Analysis of Transactions

Definition: The interactions between people give rise to the Social Transactions, i.e. how people respond and interact with each other depends on their ego states. The transactions routed through ego states of persons can be classified as complementary, crossed and ulterior.

Complementary Transactions: A transaction is said to be complementary when the person sending the message gets the predicted response from the other person. Thus, the stimulus and response patterns from one ego state to another are parallel. These are:

1. Adult-Adult Transaction: The manager acts with the adult ego state, who tries to clarify and inform employees about the issues and has a concern for the human needs and facts and figures. I am O.K. you are O.K is his life position. This is an ideal transaction.
2. Adult-Parent Transaction: Here, the manager tries to implement the information being processed by him, but rather the employees with the parent ego stick to the clichés and the rules of the past. The employee tries to control the manager with his parent ego but is temporary.
3. Adult-Child Transaction: Here the employee possesses the child ego state, and this can be effective only if the manager knows about it and let his employees to be in this state to be creative.
4. Parent-Parent Transaction: Here the manager is in the parent ego, and his life position is I am O.K. you are not O.K. Reprimand, reward, criticism, rules, praise, etc. will be the sources used by him. This transaction is effective only if the employee supports him and join forces with him.
5. Parent-Adult Transaction: Here, both manager and employee might be frustrated. The manager may feel devastated if the employee does not perform as directed while, the employee may feel irritated because the manager is not acting with the adult ego.
6. Parent-Child Transaction: This is the ideal situation if the manager acts with adult ego while the employee is in child ego. The employee may find this transaction advantageous as it eliminates the responsibility and pressure on them.
7. Child-Parent Transaction: The manager in the child ego might not contribute efficiently towards the effectiveness of management. Although the child ego is characterized by creativity, it does not suffice the role of a manager. Here, the employee controls the manager.
8. Child-Adult Transaction: There is a lack of rationality when a manager acts with a child ego. Here, the employee in the adult ego gets discouraged as he wants to make logical and realistic decisions, but the manager may land up to the unrealistic decisions made on the basis of whims, fancies and emotions.
9. Child-Child Transaction: The manager acting with child-child ego is inefficient to lead his employees successfully and hence turn out to be the liability to the firm.

Non-Complementary Transactions: A transaction is said to be non-complimentary or crossed when the person sending the message does not get the predicted response, or the stimulus and response lines are not parallel.

In the above transaction, The manager is trying to interact on an adult-to-adult basis, but the employee responds on the child-to-parent basis, this would block the communication, and no further transaction could be done.

Ulterior Transaction: This is the most complex transaction because the communication has the double meaning. Such as, on the surface level the communication may have a clear adult message, but it may carry some hidden message on the psychological level and gets misinterpreted.