Shannon-Weaver's Model of Communication

Tayyab Husnain L1F15BSMC0076

Sir Saleem Akhtar Introduction to Mass -Communication

Biography • Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver were engineers working for Bell Telephone Labs in the United States , both of them joined together to write an article in "Bell System Technical Joumal" called " Shannon and weaver model of communication"

• Their goal was to ensure the maximum efficiency of telephone cables and radio waves.

• They developed a model of communication which was intended to assist in developing a mathematical theory of communication.

• Claude Shannon (1916-2001) is considered one of the founding fathers of the communications .

• Shannon and weaver model of communication has been called the " Mother of all Models " .

• The model was produced in 1948

Elements Of The Model

• Information Source : which produces a message or The information source selects desire message or The originator of message . All human communication has some , some person or group of persons with a given purpose, a reason for engaging in communication.

• Encoder or Transmitter : which encodes the message into signals or which converts the message into signals .When you communicate, you have a particular purpose in mind :

you want to show that you're a friendly person you want to give them some information you want to get them to do something you want to persuade them of your point of view

and so on. You, as the source, have to express your purpose in the form of a message. That message has to be formulated in some kind of Code. How do the source's purposes get translated into a code? This requires an encoder. The communication encoder is responsible for taking the ideas of the source and putting them in code, expressing the source's purpose in the form of a message.

• Channel :

which signals adapted for transmission .

• Decoder : The reception place of the signal which converts signals into message. A reverse process of encode.

• Receiver : The destination of the message from sender or where the message arrives .For communication to occur, there must be somebody at the other end of the channel. This person or persons can be called the receiver. To put it in Shannon's terms, information transmitters and receivers must be similar systems. If they are not, communication cannot occur.

• Noise : The sixth element is the noise is an Dysfunctional Factor . Any interference with the message travelling along the channel which may lead to the signal received being different from that send The messages are transferred from encoder to decoder through channel. During this process the messages may distracted or affected by physical noise like horn sounds, thunder and crowd noise or encoded signals may distract in the channel during the transmission process which affect the communication flow or the receiver may not receive the correct message

Three other factors that afffecting while communicating

• Physical noise / Channel noise

• Semantic noise

• Feedback

Noise also interferes with 'FIDELITY'

Levels of problems in the analysis of Communication • Technical Problem

• Semantic Problem

• Effectiveness Problem

Examples

For the telephone;

• The channel is a wire,

• The signal is an electrical current in it, and The transmitter.

• Receiver are the telephone handsets.

•Noise would include crackling from the wire.

• In conversation, my mouth is the transmitter, the signal is the sound waves, and your ear is the receiver. Noise would include any distraction you might experience as I speak .

Practical Example of   Shannon-Weaver model of communication :

Manger made call to his assistant “come here I want to see you”.  During his call, noise appeared (transmission error) and his assistant received “I want” only. Again Assistant asked Manger (feedback) “what do you want Manger”.

Sender       :   Manger

Encoder     :   Telephone ( Manger )

Channel     :   Cable

Noise          :   Distraction in voice

Reception  :   Telephone (Assistant)

Receiver     :   Assistant.

Due to transmission error or noise, Assistant can’t able to understand Manger messages.

*The noise which affect the communication flow between themCriticism of Shannon-Weaver model of Communication :

1. One of the simplest model and its general applied in various

communication theories.

2. The model which attracts both academics of Human communication and Information theorist to leads their further research in communication.

3.       It’s more effective in person-to-person communication than group or mass audience.

3. The model based on “Sender and Receiver”. Here sender plays the primary role and receiver plays the secondary role (receive the information or passive).

4. Communication is not a one way process.  If it’s behaved like that, it will lose its strength. For example: Audience or receiver who listening a radio, reading the books or watching television is a one way communication because absence of feedback.

5. Understanding Noise will helps to solve the various problems in communication.