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INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION APPROACH AS A
POLITICAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
MCO 456 - POLITICAL COMMUNICATION
WEEK 4
Expected End Capability:
After studying this material, readers are expected to be able to analyze:
•
definition of inter-family communication
•
definition of effective communication
•
definition of interpersonal communication
•
the importance of interpersonal communication
•
key elements of interpersonal communication
•
Political communication strategies in the context of interpersonal communication
A.
Definition of Interpersonal Communication:
Communication is a process of interaction, seen from the biological point of view
of communication from experimentation is the tendency to act with individual efforts
that are actively involved in aspects of human life. Experts provide term limits with the
intention of providing an understanding of what is meant by the notion of
communication. In the following, the author will present some definitions of
communication so that conclusions can be drawn as to what is meant by the true
meaning of communication. The term communication is adopted from the English
language, namely "Communication". This term comes from the Latin "communicare"
which means sharing something with others, giving some to someone, exchanging,
telling something to someone, talking, exchanging thoughts, relating, making friends,
and so on.
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Communication has several characteristics of communication as follows:
1)
Communication is a process
2)
Communication is a deliberate and purposeful endeavor.
3)
Communication demands participation and cooperation from the behaviors
involved.
4)
Communication is symbolic.
5)
Communication is transactional
6)
Communication transcends time and space.
Based on the understanding above, the author concludes that what is meant by
communication is a process of delivering messages from one person to another through
a certain process so that what is intended or desired by both parties is achieved.
In communication, there is a clear intention or purpose between the deliverer or sender
of the message (communicator) and the recipient of the message (communicant). Clear
goals and objectives between the two parties will reduce interference or obscurity, so
that communication that occurs will run effectively. In communicating, a person can
act or choose a role as a communicator or as a communicator. This kind of
communication order consists of two types, namely:
(a)
Interpersonal communication and
(b)
intrapersonal communication
Interpersonal Communication Effectiveness:
Interpersonal communication is an activity carried out in everyday life, and is a
way to convey and receive thoughts, information, ideas, feelings, and even one's
emotions, to the point of reaching the same understanding between the communicator
and the communicant. The effectiveness of interpersonal communication is the degree
to which the consequences of our behavior are in accordance with what we expect.
Interpersonal effectiveness is determined by our ability to communicate clearly what
we say, create the impression we want or influence others according to our will.
Interpersonal communication is the most effective information exchange process and
the process can be done in a very simple way.
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Interpersonal Communication Trends:
In Digital Media Digital new media makes almost all communication processes
can occur directly. even observe this change not only in the process of interpersonal
communication, but to mass communication. For example, how direct feedback
comments can be aired from a twitter account to answer the television host's questions.
Despite the current convergence, the development of digital media does not actually
eliminate the essence of the importance of relationships in interpersonal
communication. Convergence is termed by Madianou and Miller as polymedia, where a
technology does not only function singly. However, polymedia allows various
platforms to be run through just one device. Interpersonal communication from the
context of conversation usually leads to intimacy or familiarity. Because of this, some
research is interested in looking at friendship, romance, or family relationships.
The difference in digital new media is also in replicability. New media in digital form
can make users delete, manipulate, and even delay message responses. Therefore, the
temporal structure of new media can be adjusted whether it runs sequentially or not.
Effective Communication Strategies:
Effective Communication Strategy In realizing an effective communication
strategy must be supported by approaches that are persuasive in nature. This is done,
because sometimes communicants do not like to be forced to do what the
communicator wants. Persuasive means taking an approach to changing the attitude of
communicants. This attitude can be expressed from a sense of like or dislike. As
explained by Severin and Tankard, attitudes have three components, namely: First, the
affective component, namely liking or feeling towards an object. Second, the cognitive
component, which is the belief in an object. Third, the component related to behavior,
namely action towards the object.
Marwoto said persuasive means to persuade or convince. So persuasion means
information whose purpose is to persuade, or which aims to arouse the confidence of
the person being persuaded so that the person complies with the appeal conveyed by
the person who persuades. Thus, persuasion is an effort made to convince others
without coercion. First start communication by arousing the attention (attention) of the
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communicant. If the communicant's attention has risen, then followed by an effort to
foster interest (interest) which has a higher degree of attention. Interest is a
continuation of attention that is the starting point for the emergence of desire (desire) to
carry out an activity expected by the communicator. If there is only desire in the
communicant, it does not mean much, because it must be continued with the arrival of
a decision, namely the decision to carry out activities (action) as expected by the
communicator. Persuasion at its core always aims to persuade, so that other people's
minds change. With the change in someone's mind, it is expected to accept or do
something that is desired in accordance with the purpose of communication. In the case
of persuasion, the recipient of the message considers and connects with existing
attitudes, knowledge and feelings.
The effectiveness of communication can be assessed if the objectives to be achieved
are clear, and it can be measured by five things, namely: understanding, pleasure, the
effect of the message on attitudes, the effect of the message on relationships, and the
actions that occur.
1)
Comprehension. The basic meaning of comprehension is the careful
reception of the content of a stimulus as intended by the sender of the
message.
2)
Pleasure. Not all communication is intended to convey a specific purpose.
Communication aims to exchange information so that there is mutual
pleasure. As mentioned by the school of transactional analysis,
communication is not just communication, but communication is a
reciprocal relationship that must be established cooperatively to create
mutual pleasure.
3)
Influencing attitudes. The act of influencing others is part of everyday life,
and one of the goals of communication is to change the attitude of a person
or society.
4)
Improving relationships. Communication aims to improve relationships.
5)
Taking action. Effective communication can be seen from the actions taken
by communicants.
From the description above, effective communication strategies can be done by
considering the aspects of communication that have been mentioned. Communication
is said to be effective if what is conveyed and intended can be stimulates the
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understanding of the recipient of the message, and the recipient acts in accordance with
the information he receives. However, not all communicators can carry out their duties
as communicators who communicate effectively. In addition to those who have
difficulty communicating, ineffective communication is also caused by communication
barriers that arise during communication. This is what needs to be considered by a
communicator in implementing an effective communication strategy.
Interpersonal Communication Strategy:
Key Elements of Interpersonal Communication Interpersonal skills are nurses'
attitudes towards patients that are attentive, friendly, and trustworthy, which is a form
of skill possessed from birth or arises slowly as a form of years of experience. This
interpersonal skill is also defined as the nurse's ability to establish a good relationship
with patients and other staff. The main competency that must be possessed in order to
achieve patient safety is communication skills. According to Nashori in Yuni, there are
five aspects of interpersonal skills, namely: The ability to take the initiative, this ability
is defined as a form of interaction and relationship with other people or with a larger
social environment. Initiative is an attempt to seek more and broader new experiences
about the outside world and about the meaning of himself with the aim of better
understanding. The ability to be open (self-disclosure). This ability is a core part of the
innerself, including the disclosure of ideas, opinions, interests, experiences and feelings
to others. Self-disclosure can change an introductory relationship that is not deep into a
more serious relationship so that it will make new friends. Self-disclosure is a process
that a person does until he is recognized by others.
According to Barker and Lamle, emotional support includes the ability to calm
and provide comfort to others when the person is in a depressed and troubled state. The
ability to overcome conflict Every interpersonal relationship contains elements of
conflict or differences of interest. the ability to overcome conflict is A person's ability
to resolve conflicts that occur with others so as not to have a negative impact on the
relationship has been established and can improve the quality of interpersonal
relationships with others.
According to Nashori in Yuni, this interpersonal ability is characterized by the
existence of certain psychological characteristics that are very supportive in creating
and fostering good and satisfying interpersonal relationships. including the ability to
adjust communication to the context of the interaction that has taken place.
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Interpersonal skills are influenced by external factors including: Contact with parents
The child's contact with parents has a lot of influence on the child's interpersonal
competence. The contact between them makes children learn from their social
environment and the socialization experience can affect their social behavior.
Interpersonal skills require nurses to be able to absorb and respond to the moods,
temperaments, intentions and desires of others. With interpersonal skills, nurses are
expected to be able to work with others and synergize to produce positive things
including effective forms of communication.
Here it appears that communication between two people (interpersonal
communication) has seven main elements underlying it, namely:
(1)
various intentions ideas, and feelings that exist within the sender of the
message and the form of behavior he chooses. All of this is the beginning of his
communication behavior, namely sending messages that contain certain content
or meaning.
(2)
the process of message codification by the sender. The message sender or
communicator transforms his ideas, feelings, and intentions into the form of the
transmitted message.
(3)
the process of sending a message to the recipient.
(4)
the existence of channels or media, through which the message is sent.
(5)
Process decodification message by the receiver. The receiver interprets
or interprets the meaning of the message.
(6)
The inner response by the recipient of the message to the results of his
interpretation of the meaning of the message captured.
(7)
the possibility of certain noise.
Importance of Interpersonal Communication:
Interpersonal communication is very important for the happiness of a person's
life. Johnson in Edi shows several roles contributed by interpersonal communication in
order to create happiness in human life. First, interpersonal communication helps the
intellectual and social development of every human being. Development from infancy
(even from the mother's womb) to adulthood follows a pattern of increasingly
widespread dependence or intensive communication with the mother for an infant. The
communication environment becomes wider as a human child grows older. At the same
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time, the intellectual and social development of each person is largely determined by
the quality of his or her communication with others.
Second, a child's identity is formed because of communication with other people.
During communication with other people, consciously or unconsciously he will
observe pay attention and record in his heart all the responses given by other people to
him. A child will come to know how others view him or her thanks to the help of
communication with others, a person can find his or her identity, namely knowing who
he or she really is.
Third, in order to understand the reality of the social environment around him and
test the truth of his impressions and understanding of the world around him, a child
needs to compare with other people's impressions and understanding of a reality. Of
course, such social comparisons can only be done through communication with others.
Fourth, most people's mental health is determined by the quality of their
communication or relationships with others, more so for a teacher who is a very
significant figure and influences the lives of individual students.
Key Elements of Interpersonal Communication:
Interpersonal skills are nurses' attitudes towards patients that are attentive,
friendly, and trustworthy, which is a form of interpersonal skills. Interpersonal skills
are skills that are possessed from birth or arise slowly as a form of experience over the
years. This interpersonal skill is also defined as the nurse's ability to establish a good
relationship with patients and other staff. The main competency that must be possessed
in order to achieve patient safety is communication skills.
Communication is a complex concept because it requires a regular and systematic
practice so as to produce the "right impression". Communication is the process of
transferring information between two or more people. This is done at various levels or
levels in order to achieve common goals. It can also be interpreted as an exchange of
verbal and non-verbal messages between the communicator (sender) and the
communicant (recipient of the message) to change behavior (atitude change) in the
person involved in communication. Here it appears that communication between two
people (interpersonal communication) has seven main elements underlying it, namely:
a. various intentions ideas, and feelings that exist within the sender of the message
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and the form of behavior he chooses. All of this is the beginning of his
communication behavior, namely sending messages that contain certain content
or meaning.
b. the process of message codification by the sender. The message sender or
communicator transforms his ideas, feelings, and intentions into the form of the
transmitted message.
c. the process of sending a message to the recipient.
d. the existence of channels or media, through which the message is sent.
e. the process of decoding the message by the receiver. The receiver interprets or
interprets the meaning of the message.
f. The inner response by the recipient of the message to the results of his
interpretation of the meaning of the message captured.
g. the possibility of certain obstacles. According to Wilbur Schramm in humans,
when faced with a message to make a decision to accept or reject it, he will first
communicate with himself (interpersonal communication) which is called the
"thinking process". So a message will depend on the results of communication
with oneself, whether the message is accepted or rejected someone will accept
or reject it. This intrapersonal communication process will be described as
above.
Importance of Interpersonal Communication:
Interpersonal communication is very important for the happiness of a person's
life. Johnson in Edi shows several roles contributed by interpersonal communication in
order to create happiness in human life. First, interpersonal communication helps the
intellectual and social development of every human being. Development from infancy
(even from the mother's womb) to adulthood follows a pattern of increasingly
widespread dependence or intensive communication with the mother for an infant. The
communication environment becomes wider as a human child grows older.
B.
Political Communication Strategy:
Political Communication Strategy Communication strategy in politics is one of
the keys to the success of a political party in winning elections. A political campaign is
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a form of political communication application carried out by a person, group of people
or political organization to form and foster a positive image and public opinion, in
order to be elected in an election, regional election and presidential election.
Some forms or types of art and forms of application (application) of political
communication that have long been known and carried out by politicians or political
activists, including political rhetoric, political agitation, political propaganda, political
lobbying, and political actions that can be carried out in organized political activities
such as: public relations post politics, political marketing and political campaigns. All
forms of political communication are related to the formation of a positive public
image and opinion. It can be related to efforts to win elections in order to gain power
and political positions in the legislature or executive so that they can make political
policies in accordance with the vision and mission and political programs of political
communicators, especially politicians and their political parties.
Political Rhetoric:
Rhetoric basically uses symbols to identify the speaker with the audience through
speech while speech is an equally important concept to rhetoric as symbolism. By
addressing the audience openly, public discourse will develop and the process of
persuasion will take place. That is why Dan Nimmo said speech is negotiation with
political rhetoric will create a society with ongoing negotiation (conflict and
consensus). Aristotle in his work Rhetorica divides political rhetoric into 3 types,
namely: diliberitive rhetoric, forensic rhetoric, demonstrative rhetoric.
Political agitation:
Agitation according to Blumer begins by creating contradictions in society and
mobilizing audiences to oppose the reality of life experienced so far (full of uncertainty
and full of suffering) with the aim of causing anxiety among the masses. Then the
people are mobilized to support new ideas or new ideologies by creating new
circumstances. Agitation often has a negative connotation because of its inciting,
threatening, disturbing nature that arouses dissatisfaction among the audience and
encourages rebellion.
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Political propaganda:
Propaganda is a long recognized use in politics, although it was originally used as
a form of religious activity (Catholic religion). Political propaganda can be a political
communication activity that is carried out in a planned and systematic manner, using
suggestion for the purpose of influencing a person or group of people, an audience or a
larger community to carry out or adhere to a certain idea, or activity with their own
awareness without feeling forced or forced.
Furthermore, there are several types of propaganda including overt propaganda,
intentional propaganda, and unintentional propaganda. In democratic countries,
political propaganda activities are highly disliked, even rejected by developing other
activities such as political public relations and political lighting.
Political lobbying:
Lobbying is one of the art forms and communication techniques that are widely
applied in political activities. Political lobbying and political parties, which are political
discussion forums in the perspective or interactional paradigm in political
communication, are applied in the form of dialogical interpersonal or face-to-face
communication. If political lobbying is informal (no rules) then political meetings,
political trials, or political deliberation forums are very formal or official. In political
lobbying, personal influence is very important. In that case, the competence, mastery of
the problem, position and personality of the politician are very influential.
Political action:
Actions that can be viewed as communication in the pragmatic paradigm are also
forms of art and techniques in communication that are always used in political
activities. Thus, political lobbying, political rhetoric and political campaigns can also
be referred to as political action which is one form of political action.
Dialogue between persons. By shaking hands, greeting, asking for news, and listening
to greetings. As described above, dialog is important in building a good political
communication strategy with the community.
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Political Communication Strategy:
Communication is fundamental in human life. This is based on human nature as a
social being who needs others. Interaction or communication between individuals with
individuals, individuals with groups, and groups with groups will always be done every
day. Like a human chain, one to another is connected through a chain called
communication. From communication people know something information, the more
people know something, the more they are considered to have information, and if they
control information then they control the world Not to be overlooked are political
parties.
Political parties also have this function. According to Leo Agustino, every party
has a political communication function. Through this communication, it is hoped that
the party will be able to reach all sympathizers or those who are still politically
illiterate so as not to be swept away in the increasingly large wave of political apathy.
However, the On the contrary, there are many political parties in this country, the land
of the Emerald Equator, conducting good and correct and efficient communication.
Many political parties play shortcuts in doing this political communication. Many of
the methods chosen are pragmatic politics. That is, methods that are considered fast
such as money, basic necessities, etc. during the campaign before the election, or also
communication, which brings down opponents in order to gain public sympathy.
Whereas it is able to cause political immorality for the audience or the masses who
follow the campaigns Political Communication carried out by a political party is very
useful for the victory of the political party itself. Considering that one of the elements
of communication is to show self-identity, the correct communication will introduce to
others self-identity, in this case the identity of the political party to the masses present.
From that identity, political parties can create sympathy from the people which leads to
victory Indonesia is a democratic country.
This is explained in the constitution of the 1945 Constitution article 1 paragraph 2
which reads "Sovereignty is in the hands of the people and implemented according to
the Constitution". This is also emphasized in the 4th principle of Pancasila "Democracy
led by wisdom in representative deliberation". During its existence for almost 68 years,
the state constitution has always emphasized the aspect of democracy with the highest
sovereignty in the hands of the people, not in the hands of God, let alone in the hands
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of the ruler. The very democracy that has been composed since birth makes the
Indonesian State feel very thick with everything to realize the democratic process, one
of which is general elections or what is often called elections. However, the fact is that
elections in Indonesia are currently experiencing a slight setback with many voters who
ultimately do not use their voting rights.
As a country that upholds this, it is very ironic considering that a country's
democracy is measured through elections. This is where the role of political
communication of political parties to the wider community is needed.
One of the manifestations of democracy in the sense of "procedures for forming
government at large", is the General Election (Pemilu). In a sense, elections are an
important manifestation of "procedural democracy". According to Samuel P.
Huntington in the book "The Third Wave of Democracy" states "The main procedure
of democracy is the competitive election of leaders by the people they (will) lead." In
addition, elections are very much in line with the spirit of democracy in substance or
"substantial democracy", namely democracy in the sense of a government organized
from the people by the people and for the people. This means that it is the people who
hold the highest power (sovereignty). So it can be concluded that elections are an
institution as well as a political practice procedure to realize the sovereignty of the
people which may form a representative government which, according to the opinion of
Robert Dahl, is the ideal and maximum picture for a government in modern times.
Tasks and exercises
Do the following task:
1. Explain the meaning of inter-family communication?
2. Explain what effective communication is?
3. Explain the meaning of interpersonal communication?
4. Explain the importance of interpersonal communication?
5. List the main elements of interpersonal communication?
6. Describe political communication strategies in the context of interpersonal
communication?
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Group Communication Approach and Mainstream Media as Political
Communication Strategy
Expected End Capability
After studying this material, readers are expected to be able to analyze:
•
Definition of group communication in Political Communication
•
Definition of communication flow in organizations
•
The meaning of social media as a political communication strategy
•
The role of social media in political communication
•
Technology-induced communication changes in political communication
A.
Group Communication Approach:
Not everyone is a group. People gathered at the market, bus station, or queuing at
the cinema counter cannot be called a group, but are called an aggregate. For an
aggregate to be called a group requires the awareness of its members of the common
bond that unites them. Another communication model that is often used in establishing
relationships of people involved in organizations is group communication.
Communication involving more than two people is a form of group communication in
general. Group communication more often occurs or is done in an organization. Why
does this happen in organizations? Because every organization is a collection of at least
two or more human beings, having the same goal. So it is more appropriate if group
communication is more done in educational organizations.
Robert F Bales in Onong defines a group as a number of people who are involved
in communication / interaction with each other in a meeting that is face-to-face, where
each member gets an impression or vision of each other that is quite obvious, so that he
is good both at the time of the statement and afterward can respond to each as an
individual.
Some experts or experts in the field of communication limit the term group in
information exchange activities to a small collection of a group of people. However, all
authors agree that what is meant by 'group' is a group of people involved in the
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organization. Each author differs regarding the number of members called a small
group. Almost all authors state that the small group moves between 3 to 14 people.
A small group is a group of individuals who are able to influence each other,
utilize satisfaction and maintain themselves as members of the group, interact for
specific purposes, have specific roles, interact for specific purposes, have common
goals to be achieved, and they are connected by a clear structure. The face-to-face
nature of the small group gives and gets the attention of the group members.
Sometimes face-to-face is envisioned in terms of proximity, that is, there is a close
distance between its members. So far, some people think that the meaning of face-to-
face is when two people meet directly, talk, shake hands, hug, and so on. However, in
the current development of communication technology, people can still meet face-to-
face, through a monitor screen at a great distance, even though they cannot shake
hands. So that the boundaries of distance become blurred, because it can no longer be
measured by places whether one meter, a thousand meters, or even millions of
kilometers. Group communication is a communication system built by group members
in every organization. Group communication is an interaction process that usually
occurs in a small number of people, where the communication behavior of each
individual in the group can be face to face directly from each individual involved. In
principle, in carrying out a communication that is emphasized is the group factor, so
that communication becomes broader. In an effort to convey information,
communication in groups is not like interpersonal communication.
Group Communication:
Not everyone is a group. People gathered at the market, bus station, or queuing at
the cinema counter cannot be called a group, but are called an aggregate. For an
aggregate to be called a group requires the awareness of its members of the common
bond that unites them. Another communication model that is often used in establishing
relationships of people involved in organizations is group communication.
Communication involving more than two people is a form of group communication in
general. Group communication more often occurs or is done in an organization. Why
does this happen in organizations? Because every organization is a collection of at least
two or more human beings, having the same goal. So it is more appropriate if group
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communication is done more in educational organizations. Robert F Bales in Onong
defines a group as a number of people involved in communication / interaction with
each other in a meeting that is face-to-face, where each member gets an impression or
vision between each other that is quite obvious, so that he either at the time of the
statement or afterwards can respond to each as an individual.
Some experts or experts in the field of communication limit the term group in
information exchange activities to a small collection of a group of people. However, all
authors agree that what is meant by 'group' is a group of people involved in the
organization. Each author differs regarding the number of members called a small
group. Almost all authors state that a small group moves between 3 to 14 people. A
small group is a group of individuals who are able to influence each other, utilize
satisfaction and maintain themselves as members of the group, interact for specific
purposes, have specific roles, interact for specific purposes, have common goals to be
achieved, and they are connected by a clear structure. The face-to-face nature of the
small group gives and gets the attention of the group members. Sometimes face-to-face
is envisioned in terms of proximity, that is, the presence of Some people think that the
meaning of face-to-face is when two people meet in person, talk, shake hands, hug, and
so on. However, in the current development of communication technology, people can
still meet face-to-face, through a monitor screen at a great distance, even though they
cannot shake hands. So that the boundaries of distance become blurred, because it can
no longer be measured by places whether one meter, a thousand meters, or even
millions of kilometers. Group communication is a communication system built by
group members in every organization. Group communication is an interaction process
that usually occurs in a small number of people, where the communication behavior of
each individual in the group can be face to face directly from each individual involved.
In principle, in carrying out a communication that is emphasized is the group factor, so
that communication becomes broader. In an effort to convey information,
communication in groups is not like interpersonal communication.
Forms of Communication in Organizations As mentioned earlier, that the flow of
communication in the organization includes vertical communication and horizontal
communication. Each of these communication flows has a very distinctive function.
Ronald Adler and George Rodman in the book Understanding Human Communication,
try to describe each, the function of the two communication flows in the organization
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as follows:
1.
Downward communication, which is communication that takes place when people
who are at the management level send messages to their subordinates. The functions of
this top-down communication flow are:
a) Provision or storage of job instructions
b) Explanation from the leader about why a task needs to be carried out (job
retionnale)
c) Submission of information on applicable regulations (procedures and
practices)
d) Providing motivation to employees to work better.
2.
Upward communication, which is communication that occurs when subordinates
send messages to their superiors. The functions of this bottom-up communication flow
are:
a) Delivery of information about work or tasks that have been carried out
b) Submission of information about work problems or tasks that cannot be
completed by subordinates
c) Submission of improvement suggestions from subordinates
d) Complaints from subordinates about themselves or their work.
3.
Horizontal communication, which is an act of communication that takes place
between employees or sections that have equal positions. The functions of this
horizontal communication flow are:
a) Improve task coordination
b) Troubleshooting efforts
c) Share information with each other
d) Conflict resolution efforts
e) Foster relationships through joint activities.
In order for the communication process in educational organizations to run
effectively, it is worth knowing the various forms of communication that are often
done, so that it can be known whether someone is doing interpersonal communication,
intergroup communication or mass communication. This is in accordance with
Djajadistra's opinion in Edi that the form or way of communicating is divided into three
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parts, namely: Interpersonal communication or commonly referred to as interpersonal
communication. Besides interpersonal communication, the term intergroup
communication is also known. In this intergroup communication can be divided into
two parts, namely large group and small group communication.
Next is mass communication, which is a type of communication that involves
many people. In this mass communication, mass media is needed in order to reach
many targets with a very wide range and even unlimited. The media that can be used in
this mass communication are newspapers or newspapers, magazines, radio, television,
internet, Facebook, and so on. By using the help of these various media, it results in the
loss of clear boundaries in mass communication activities.
Political Communication Strategy Communication life has various principles.
Political communication is no different. There are various principles of political
communication. In the principles or laws of political communication there are several
actors such as:
a)
Communicator: the person who conveys information
b)
Message: information to be conveyed
c)
Media: tool/place/transmission of messages
d)
Communicator: the target of communication
In carrying out a political communication strategy, of course, it cannot be
separated from all obstacles as well as supporting factors for the smooth running of a
strategy. Obstacles and supporting factors cannot be separated, considering that both
are the balance of life. Each party has different inhibiting and supporting factors, each
party has what is called strengths and then weaknesses.
In doing communication, of course, it has several actors, because communication
runs in two directions. It is also inseparable in the principle of communication which
requires communicators or communication actors to convey messages, meanings,
propaganda, to communicants receiving messages, eating and propaganda.
Communicators play an important role in all communication processes. Business-trade
communication to political communication. In political communication, there are
several actors or communicators or can also be called communication actors who make
this political communication run. This actor plays a vital role in conducting political
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communication, the way or not political communication, whether or not the desired
message reaches, which leads to the victory or defeat of a political party depends on
these actors in carrying out their political communication to the communicant audience
which here we call the community.
This theory was proposed by DeFleur and Ball-Rokeach which states that in
society there are social groups whose responses to mass communication tend to be the
same. These social classifications can be based on identity, ethnicity, religion, gender,
social class, etc. Various studies involving these social categories show that people's
membership in a particular group has an important impact on their behavior. By taking
up issues such as marhenism, Tri Sakti Bung Karno PDI Perjuangan is doing
something urges that the communication pattern that runs is strong with the average
Indonesian, where Bung Karno is still an iconic figure because he led Indonesia to
independence in 1945.
Next is mass communication, which is a type of communication that involves
many people. In this mass communication, mass media is needed in order to reach
many targets with a very wide range and even unlimited. The media that can be used in
this mass communication are newspapers or newspapers, magazines, radio, television,
internet, Facebook, and so on. By using the help of these various media, it results in the
loss of clear boundaries in mass communication activities.
Communication Engineering Many studies mention the power of the media, so
that theories emerge that explain how the media can function as a means of education,
propaganda, information to entertain. With the presence of new media, the world of
media is increasingly diverse. Someone who has a Twitter account and has 150,000
followers, for example, has the power to propagandize, because so many people read
his tweets. The 150,000 readers are more than the number of readers of the Pikiran
Rakyat newspaper, which is only about 75,000 people. So, now it is not only mass
media that can bring down a country, but individuals can also do it with the help of
social media. The power of social media exposure is due to interpersonal
communication. In communication, the one that can provide the most attitude change is
interpersonal communication. Communication research says, the influence of
interpersonal communication is very large on a person, the power of interpersonal
communication has been realized for a long time. The problem is, it used to take a long
time to do interpersonal communication to many people, so mass communication was
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considered easier. But now, interpersonal communication is easier and faster to do with
social media. Everyone can be a communicator like mass media without having to have
a lot of money, unlike the previous phenomenon when the owners of mass media were
conglomerates or big financiers. Individuals in today's world can become anything
related to the media. When someone has a lot of followers, then he or she uploads
videos and videos images accompanied by narration and explanation, then he
automatically has media. That is what is called media convergence or convergence
technology, where there is a merging or integration of existing media to be used and
directed to a single point of destination. Convergence usually refers to the development
of digital communication technology made possible by network convergence.
Indonesia is one of the countries that has an extraordinary speed in the growth of
technology and new media. In terms of social media, Indonesia is one of the largest
users in the world. Its development has penetrated to all corners of the archipelago. The
users are from all walks of life. The phenomenon of spreading short messages or
broadcasts through "messenger" applications on cell phones and social media whose
contents are not necessarily true and cannot be accounted for accuracy. However,
without realizing it or not, people who forward these broadcasts make them part of the
propagandist agents.
SOCIAL MEDIA AS A POLITICAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY:
How important is the role of political communication strategy. To get the
majority of votes in the 2014 legislative elections, Mudzakkir Ali Djamil won the
legislative elections by gaining 3,395 votes in Dapil I (Makassar, Ujung Pandang,
Rappocini) from the PKS party, he carried out a communication strategy with the
following steps: blusukan, advocating the needs of citizens, and using media (social
media).
Planning includes:
a Funding/budgeting,
b Formation of the campaign team, campaign slogan, and target audience.
Organizing includes:
a Political communication between supporting political parties,
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b Communication political withelements society with advocating for
the interests of the community in the form of local regulations
c Controlling/supervision role government of development process for the
community.
To overcome communication barriers, Mudzakkir Ali Djamil conducted the
Andap Asor communication model, meaning that mass affairs in each party politics and
elements are left to each elite. The masses themselves assess the figure of Mudzakkir
Ali Djamils. While the evaluation is done to measure the extent to which the
communication strategy has an impact on the community.
From the results of the research, it can be seen that Mudzakkir Ali Djamil had
planned a political communication strategy long before the elections took place, this
can be seen from the mature formation of the team, campaign media, and
communication models. The organization of communication strategies is done
optimally by mobilizing all components both in the party and the community. The use
of campaign tools in the form of billboards installed in each village, stickers, and most
of them are brochures.
As for overcoming communication barriers, it is done personally by using social
media in the form of facebook, twitter, path, whatsapp, and blackberry massanger as
well as by using the blsusukan strategy (door to door), because according to him the
people in both segments are people who must be worked on by using two different
strategies to obtain maximum votes. In addition, Mudzakkir Ali Djamil also conducted
an evaluation, meaning whether the political communication strategy had an effect on
the community.
This experience has been gained by him considering that this is the second time
he has been elected as a candidate for the Makassar Provincial Legislative Council. He
was also one of the council members in the previous period who received awards,
performed well, had won the BTAQ, and was often a resource person from the media,
which made it easier for him to win the legislative elections for the 2014-2019 period.
Next is Mukhlis Yusuf. ST, a candidate for the Makassar City DPRD for the 2014-
2019 Dapil I period from the PKS party with serial number 3. Mukhlis Yusuf is one of
the DPRD candidates who did not win the Legislative Election.
The political communication strategy that he did was relatively the same as his
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rival Mudzakkir Ali Djamil considering that he also came from the same party as
Mudzakkir Ali Djamil, it's just that he was less active in utilizing social media as a
forum for political communication in gathering public votes, some legislative election
winners also turned out to be active in various organizations so that they had been in
advance socialize themselves to the public well in advance of the legislative elections.
The conclusion that the political communication strategy carried out by the team relies
on the figure, the use of campaign tools, social media, and so on is a person's
supporting factor. For candidates who did not win the legislative elections, the team
formed lacked maximum organization, especially in the use of social media, therefore
it is necessary to reorganize personnel in the internal party so that in the future the team
formed understands more about communication strategies.
Media, be it mass media or social media, is a big part of political communication.
Because the media can influence the thoughts of the audience on what it can convey.
Although the media can really influence the thoughts of the audience, there is a theory
that says that the audience is passive or just follows what is already there. But
eventually the theory was broken by other theories produced through research into
people's actions. Therefore, the theory in political communication has developed in
accordance with the research and findings of experts on audience behavior.
The Role of Social Media in Political Strategy:
Political action in political communication events aims to build a political image
for the audience, namely a picture of political reality that has meaning Strategy and
political communication is an overall conditional decision about the actions that will be
carried out at this time, in order to achieve political goals in the future. The right
strategic decisions for political communicators are (1) Maintaining stature, (2)
Strengthening political institutions, (3) Creating togetherness and (4) Building
consensus.
Power and institutionalization:
When political communication takes place, what is influential is not only the
political message but who is the political figure or activist and professional figure from
which institution conveying the political message. In other words, a person's character
is a political communicator and the political institution that conveys the message.
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Supporting it greatly determines the success or failure of political communication
in determining its goals and objectives, in this case maintaining stature and
strengthening institutions.
Creating togetherness The second strategic step that must be taken to achieve
political communication goals is to create togetherness between politicians and the
people by getting to know the audience and composing homophily messages. This is
necessary so that political communicators can empathize.
Hemophily and empathy are one of the conditions for building and maintaining
stature for politicians, activists and professionals as political communicators. To create
hemophily and empathize through the equation of interests, political communicators
must first know, understand and understand the stamina and absorption capacity of the
audience, both psychological and sociocultural. This requires various activities such as
exploration and surveys or proof. By understanding the audience, compiling persuasion
messages, determining methods, and sorting out media.
Building consensus The third strategic step that must be taken to achieve political
communication is to build consensus both between politicians within one political party
and between politicians from different parties. This generally occurs both at meetings
and trials and in lobbying, using an interactive communication model in accordance
with the interactional paradigm. In the international paradigm, all parties who
communicate or interact have the same and equal position, thus creating a dialogical
atmosphere. Interactional communication is known as humane communication because
all parties are elevated to a noble position. A dialogical atmosphere must be built
through the creation of togetherness or hemophily by practicing empathy. It is intended
that all parties have a sense of belonging so that they can actively participate.
In building consensus, the art of compromise and willingness to open up is one of the
strategies that must be understood by a politician in conducting political
communication. The power of Social Media in shaping public opinion Social media is
part of technology that cannot be avoided. That is, the technology will come and we
cannot avoid it Avoidance. For example, if there is a negative side, then we cannot use
it, of course we cannot. Technology is a historical inevitability, with all its
consequences. Technology will always come. When we hinder it, we hinder human
development and knowledge. As long as humans are still able to think and innovate,
new technologies will continue to emerge. Every day, every hour, even every second
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new technology is created. Not much different from the development of media which is
now entering the era of new media or often said to be the media of the future. New
media has a fairly broad concept and its development is quite rapid, seen from the
development of computers, the internet, cellphones, smartphones, to tablets. With this
development, many things have changed, such as habits, lifestyles, and ways of
communicating. The changes have both positive and negative impacts.
The changes in communication patterns that occurred after the growth of social
media were quite large. In the past, the basic concept of communication in the media
was the existence of communicators who were often described as mass media, large
groups or organizations, while communicants were people who only received and
provided delayed responses or feedback. Today, that concept has changed drastically.
Today, an individual can be a communicator to a wide audience. A communicant can
also turn into a communicator when he can express or encourage and even
propagandize other people. Now an audience or communicant can also be a
communicator. This means that today the public can be communicators, whereas in the
past the communicators were the media, large institutions, and large organizations.
So, people used to be semi-passive or even passive who only received, even if
they commented, it was limited and delayed. Nowadays, people who use conventional
media have less time than those who use modern media such as social media. Gadgets
are used more often than watching television or reading newspapers. Someone who
opens social media can read the message conveyed, forward the message, comment,
even create a new status or tweet, and spread it. This means that the person has become
a communicator. So, the public becomes a communicator for other publics. The
influence of the use of online media Twitter, Facebook, bloggers, YouTube and
Various social networks in the Election Campaign depart from this communication
axiom, the technology that becomes the media in communication continues to develop
from day to day. The development of technology in communication itself also brings
influence in human life both in terms of economy, social, culture and politics. The
political field is pretty much affected by communication technology itself.
Communication is very important and necessary in politics and is one part of political
activities themselves. Political campaigns themselves also often use communication
media in them. Social networking online media as one of the products of
communication technology is quite widely used in election campaigns. McLuhan's
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concept that technology is media is the basic concept that forms the basis for analyzing
this case. From McLuhan's concept, it descends into several theories that are related
and can also be an analysis knife in various cases in the political field.
The results of the discussion and conclusions are that the ever-evolving
communication technology causes influence on the political field through campaign
activities that are now developed through new media and can be seen the technological
deternism that exists in society because many people are so dependent on technological
functions that life is dominated by technology. As social beings, humans can never live
alone and this also justifies one of the axioms of communication that "we cannot not
communicate." It is true that humans cannot not communicate.
One field that relies heavily on communication technology is politics. Because in
this political field, political communication is very important. One form of political
activity that is known to many people is a political campaign. In this case, the
campaign itself has been divided into several categories such as legislative campaigns,
presidential campaigns and also campaigns in regional head elections and so on. What
is also very interesting to observe is the shift in the form of political campaigns carried
out by candidates in the campaign. Before the development of communication
technology, it was still very common to find how to campaign by installing large
banners, banners all over the road, various posters and billboards filled the entire area
The corner of the city that is actually quite a lot has both positive and negative impacts
on it.
Now, as time goes by, and the development of communication technology is also
so rapid, as previously explained about the emergence of new media, there has been a
shift in the campaign. Many are using new media in campaigns to attract as many
people as possible and to get them to vote. Some participants have started doing ways
to attract the attention of the masses to vote for them. Various ways ranging from old
ways such as the use of billboards, distributing various posters as well as banners,
appearing at various events with various images. Some participants' success teams also
utilized social media as a means to attract the attention of the masses. Almost all
existing social media are also utilized, one of which is social networking forums and
online media. Social media has greatly influenced human life, including in the political
field which is also affected by the existence of social media. In the field of politics
itself, there is also political communication that allows people to be influenced to
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choose candidates to gain power. Starting from the basic concept of McLuhan that
media is technology and technology is an extension of human hands.
Benefits of Technology in Political Communication:
Many benefits are provided by the use of technology, but often we are trapped
that technology is just a very sophisticated electronic device. According to McLuhan,
all media for the means of conveying messages from sender to receiver is technology
that becomes an extension of human hands. Not only that, the theory of innovation
diffusion is also one of the theoretical foundations. In this theory, it is stated that:
"Diffusion is the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain
channels over time among the members of a social system. It is a special type of
communication, in that the messages are. concerned with new ideas. Communication is
a process in which participants create and share information with one another in order
to reach a mutual understanding. This definition implies that communication is a
process of convergence (or divergence) as two or more individuals exchange
information in order to reach a mutual understanding order to move toward each other
(or apart) in the meanings that they ascribe to certain events. We thinkof
communication as a two-way process of convergence, rather than as a one-way, linear
act in which one individual seeks to transfer a message to another."
Another theoretical concept is the Mathematical Theory of Communication. The
theory proposed by Shanon and Weaver explains how Information theory sees Marshall
McLuhan, Understanding Media:
Not only that, social networking and elections also show signs of technology
determinism, which is a symptom or sign that society has been influenced by
technology in various aspects of life, one of which is in the political field. Technology
has undergone a change and innovation to adjust to the needs of the existing society.
This innovation comes from various factors and parties that later this technology can
also become an extension of human hands and help fulfill and solve human problems.
One of the products of new media that is growing a lot today is social media. Social
media as one of the new media is really utilized as much as possible by the community.
The definition of social media is as follows "... social network sites as webbased
services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a
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bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection,
(3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the
system. The nature and nomenclature of these connections may vary from site to site..."
Some suggestions that can be given in the use of communication media in this case as
social network sites are:
1.
The admin of each account of each candidate has an understanding of
communication technology so that there will be no unwanted things or errors because
the admin of the account is still at the user level, not an expert.
2.
Choosing the right hours to post issues, such as coffee break time, lunch time, not
during working hours or office hours, to increase the awareness of followers to read the
contents of the post.
The information disseminated through twitter should be factual and persuasive, not just
'seduction' words to get followers to vote. 4. Pay attention again to the efficiency and
intensity of posts so that followers do not consider it as something annoying or spam
and in the end the objectives of the campaign are not achieved.
Tasks and exercises
Do the following task:
1. Explain the meaning of group communication in Political Communication?
2. Explain the meaning of communication flow in organizations?
3. Explain the meaning of social media as a political communication strategy?
4. Explain the role of social media in political communication?
5. Explain the changes in communication due to technology in political
communication?
