Saturday, October 18, 2008

8.5 Power and Control: The Expression of Dissent

In Voices from the Field, Box 9.11, The Expression of Dissent in Organizations (p.267) I was reminded of the monthly newspaper that I receive from my union. In the paper, there are a few consistent voices of dissent. I believe that they practice upward dissent in two parallel planes. Most of the time they are criticizing the City for their lack of support on monetary and retirement issues. And when they aren’t bashing the City they look to the administration to critique their lack of leadership and/or vision.

Most of the time the author is within reason for the criticism, but many times it seems as if they are fanning the flames of conflict just for the exercise. As a reader I have taken the position of being observant and open-minded to the discourse. I believe that there is a place for this dissent and I commend those authors for taking the time and the energy to look at the organization from a different perspective. This communication is vital to creating movements of change and bringing issues to the forefront of a prioritized agenda.

1 comment:

Mansoor said...

I think the people who raise their voices to convey their message out to the public so that their opinion and complains could be heard do a benefit to all the members of organization. Because without this sometimes employers try to take advantage of the employees and overburden them without giving them the proper benefit. Also there are many who are worried about these issues but never find the courage or means to get their message across the higher authorities of the organization. So if asked, I would be willing to present my dissent for the organization I work for, for the betterment of myself and colleagues.