Saturday, April 3, 2010

Transaction vs. Relationship

What is the difference between having a transaction vs. relationship? Transaction suggests a once off event between two parties:-), while relationship suggests marriage:-) in good and bad times...

The differentiation between these two words is crucial if we want to create a community for our brand which can be ourselves, the private/ public organizations we work for or build.

Since both actions require an exchange of ideas, experiences or goods, it is very easy to confuse one for the other and be in 'transaction' mode, while we need to be in a 'relationship' mode...

Simply told, transaction is just a once-off activity between two people towards an end, e.g., purchasing a plane ticket from a travel agent, programming the washing machine to wash the cotton in 60 degrees. For a transaction to happen, we need a transactor and a transactee...in the washing example, I would be the transactor, while the washing machine is the transactee, suggesting that transaction can occur with non-humans....

On the other hand, relationship requires minimum two humans (living creatures) to be involved with each other:-) Contrary to transaction, relationship takes place in a 'time' continuum. A relationship has a past and a possible future. Hence the time and strict involvement of living being, dimensions are the main differentiating factors. Nevertheless why did we need to invent the word relationship in the first place? Just to make this differentiation??? What is the use of the word 'relationship' to humanity, at all???

Very crucial indeed! Without this word, we could not have survived....not only us, but the animals could not have survived....so crucial that this word needs to be strictly analysed, if we were to build harmoniuos and enduring communities and societies...

The main value add of the word 'relationship' is to encourage two human beings to go beyond transaction stage and accept each other as they are...to "accommodate" each other, in case things do not go as planned....this is the call of action for "tolerance"....For instance, this would mean, if a plane is cancelled, the customers would be understanding of the fact that the airline does not have a local technician and are willing to wait for another day to fly to their destination. In reciprocity, this would also mean that the passenger who has just missed her flight with few seconds, is granted an upgrade for the next flight, if she waited for one day due to the breakdown of the previous plane.

Relationship suggests each party tolerates one other based on their common , rewarding past and on the premise that they will be collaborating in the future again....Transaction suggests that we need to adhere to the rules...and strict rules govern us....no deviation, no tolerance....very binary decision and actions...leading to an automated society, instead of the one that tolerates each others' weaknesses and tries to accommodate the other based on mutual reciprocity....

Longing to live in a relationship society, where people relate to each other, rather than trans-act with one other....

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