Organizational Silence

Prostitution operates as a hidden organized activity relying on covert organizing processes in order to function. This study analyzes how both talk and silence discursively construct prostitution. Data, including prostitution policies and in-depth interviews, revealed that certain participants are marked silent while others are made visible. Results are presented through a metaphor of a masquerade in order to illuminate the complexity of hidden organizing. This metaphor offers a way to examine systematic and pervasive silence(s) within hidden organizing. Implications are offered for theory and research of the discursive construction of hidden organizations.

Dynamic competition conditions in present day bring about the consequence for businesses to face varied problems with each passing day. At this point, current management approaches include studies that would shed light on the new problems of businesses. Organizational Silence, a concept that has recently been being voiced in business world, has come up in such context. Organizational silence could be expressed as the employee behavior of keeping silent about certain negativities due to various reasons in an organization. Since knowledge sharing in modern organizations is of capital importance in terms of responding hastily to the changes in a competitive environment, spread of this behavior of employees to organization culture and climate presents a threat of  indifference. In this study, the concept of Organizational Silence is defined and the effects of conceived silence climate on management of organizations are discussed.

The aim of this study was to determine not only the level of teachers’ perceptions of organizational silence and school administrators’ communication skills, but also the correlation between communication skills and organizational silence. The study aimed to determine to what extent school administrators’ communication skills and teachers’ gender predicted teachers’ organizational silence as well. The target population consisted of 206 teachers at primary schools in the district of Yakutiye of the city of Erzurum in the academic year of 2018–2019. Data were collected using a personal information form developed by the researcher, the Communication Skills Scale (CCS) developed by Wiemann (1977) and adapted to Turkish by Topluer (2008) and the Organizational Silence Scale (OSS) developed by Kahveci and Demirtaş (2013a). Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and Pearson correlation coefficient. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine how well independent variables predicted dependent variables. Participants’ CCS social relaxation and support subscale scores were highest and lowest, respectively. Participants’ OSS school environment and administrator subscale scores were highest and lowest, respectively. There was a significant correlation between school administrators’ communication skills and teachers’ organizational silence. Regression analysis showed that the subscales of the CCS significantly predicted those of the OSS.

With the changes that happened from the 1970s, organizations started to demand more participation of their employees in work processes’ decisions. Open and frank communication becomes vital in this scenario. The organizational silence (MORRISON e MILLIKEN, 2000) and the employee silence (PINDER e HARLOS, 2001) are to be studied in more depth to understand the behaviors that lead employees to voice, via speaking up, or to remain silent. Since the 2000s, silence has gained an increasing research interest (BRINSFIELD, EDWARDS e GREENBERG, 2009), and this paper aims to introduce the organizational silence on the research agenda on Organizational Behavior in Brazil. Therefore, we present what the foreign literature points out as motives that lead employees to remain silent, and the consequences of this silence both for them and for the organization. We believe, however, that there are limitations in the reflections developed. To prevent a domesticated introduction of knowledge, we present some still emerging reflections on the subject based on debates by some Brazilian scholars (especially, TRAGTENBERG, 1971; 2005; PRESTES MOTTA, 1981; PAES DE PAULA, 2002; FARIA e MENEGHETTI, 2011) on the ideological character and, therefore, oppressive side of the knowledge produced by management science. So, we criticize some of the underlying assumptions of the organizational silence theory, drawing attention to the role of the organization itself as sponsor of both silence and the consequences that may arise from it

This study analyzes the changes in the relations established in the work environment conditioned by the implementation of management techniques characterizing a Toyotist model and that produced the phenomenon of organizational silence. The story of a financial system worker was used as a guide for structuring our argument. Observations and documents mediated the understanding of the individual story along with the general social relations. Guided by the categories singularity, particularity and universality, we established the links among the worker's situation, the company's management techniques and the productive restructuring movement. The results show that the various management techniques were means of silencing built up throughout the worker's career, as frustrations accumulated and the needs of the work process changed. What in the life of a manager is frustration and silence, in the totalization movement are changes in the being manager marked by the emptying of planning and controlling functions.

Eğitim örgütlerinde yapılan araştırmalar incelendiğinde, örgütsel sessizliğin
yüksek düzeyde yaşandığı, yönetici ve öğretmenlerin, olay ve durumlar karşısında
konuşmak yerine sessiz kalmayı tercih ettikleri görülmektedir. Örgütsel sessizliğin, bilgi ve
deneyimleri paylaşmama, çok yönlü perspektiflerden mahrum kalma, işlerin iyileştirilmesi
çalışmalarına kayıtsız kalma, açık iletişim ve yapıcı diyaloglar kuramama, kurumu
sahiplenmeme, performansta düşüş, haksızlığa tepki gösterme yerine pasif kalma,
görüşlerini açıklamada gönülsüz olma gibi sonuçlara yol açtığı görülmektedir. Örgütlerin
psikolojisini olumsuz yönde etkileyen sessizlik iklimi, örgütsel davranış örüntüleri üzerinde
belirleyici bir etkiye sahiptir.
Bu araştırmanın amacı, ilköğretim kurumlarında görev yapan öğretmenlerin
örgütsel sessizlik yaşama nedenlerini saptamaktır. Araştırma nitel araştırma modeline göre
yapılandırılmıştır. Nitel araştırma desenlerinden olan olgu bilim (fenomenoloji)
kullanılarak gerçekleştirilen bu araştırmanın çalışma grubu, amaçlı örnekleme
yöntemlerinden, kartopu veya zincir örnekleme yöntemi ile belirlenen 4 ilköğretim kurumu
öğretmeninden oluşmaktadır. Açık uçlu sorular ve yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme tekniği
kullanılarak elde edilen veriler, içerik analizi tekniği kullanılarak analiz edilmiştir.
Yapılan içerik analizi sonucunda ortaya çıkan kodlardan bazıları; yöneticinin
‘sözde’ ilgileniyor görünmesi, adil olmayan uygulamalar (ayrımcılık/kayırmacılık vb.),
meslektaşların düşük performansı, konuşmanın faydasız olduğu inancı olarak belirlenmiştir.
Araştırma sonucunda, ilköğretim kurumlarında görev yapan öğretmenlerin örgütsel
sessizlik yaşama durumlarının; yönetsel, örgütsel, işle ilgili ve ilişkisel nedenlerden
kaynaklandığı saptanmıştır. Öğretmenler genellikle, ilişkisel nedenlerden konuşmanın
faydasız olduğu ve yönetsel nedenlerden yöneticinin sözde ilgileniyor görünmesi sebebiyle
örgütsel sessizlik yaşamaktadırlar. Örgütsel sessizlikle başa çıkılabilmesi için, daha aktif ve
yeniliklere açık olunması, bireyselliğe önem verilmesi, uzlaşmacı bir yaklaşıma sahip olunması ve mesleğin uygulayıcılarının gönüllü ve istekli kişilerden seçilmesi gerektiği
belirlenmiştir./The purpose of this study is to determine the causes of organizational silence experienced
by primary school teachers.This research was structured with qualitative research approach.
Study group of this study consists of four primary schools teachers as determined by a
snowball or chain sampling method. The data was collected through semi-structured
interviews and open-ended questionnaires from 4 participants and were analyzed using
content analysis technique.As a result of the research, organizational silence is experienced
by primary school teachers is derived from administrative, organizational, work-related,
and relational reasons.Teachers thoughts about it would be useless to talk because of
relational reasons, and school administrators seem to be interested in the so-called because
of administrative reasons lead to organizational silence. According to participants, to deal
with organizational silence, to be more active and open to new ideas, emphasis on
individuality, to have a conciliatory approach, and selecting the practitioners of the
profession from willing and voluntary people are required.