Key Theory for Internal Corporate Communication in the Context of Employee Engagement: The Spiral of Silence Theory

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PR3110:  INTERNAL CORPORATE COMMUNICATION

Assignment 1

Key Theory for Internal Corporate Communication in the Context of Employee Engagement:

The Spiral of Silence Theory

                       

By

Xue Ao

                                         

Tutor: Mary Welch

Name: Xue Ao

ID: G20582928

Date: 3rd, November, 2012

Content

Introduction-----------------------------------------------------------------------------2

Core Assumptions and Statements-----------------------------------------------3

Application of the spiral of silence theory-------------------------------------- 5

Avoid the spiral of silence-----------------------------------------------------------7

Conclusion------------------------------------------------------------------------------9

Reference-------------------------------------------------------------------------------10

Introduction

In the present day, effective internal communication is playing a crucial rule in modern enterprises. The obstacles occurred in communication produce more and more negative impact, it makes employees live in a depression environment, feeling abandoned, panic-stricken and loneliness. Therefore, employees and managers cannot get mutual understanding and this product conflict and contradiction, also lead to the lack of employee engagement. Effective communication can make harmonious interpersonal relationship and immediately find and solve the problems existing in the enterprise, so as to complete the company's work tasks and achieve the performance targets. Until 19th century, one public opinion concept, the spiral of silence theory (Noelle-Neumann, E, 1974) came out. This theory can be used to analyse the environment and to find out the reasons of the formation of the obstacles of internal communication.

This essay will firstly define what is meant by the spiral of silence and evaluate the rationality and limitations. It then will examine what is the best effective internal communication and find out how this theory reflects in practice. Finally, it will discuss how to avoid the spiral of slice happened and to prevent the low efficiency of communication in enterprises.

Core Assumptions and Statements

People are more willing to express their individual opinions when they have perceived support from others and less willing to disclose them when they think the opinions are in disadvantageous. The concept of the spiral of silence theory based on this idea, which indicates that one is not willing to voice his own opinion because of fear of isolation. According to Noelle-Neumann, individuals base their perceptions of majority opinion on cues from the environment. That means when people decide to point out their idea, they tend to observe surrounding opinions firstly. If it turns out that the opinion to be dominant, they are likely to voice it boldly. Otherwise, they are more likely to be silent due to environmental pressure. Actually, in the real world, this cognition almost exists in everyone’s mind, especially when they are in workplace.

For the formation of the spiral, there are many reasons:

  1. As social beings, everyone would like to be respected and afraid of becoming isolated from their friends and colleagues. Therefore, they chose to express the opinions which are more easily accepted by other people.
  2. People express themselves according to how the public response in other not to lose popularity in the public. Because of this, they continually scan their environment to try to assess the climate of opinion at all times. This climate of opinion includes both the current distribution of opinion and future prospects for the distribution of opinion, such as who will win the debate on an issue. (Noelle-Neumann, 1991).
  3. After observing the environments, people who notice that their own opinion is in advantageous and is supported by others will voice this opinion actively and loudly. Those who realized that their own personal opinions are in disadvantageous will be inclined to adopt a more popular opinion and attitude when expressing their opinions in real life.
  4. Following this, a advantageous opinion that is being reinforced in this way appears stronger than it really is. If the representatives of the disadvantageous opinions remain silent all the time, the definite influence on the environment will take shape.
  5. The result is a spiral process which prompts other individuals to perceive the changes in opinion and follow suit, until one opinion has become established as the prevailing attitude while the other opinion will be pushed back and rejected by everybody with the exception of the hard core that nevertheless sticks to that opinion.
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This public opinion concept refers to the way in which ‘the commonwealth is held together by prevailing views, habits and prescribed behavior;’ from which none can deviate ‘without running the risk of being ostracized’. (Noelle-Neumann, 1989, p. 6). The fear of isolation is the centrifugal force that accelerates the spiral of silence.(Griffin, E.M.,2009). It is believed that most of the reason of the following suit behavior is that people like to be respected and do not want to be isolated. But, this theory still has some limitations. The critics of this theory most often claim that individuals have different influences that ...

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