Shannon & Weaver Model for Communication

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Abstract

Communication is an essential factor in project management and is defined as the exchange of information, intended or involuntary . Successful communication is affected when what is implied is perceived as intended. Communication within project management seen as a foundation function that integrates the areas of scope, schedule and resources . Ineffective communication can therefore lead to misunderstandings and to a failure of a project. For that reason, an effective communication system and a fundamental understanding of the project manager to the communication maintenance during the life cycle of a project are mandatory for a successful project . Thus, a solid understanding of communication and developed skills to communicate are necessary for project, programme or portfolio manager to ensure the potential for cooperation and an effective communication within the project team and with external stakeholders.

The following article looks into the basic model of communication and its components which is known as the Shannon and Weaver Model of Communication. This model is often referred as the Mother of all Models REF and was primary designed to improve technical communication of radio and telephone. Later, the model was used in order to understand and develop effective communication as it offers insights in the way in which communication is designed. After a detailed model description, the three levels of problems according to Shannon and Weaver will be elaborated as well as the application and the limitation of this model.

Model Description

In 1948, the first major model for communication system was developed by Claude Elwood Shannon and published as "A Mathematical Theory of Communication" in The Bell System Technical Journal . One year afterwards, the book was edited with an additional introduction by Warren Weaver and the article was published as “The Mathematical Theory of Communication” in The Bell System Technical Journal . The content of the work was to identify the quickest and most efficient way to get a message from one point to another. Their goal was to discover how communication messages could be converted into electronic signals most efficiently, and how those signals could be transmitted with a minimum of error. Originally, this study was designed under a technical aspect and was formulated as a binary mathematical model. In 1964, C. E. Shannon and W. Weaver extended their first paper with more mathematical aspects and suggested some ideas for a broader application of the fundamental principles of communication theory. Eventually, it became the most well-know and basic model of communication, the Shannon and Weaver Model of Communication.

The Shannon and Weaver Model of Communication represents the communication process in a linear form which involves a one-way communication with others (sender and receiver). The model deals with six basic elements which form the general communication system according to Shannon and Weaver.

Basic Elements

Sender
Encoder
Channel
Decoder
Receiver
Noise

The Levels of Problems for Communication

Level A
Level B
Level C

Annotated bibliography

• A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), Fifth Edition, 2013

Chapter 10 - The chapter Project Communication Management describes the process of the three steps in order to develop a strategy and implement a communication strategy. Fundamental definitions and tools are also presented in this chapter.