summarized as follows:
1. Communication promotes motivation by informing and clarifying the employees about
the task to be done, the manner they are performing the task, and how to improve their
performance if it is not up to the mark.
2. Communication is a source of information to the organizational members for decisionmaking process as it helps identifying and assessing alternative course of actions.
3. Communication also plays a crucial role in altering individuals attitudes, i.e., a well
informed individual will have better attitude than a less-informed individual.
Organizational magazines, journals, meetings and various other forms of oral and written
communication help in moulding employees attitudes.

4. Communication also helps in socializing. In todays life the only presence of another
individual fosters communication. It is also said that one cannot survive without
communication.
5. As discussed earlier, communication also assists in controlling process. It helps
controlling organizational members behaviour in various ways. There are various levels
of hierarchy and certain principles and guidelines that employees must follow in an
organization. They must comply with organizational policies, perform their job role
efficiently and communicate any work problem and grievance to their superiors. Thus,
communication helps in controlling function of management.
An effective and efficient communication system requires managerial proficiency in delivering
and receiving messages. A manager must discover various barriers to communication, analyze
the reasons for their occurrence and take preventive steps to avoid those barriers. Thus, the
primary responsibility of a manager is to develop and maintain an effective communication
system in the organization.

Answer 5: The Various Barrier To Communication

Most people would agree that communication between two individuals should be simple. Its
important to remember that there are differences between talking and communicating. When you
communicate, you are successful in getting your point across to the person youre talking to.
When we talk, we tend to erect barriers that hinder our ability to communicate. There are seven
of these types of barriers to effective communication.
1. Physical barriers are easy to spot doors that are closed, walls that are erected, and distance
between people all work against the goal of effective communication. While most agree that
people need their own personal areas in the workplace, setting up an office to remove physical
barriers is the first step towards opening communication. Many professionals who work in
industries that thrive on collaborative communication, such as architecture, purposefully design
their workspaces around an open office plan. This layout eschews cubicles in favor of desks
grouped around a central meeting space. While each individual has their own dedicated work
space, there are no visible barriers to prevent collaboration with their co-workers. This
encourages greater openness and frequently creates closer working bonds.
2. Perceptual barriers, in contrast, are internal. If you go into a situation thinking that the
person you are talking to isnt going to understand or be interested in what you have to say, you
may end up subconsciously sabotaging your effort to make your point. You will employ language
that is sarcastic, dismissive, or even obtuse, thereby alienating your conversational partner. Think
of movie scenarios in which someone yells clipped phrases at a person they believe is deaf. The
person yelling ends up looking ridiculous while failing to communicate anything of substance.
3. Emotional barriers can be tough to overcome, but are important to put aside to engage in
conversations. We are often taught to fear the words coming out of our own mouths, as in the
phrase anything you say can and will be used against you. Overcoming this fear is difficult, but
necessary. The trick is to have full confidence in what you are saying and your qualifications in
saying it. People often pick up on insecurity. By believing in yourself and what you have to say,
you will be able to communicate clearly without becoming overly involved in your emotions.

4. Cultural barriers are a result of living in an ever shrinking world. Different cultures, whether
they be a societal culture of a race or simply the work culture of a company, can hinder
developed communication if two different cultures clash. In these cases, it is important to find a
common ground to work from. In work situations, identifying a problem and coming up with a
highly efficient way to solve it can quickly topple any cultural or institutional barriers. Quite
simply, people like results.
5. Language barriers seem pretty self-inherent, but there are often hidden language barriers that
we arent always aware of. If you work in an industry that is heavy in jargon or technical
language, care should be taken to avoid these words when speaking with someone from outside
the industry. Without being patronizing, imagine explaining a situation in your industry to a
child. How would you convey these concepts without relying on jargon? A clear, direct narrative
is preferable to an incomprehensible slew of specialty terms.
6. Gender barriers have become less of an issue in recent years, but there is still the possibility
for a man to misconstrue the words of a woman, or vice versa. Men and women tend to form
their thoughts differently, and this must be taken into account when communicating. This
difference has to do with how the brain of each sex is formed during gestation. In general, men
are better at spatial visualization and abstract concepts such as math, while women excel at
language-based thinking and emotional identification. However, successful professionals in
highly competitive fields tend to have similar thought processes regardless of their gender.
7. Interpersonal barriers are what ultimately keep us from reaching out to each other and
opening ourselves up, not just to be heard, but to hear others. Oddly enough, this can be the most
difficult area to change. Some people spend their entire lives attempting to overcome a poor selfimage or a series of deeply rooted prejudices about their place in the world. They are unable to
form genuine connections with people because they have too many false perceptions blocking
the way. Luckily, the cure for this is more communication. By engaging with others, we learn
what our actual strengths and weaknesses are. This allows us to put forth our ideas in a clear,
straightforward manner.
Communication is not a one-way street. To have others open up to you, you must be open
yourself. By overcoming these barriers to communication, you can ensure that the statement you
are making is not just heard, but also understood, by the person you are speaking with. In this
way, you can be confident that your point has been expressed.

Answer 6: Transaction Analysis

Transactional Analysis (or TA as it is often called) is a model of people and relationships that was
developed during the 1960s by Dr. Eric Berne. It is based on two notions, first that we have three
parts or 'ego-states' to our 'personality, and secondly that these converse with one another in
'transactions' (hence the name). TA is a very common model used in therapy and there is a great
deal written about it.
Parent, Adult and Child
We each have internal models of parents, children and also adults, and we play these roles with
one another in our relationships. We even do it with ourselves, in our internal conversations.

Parent
There are two forms of Parent we can play.
The Nurturing Parent is caring and concerned and often may appear as a mother-figure (though
men can play it too). They seek to keep the Child contented, offering a safe haven and
unconditional love to calm the Child's troubles.
The Controlling (or Critical) Parent, on the other hand, tries to make the Child do as the parent
wants them to do, perhaps transferring values or beliefs or helping the Child to understand and
live in society. They may also have negative intent, using the Child as a whipping-boy or worse.
Adult
the Adult in us is the 'grown up' rational person who talks reasonably and assertively, neither
trying to control nor reacting aggressively towards others. The Adult is comfortable with
themself and is, for many of us, our 'ideal self'.
Child
There are three types of Child we can play.
The Natural Child is largely un-self-aware and is characterized by the non-speech noises they
make (yahoo, whee, etc.). They like playing and are open and vulnerable.
The cutely-named Little Professor is the curious and exploring Child who is always trying out
new stuff (often much to their Controlling Parent's annoyance). Together with the Natural Child
they make up the Free Child.
The Adaptive Child reacts to the world around them, either changing themselves to fit in or
rebelling against the forces they feel.
Communications (transactions)
When two people communicate, each exchange is a transaction. Many of our problems come
from transactions which are unsuccessful.

Parents naturally speak to Children, as this is their role as a parent. They can talk with other
Parents and Adults, although the subject still may be about the children.
The Nurturing Parent naturally talks to the Natural Child and the Controlling Parent to the
Adaptive Child. In fact these parts of our personality are evoked by the opposite. Thus if I act as
an Adaptive Child, I will most likely evoke the Controlling Parent in the other person.
We also play many games between these positions, and there are rituals from greetings to whole
conversations (such as the weather) where we take different positions for different events. These
are often 'pre-recorded' as scripts we just play out. They give us a sense of control and identity
and reassure us that all is still well in the world. Other games can be negative and destructive and
we play them more out of sense of habit and addiction than constructive pleasure.
Conflict
Complementary transactions occur when both people are at the same level (Parent talking to
Parent, etc.). Here, both are often thinking in the same way and communication is easier.
Problems usually occur in Crossed transactions, where each is talking to a different level.
The parent is either nurturing or controlling, and often speaks to the child, who is either adaptive
or natural in their response. When both people talk as a Parent to the others Child, their wires
get crossed and conflict results.
The ideal line of communication is the mature and rational Adult-Adult relationship.
Being a Controlling Parent invites the other person into a Child state where they may conform
with your demands. There is also a risk that they will be an Adaptive 'naughty child' and rebel.
They may also take opposing Parent or Adult states.
Be a Nurturing Parent or talking at the same level as the other person acts to create trust.
Watch out for crossed wires. This is where conflict arises. When it happens, first go to the state
that the other person is in to talk at the same level.
For rational conversation, move yourself and the other person to the Adult level.