Voice and Silence in Organizations

Citation

(2010), "Voice and Silence in Organizations", Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 18 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/hrmid.2010.04418dae.003

Voice and Silence in Organizations

Article Type: Suggested reading From: Human Resource Management International Digest, Volume 18, Issue 4

Jerald Greenberg and , Marissa S. Edwards, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2009, ISBN: 9781848552128

Voice and Silence in Organizations contains 12 essays, divided into four main sections: basic concepts and issues; psychological processes; organizational dynamics; and a conclusion.

Part I gives an historical overview. Part II examines the emotions, attributions and decision-making process underlying both the choices to speak up and those to remain silent within the workplace. A model is proposed by Harvey, Martinko and Douglas to demonstrate how attributions and emotions contribute to, and influence, an employee’s decision to engage in whistle-blowing. Other authors examine motives underlying the use of silence or voice, and the presence of social ostracism.

Part III examines key aspects of organizational dynamics and contextual factors that influence both voice and silence. These include cultural characteristics that influence perceived safety, interpersonal fairness and reduced status differences. Again, a model is proposed, and is supported by an organizational survey that shows that a climate of high procedural fairness in the workgroup moderates voice, or at least reduces silence, and the opposite is true for organizations with low procedural fairness.

The chapters cover such organizational behaviors as whistle-blowing, loyalty, bullying, emotional abuse, anger, resentment, ostracism, hierarchical power and psychological safety, which lead to expressions of voice or silence. Several propositions are advanced to describe the individual’s internal or external attributions of either silence or voice to anger. The authors construct models of these attributions to predict the expression of voice or silence. The underlying psychological make-up of managers and leaders is considered as an influencer of, and responder to, both voice and silence, rather than as a cultural or organizational factor.

The book is intended primarily for scholars. It requires dedication and commitment to absorb the detail it contains. Those looking to apply the latest findings to their organization quickly may find the book somewhat ponderous.

Reviewed by Avis Austin, Sustainable Methods Institute, Belmont, California, USA.

A longer version of this review was originally published in Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 30 No. 8, 2009.