The Critical Theory on Organizational Communication

of Stanley Deetz

Report by Michael Mattler

Click here for more information about Stanley Deetz.

Without a doubt, the Critical Theory Approach to Organizational Communication relies on the basic principles that have been developed during the last 120 years of Capitalistic growth in our economy. How did these principles come about? More importantly, how did they become solidified into our culture? Dennis Mumby, at the time of writing his 1987 paper was an Asst. Professor of Communication at Rutgers University, writes that the narrative form of communication leads to the solidifying of a corporate constructed reality through power and ideology of the organization.

Power

Power in many cases can be viewed as somewhat of a double-edged sword. On one hand corporations have the obligation to its' employees, management, and stock-holders to present an image that emphasizes efficiency, productivity, and concern for the well-being of personnel. However, the idea of power often runs a snag because of the juxtaposed position that states the operation of the organization must assess available information then set appropriate and carefully selected goals. Although it has been hard to define the idea of power, most organizational researchers do agree that it exists on one level or another.

Much of the early research was influenced by Max Webers' distinction between power and authority. According to this research, power is attached to the personality of the individual, whereas authority becomes associated to the role that a person plays. In the case of organizations, control is more based on the idea of authority tied to the individual role a person plays, known as legitimated power.

Another view of power comes from the theorist Luke's. Stating that power is organized by the manner of the culture, and based on behavior of groups and practices of institutions, he makes a revelation that power is not just based on the interaction of individuals. It is also built into the structure of organizational settings. This idea is key when looking at organizations. That they have built-in the social construct. Think about that.

In this respect, Luke's theory is extremely similar to the co-construction model of Cultural Approach to Communications. To learn more click here to go to a site by another student of Dr. Lee's, Inco 234 class.

Ideology

While many variations as to the pertinent concepts of ideology, the centralized factors of most contemporary theories include production and domination of consciousness. According to Neo-Marxist theorists, ideology forms a social construct that becomes legitimated by inserting actors/participants into the constructed reality. The ideologies of the organization then get passed on through a narrative form. This is done so by rewarding some people and not others which leads to stories of what actions are appreciated and those that are not. There are four principal ideological functions and they are: Representation universally; denial of contradictions; naturalization of the present; means of control. The concept of ideology as a control I believe is most important. It can best be explained by Gramsci's notion of hegemony. This centers around the domination of one group to articulate other groups social interests. This is a form of active consent rather than passive acceptance of the social actors.

Narrative

According to this theory, the actors/participants inhabit an environment in which they create the rules, norms and values that frame the organization process. This way of framing occurs from one member of the organization to another through stories. Whether positive or negative, information upon the rules, norms and values are passed on by way of narration to show the distinctness of that organization.

Conclusion

It seems misleading doesn't it. Corporations hand down a certain set of rules, norms and values, thereby setting the perameters for a socially constructed reality that the employees are then to believe is of their own doing. Narrations between co-workers are simply put a way to understand and interpret the deep structure of an organization. All they do is "impose" a reality based upon the organizations needs onto the participants of the environment.

Application by Kathleen Critique by Shannon Home Page

Works Cited

Mumby, Dennis. (1987). The Political Function of the Narrative in the Organization. Communication Monographs, 54, 113-27.

This page created on November 6, 1999 by Michael Mattler.