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Critical Theory of Communication in Organizations
Stanley Deetz

GROUP AND PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION

Chapter 21
 Communicative Constitutions...
Public Rhetoric 
Chapter 21
 Communicative Constitutions...
Public Rhetoric 

Chapter Outline 9th Edition

  1. Introduction.
    1. Stanley Deetz’ critical communication theory seeks to seeks to unmask what he considers  unjust and unwise communication practices within organizations.
    2. He calls it “stakeholder participation.” He believes that everyone who will be significantly affected by a corporate policy should have a voice in the decision-making process.
  2. Corporate colonization of everyday life.
    1. Deetz views multinational corporations as the dominant force in society.
    2. Corporate control has sharply diminished the quality of life for most citizens.
    3. Deetz scrutinizes the structure of the corporate world.
    4. His theory of communication is “critical” because he questions the primacy of corporate prosperity.
  3. Information or communication: A difference that makes a difference.
    1. Deetz challenges the view that communication is the transmission of information, a view that perpetuates corporate dominance.
    2. All corporate communication is an outcome of political processes that are usually undemocratic and usually hurts democracy.
    3. Deetz’s communication model emphasizes language’s role in shaping social reality.
      1. Language does not represent things that already exist; it produces what we believe to be “self-evident” or “natural.”
      2. Corporations subtly produce meanings and values.
    4. Like Pearce and Cronen, Deetz considers communication to be the ongoing social construction of meaning, but he emphasizes that the issue of power runs through all language and communication.
    5. Managerial control often takes precedence over representation of conflicting interests or long-term company health.
    6. Co-determination, on the other hand, epitomizes participatory democracy.
    7. Public decisions can be formed through strategy, consent, involvement, and participation.
  4. Strategy—overt managerial moves to extend control.
    1. Managerialism is a discourse that values control above all else.
    2. Forms of control based in communication systems impede any real worker voice in structuring their work.
    3. The desire for control can even exceed the desire for corporate performance.
    4. The quest for control is evident in the corporate aversion to public conflict.
    5. Strategic control does not benefit the corporation, and it alienates employees and causes rebellion.
    6. Because of these drawbacks, most managers prefer to maintain control through voluntary consent.
  5. Consent: Unwitting allegiance to covert control.
    1. Consent describes a variety of situations and processes in which someone actively, though unknowingly, accomplishes the interests of others in the faulty attempt to fulfill his or her own interests.
    2. Consent is developed through managerial control of elements of corporate culture:  workplace language, information, forms, symbols, rituals, and stories.
    3. Systematically distorted communication operates without employees’ overt awareness.
      1. What can be openly discussed or thought is restricted.
      2. Only certain options are available.
    4. Discursive closure suppresses potential conflict.
      1. Certain groups of people may be classified as disqualified to speak on certain issues.
      2. Arbitrary definitions may be labeled “natural.”
      3. Values behind decisions may be kept hidden to appear objective.
  6. Involvement: Free expression of ideas, but no voice.
    1. Truth emerges from the free-flow of information in an open marketplace of ideas, and an information transfer model of communication works well when people share values.
      1. Freedom of speech guaranteed equitable participation in decision making.
      2. Persuasion and advocacy were the best ways to reach a good decision.
      3. Autonomous individuals could then make up their own minds.
    2. The information transfer model does not work well in today’s pluralistic, interconnected world.
    3. But free expression is not the same as having a “voice” in corporate decisions, and knowledge of this difference creates worker cynicism.
  7. Participation: Stakeholder democracy in action.
    1. Meaningful democratic participation creates better citizens and social choices while providing economic benefits.
    2. Deetz advocates open negotiations of power.
    3. There are six classes of stakeholders, each with unique needs: Investors; Workers; Consumers; Suppliers; Host communities; and Greater society and the world community.
    4. Some stakeholders have taken greater risks and made longer-term investments than have stockholders and top-level managers; Deetz believes these stakeholders should have a say in corporate decisions.
    5. Managers should mediate, rather than persuade, coordinating the conflicting interests of all parties.
  8. Politically attentive relational constructivism (PARC).
    1. Deetz has recently proposed an extension of his critical theory that describes six types of conflict that must be addressed in organizations called Politically Attentive Relational Constructionism (PARC). 
  9. Relational constructionism
    1. Deetz maintains that most organizational theories are based on some form of social construction.
    2. Because Deetz is just as concerned with the process of construction as he is with its end product, he uses the designation relational rather than the more common term social
    3. Deetz lays out nine conditions that must be met in order for diverse stakeholders to successfully negotiate for their needs and interests. 
  10. Critique: Is workplace democracy just a dream?
    1. Deetz’s approach to corporate decision making is inherently attractive, yet there are some difficulties as well.
    2. Deetz’s constructivist view of communication does not necessarily support his reform agenda.
    3. Deetz’s campaign for stakeholder negotiation may not be realistic.
    4. The PARC model moves critical theory, which is often difficult to work out in conception and practice, to a higher level of conceptual sophistication.
    5. Deetz suggests critical scholars should be “filled with care, thought, and good humor.”

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resources. Read more













TEXT COMPARE

Archived chapters (PDF)
from previous editions
are available in
Resources by Type.
See list

New to Theory
Resources?
Find out more in this short
video overview (3:01).


Critical Theory of Communication in Organizations
Stanley Deetz

GROUP AND PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION

Chapter 21
 Communicative Constitutions...
Public Rhetoric 
Chapter 21
 Communicative Constitutions...
Public Rhetoric 

Chapter Outline 9th Edition

  1. Introduction.
    1. Stanley Deetz’ critical communication theory seeks to seeks to unmask what he considers  unjust and unwise communication practices within organizations.
    2. He calls it “stakeholder participation.” He believes that everyone who will be significantly affected by a corporate policy should have a voice in the decision-making process.
  2. Corporate colonization of everyday life.
    1. Deetz views multinational corporations as the dominant force in society.
    2. Corporate control has sharply diminished the quality of life for most citizens.
    3. Deetz scrutinizes the structure of the corporate world.
    4. His theory of communication is “critical” because he questions the primacy of corporate prosperity.
  3. Information or communication: A difference that makes a difference.
    1. Deetz challenges the view that communication is the transmission of information, a view that perpetuates corporate dominance.
    2. All corporate communication is an outcome of political processes that are usually undemocratic and usually hurts democracy.
    3. Deetz’s communication model emphasizes language’s role in shaping social reality.
      1. Language does not represent things that already exist; it produces what we believe to be “self-evident” or “natural.”
      2. Corporations subtly produce meanings and values.
    4. Like Pearce and Cronen, Deetz considers communication to be the ongoing social construction of meaning, but he emphasizes that the issue of power runs through all language and communication.
    5. Managerial control often takes precedence over representation of conflicting interests or long-term company health.
    6. Co-determination, on the other hand, epitomizes participatory democracy.
    7. Public decisions can be formed through strategy, consent, involvement, and participation.
  4. Strategy—overt managerial moves to extend control.
    1. Managerialism is a discourse that values control above all else.
    2. Forms of control based in communication systems impede any real worker voice in structuring their work.
    3. The desire for control can even exceed the desire for corporate performance.
    4. The quest for control is evident in the corporate aversion to public conflict.
    5. Strategic control does not benefit the corporation, and it alienates employees and causes rebellion.
    6. Because of these drawbacks, most managers prefer to maintain control through voluntary consent.
  5. Consent: Unwitting allegiance to covert control.
    1. Consent describes a variety of situations and processes in which someone actively, though unknowingly, accomplishes the interests of others in the faulty attempt to fulfill his or her own interests.
    2. Consent is developed through managerial control of elements of corporate culture:  workplace language, information, forms, symbols, rituals, and stories.
    3. Systematically distorted communication operates without employees’ overt awareness.
      1. What can be openly discussed or thought is restricted.
      2. Only certain options are available.
    4. Discursive closure suppresses potential conflict.
      1. Certain groups of people may be classified as disqualified to speak on certain issues.
      2. Arbitrary definitions may be labeled “natural.”
      3. Values behind decisions may be kept hidden to appear objective.
  6. Involvement: Free expression of ideas, but no voice.
    1. Truth emerges from the free-flow of information in an open marketplace of ideas, and an information transfer model of communication works well when people share values.
      1. Freedom of speech guaranteed equitable participation in decision making.
      2. Persuasion and advocacy were the best ways to reach a good decision.
      3. Autonomous individuals could then make up their own minds.
    2. The information transfer model does not work well in today’s pluralistic, interconnected world.
    3. But free expression is not the same as having a “voice” in corporate decisions, and knowledge of this difference creates worker cynicism.
  7. Participation: Stakeholder democracy in action.
    1. Meaningful democratic participation creates better citizens and social choices while providing economic benefits.
    2. Deetz advocates open negotiations of power.
    3. There are six classes of stakeholders, each with unique needs: Investors; Workers; Consumers; Suppliers; Host communities; and Greater society and the world community.
    4. Some stakeholders have taken greater risks and made longer-term investments than have stockholders and top-level managers; Deetz believes these stakeholders should have a say in corporate decisions.
    5. Managers should mediate, rather than persuade, coordinating the conflicting interests of all parties.
  8. Politically attentive relational constructivism (PARC).
    1. Deetz has recently proposed an extension of his critical theory that describes six types of conflict that must be addressed in organizations called Politically Attentive Relational Constructionism (PARC). 
  9. Relational constructionism
    1. Deetz maintains that most organizational theories are based on some form of social construction.
    2. Because Deetz is just as concerned with the process of construction as he is with its end product, he uses the designation relational rather than the more common term social
    3. Deetz lays out nine conditions that must be met in order for diverse stakeholders to successfully negotiate for their needs and interests. 
  10. Critique: Is workplace democracy just a dream?
    1. Deetz’s approach to corporate decision making is inherently attractive, yet there are some difficulties as well.
    2. Deetz’s constructivist view of communication does not necessarily support his reform agenda.
    3. Deetz’s campaign for stakeholder negotiation may not be realistic.
    4. The PARC model moves critical theory, which is often difficult to work out in conception and practice, to a higher level of conceptual sophistication.
    5. Deetz suggests critical scholars should be “filled with care, thought, and good humor.”

 
 
 
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