Positivist Theories
One of the scenarios that I came across in my life involved communication between an Italian male and an American female in a hotel. The Italian came into the hotel looking for lunch at an American owned hotel. The American lady was working in the hotel as a waitress. The client orderedfor food immediately he got inside the hotel. However, the meal that was served to him was not the same food he ordered. This angered him to an extent of leaving the dining room. The action prompted the hotel manager to find out about the happening. This is because it would harm the business operation.In analyzing the scenario; social penetration, uncertainty reduction and social information processing theories will be applied. Therefore, this essay deals with the analysis of the situation.
In this section, the paper concentrates on the definition and explanation of theories. These theories expoundon communication barriers in play. Some of the barriers are attributed to interpersonal and intrapersonal communication. The relationship between individuals also contributes a lot to the effectiveness of a communication endeavor.
Social Penetration Theory
This theory states that interpersonal communication develops with time as people get to know oneanother. This means that a shallow communication experience candeepen with consistence interaction between two members of a community. Throughself-disclosure,participants are able to develop a system of communication where the interaction follows a particular pattern. In this case, the waitress was not keen enough to establish an environment that would facilitate mutual self-disclosure. This led to miscommunication, an action that negatively affected business activities. One of the issues that the theory put forth is that social interaction depends on communication and willingness to express feelings and emotion. Therefore, a person will only know and understand what the other person needs after being engaged in a conversation(Ackroyd 90). This facilitates corporation and cohesion between two individuals.The theory should have been utilized in this particular case through provision of personal information such as favorite diet. It also infers that enough time should have been accorded to the client to make informed decisions by using the menu. The event raises some questions/concerns about the waitress’s qualifications and competence in performing her duties in her field of work. In the situations whereclients face some of these challenges especially from employees, theylose confidence.
Uncertainty Reduction Theory
This theory focuses on the initial contact between two people. The interaction takes place before the actual communication endeavor. It therefore means that people should interact in order to reduce uncertainties that exist between them. This means that information is critical in the determination of possible actions by one party against the other.Twouncertaintiesemerge from the actions of the Italian. First, the cognitive uncertainties played a big role in the making of the decision undertaken. The process of forming a relationship with a person you have met for the first time takes a period of time. An individual must realize and recognize the intention of the new friend/person before engaging in a relationship. Thus, the client assumed that the service provider knew exactly the type of food ordered.
Second, we have behavioral uncertainties which involvechange of actions by individual. This happens after the interactionprocess has already taken shape. There are two outcomes of this process which includes positive and negative results. In case the negative effects happen, the endeavor is deemed to fail and uncertainties widens. A successful interaction denotesa peaceful and constructive communication process.Therefore, I would blame the waitress for failing to clear up the air before engaging in a contract. It seems that the services provider did not take time to understand the request and act on it accordingly(Crisp and Turner 56). Failure to do so resulted to negative repercussions towards the business. Thus, the engagement failed due to the above reasons provided.This strategy could have been used in a better way by facing the client and seeking more about the order before executing the request. This will help avoid negative repercussions.
Social Information Processing Theory
It infers that interpersonal relationship through computer enabled platforms depicts similar behavioral characteristics as face to face interaction. The reason behind this is that people coming from different social class or cultures interacts amongst themselves and establishes a relationship regardless of their differences. The action is facilitated through engagement in social media platforms such as Facebook, twitter and WhatsApp. The interaction eliminates challenges that tend to create a barrier between the participants. Importing this knowledge to the case at hand, we find that the interaction established in this context is limited by cultural differences. This is because the Italianconformsto a different culture while Americans adopt a diverse culture. These cultures are less likely to come into a consensus(Crisp and Turner 34). These measurements could be utilized by having participants learn each other’s behavior. Some of these behaviors portray the cultural teachings affiliated to each group. This strategy addresses cultural relationship that is essential for the development and construction of a successful interaction engagement.
Works Cited
Ackroyd, Richard. “The Social Engineering Engagement.” Social Engineering Penetration Testing 22.3 (2014): 87-117. Print.
Crisp, Richard J, and Rhiannon N. Turner. Essential Social Psychology. Los Angeles: SAGE, 2010. Print.