The Main Argument of the Thesis
The main argument of the thesis is that the practice of being silent and not speaking up against the wrongdoings in an organization affects the operations of the organization as well as the managerial policies of the organization. In this research article the tendency of the people to stay silent to avoid confrontation has been studied. It has been surveyed that managers and employees had concerns at work but failed to address them as they avoided speaking up and expressing their agitation. It was found that most people tended to remain silent rather than confronting rude, disrespectful and abrasive colleagues. People remained silent because they did not want to face harassment, bullying or did not want to receive bad feedback comments about themselves. It was identified by the research that people avoided speaking up when they could not properly understand the procedures they were required to follow or decisions taken by the management. This happens when management does not involve employees prior to taking decision. People also refrain from speaking up as they avoid facing abusive bosses. It can be said that when people feel unsafe about disclosing their concerns they tend to be silent. These behaviors should be discouraged in organizations.
The practice of the remaining silent at work can be done away with if certain strategies are implemented. It can be assumed that:
- If people reverse their way of thinking about remaining silent in an organization a lot of progress can be made in eliminating this bad practice.
- If people change the way they express their emotions to others, a lot of difference can be made. People should be more considerate about the feeling of others
- It is important to make the employees feel safe in their workplace to promote free communication of employees.
The Limitations of this article are:
- The article does not describe all the scenarios in which people prefer to remain silent in a workplace
- The article does not concern its research about the underlying causes of the people remaining silent.
- The solutions as provided in the research are not applicable in all scenarios in real life.
The research method used in this research is primary and qualitative. The research was done by interviewing several managers and employees to come to a conclusion that the practice of remain silent in a workplace is harmful for the company. Interviewing was selected as a method of research in this case as it is the only way to ascertain the perspectives of the employees regarding this malpractice. However, this method of research only relies on the assumption that honest opinions are given by the people interviewed as there is no way to check the truth of their statements. Interviews can be structured and unstructured. In a structured interview the questions are prepared by the interviewer beforehand. In an unstructured interview the questions to be asked by the interviewer are not prepared beforehand and conducted in an informal manner. Thus the latter form of interview is avoided to collect data for most researches while the former is preferred. Therefore, even in this research a structured interview was conducted to collect data.
Reviewing the article, it can be said that the chief findings of the article is that in the workplace, the individuals should stand up for themselves when needed and it can be said that silence in some point of time can potentially harm the organizational culture of any business organization. If the individuals do not speak against the wrong doings, the individuals who have the tendency of wrongdoings would not change (Valentine, Fleischman, & Godkin, 2015). If the individuals speak up against these factors, it can be seen that the environment would definitely become a lot happier, and the employees would get more engaged with their official duties and a massive boost in the productivity along with the profitability for the business organization can be seen (Hartman, 2014). Thus, it can be said that within the workplaces, the individuals should speak against what they think are wrong and should not be practiced in workplace.
Assumptions and Limitations of this Article
The chief ideas of this particular article are in the workplace, the individuals should speak for themselves when any other individual shows any types of unprofessional approach or they get engaged in activities those break the norms of the workplace. In this way, the organization’s productivity gets enhanced (Maxfield, 2016). It is important for employees of an organization to speak up against the wrongdoings of other employees, otherwise the productivity and the reputation of the organization would be hampered (Valentine, Fleischman, & Godkin, 2015). From the article, it can be perceived that until the other people voices up against the concerning issues, it would not be possible for the management of the organization to resolve the issue. The article gives an idea regarding the ways of conversations which are most common in judging these types of situations. These types of situations are Prickly peers, strategic missteps, dealing with incompetent
It can be said that speaking up in an organization is essential for its smooth functioning. A practice of remaining silent by the employees of an organization not only deters the smooth functioning of the same but it also prevents disputes from getting resolved. However in real life this malpractice can be avoided. The ideas talked about in this article can be implemented in real life for eliminating this mal practice. It can be said that changing a person’s way of thinking can help reduce this malpractice. Employees should consider that the impacts of remain silent when others speak up. It is to be said that managers should consider how they react to employees on being approached by the employees. They should try to be more understanding of the needs the employees instead of looking down on them or acting in a condescending way. They should try to assess the impacts of their reactions on the employees. In order to promote free communication and encourage employees to speak up, the management must make sure that employees feel safe and comfortable in their workplace. It can be said that it is the natural tendency of people to become more defensive when they feel unsafe. People can only be expected to speak up when they feel that their opinions would matter and if they are respected. Therefore, it can be said that to achieve the goal as stated above interactions between employees should be encouraged and the opinions of employees should be taken into consideration by the management prior to formulating any policy of the organization. It can be said that creation of a friendly and safe atmosphere at work encourages employees to express their concerns. A friendly and safe atmosphere allows people to open up more and address their grievances. It can also be said that management of any organization should handle criticism of their policies by the employees as this could potentially enhance and increase the productivity of the organization.
The managers of organizations need to encourage the free communication between the employees and the management. They need to make their employees feel comfortable about talking to their bosses and not them. They need to make sure that there is frequent interaction between the employees and the management. It is to be mentioned that managers should not be rude or disrespectful to the employees; instead they should be more considerate and try to understand the issues faced by them. The management’s aim should be to clarify the doubts of the employees about their roles, objectives and responsibilities. The leaders of the organizations should lay the foundation of the culture in which free interaction and communication is promoted.
7. Valentine, S., Fleischman, G., & Godkin, L. (2015). Rogues in the ranks of selling organizations: Using corporate ethics to manage workplace bullying and job satisfaction. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 35(2), 143-163.
Hartman, L. P. (2014). Business ethics: Decision making for personal integrity and social responsibility. New York: McGraw-Hill.
8. The literature recognizes that the sales profession is an inherently competitive and self-interested occupation that can be negatively impacted by deviant behavior and rationalizations of unethical conduct.
“Workplace bullying was also negatively related to job satisfaction’ (Valentine, Fleischman, & Godkin, 2015)
Hartman, L. P. (2014). Business ethics: Decision making for personal integrity and social responsibility. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Maxfield, D. (2016). How a culture of silence eats away at your company. Harvard Business Review, 2-5.
Valentine, S., Fleischman, G., & Godkin, L. (2015). Rogues in the ranks of selling organizations: Using corporate ethics to manage workplace bullying and job satisfaction. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 35(2), 143-163.