Dissent is an integral part of decision making, and dissent processes may be particularly on display in workgroups in which group and organizational pressures intersect. The present study examined workgroup meetings in 3 organizations, focusing on how dissent influenced interactions that immediately followed the disagreement as well as how dissent shaped group meetings beyond those initial interactions. Immediately following dissent, groups typically tabled the dissenting member's concerns, either because the group could not resolve the dissent or because the group leader chose not to discuss the dissent further. A longer view of these meetings revealed phases of dissent interspersed within periods of focused work. These findings make 2 contributions to scholarship. First, much of the literature on organizational and group dissent focuses on variables that affect dissent, but the present study examines how one dissent event influences future events. These data revealed groups' keen awareness of past dissent as they expressed and responded to present dissent. Second, 2 breakpoints emerged as particularly important in the history of these groups, and those breakpoints revealed a dialectic mechanism that lay beneath dissent interactions. In one instance, managerialism seemed to subvert dissent, whereas in the other instance, a synthesis developed as the group developed new norms for interaction.
As a means of understanding the identity and heritage of organizational communication scholarship, we conducted a content analysis of 1,399 articles published in communication journals since 1964. Our findings demonstrate key turning points in organizational communication scholarship, trends in the development of knowledge, and areas in which this discipline can continue to grow in future endeavors. While research has problematized power and has emphasized the constitutive nature of communication, more research is needed to explore alternative forms of organizing and to expand diversity scholarship beyond gender and nationality. While research has grown more theoretically complex, work can still be done developing meso-level theories that highlight the role of communication in various organizing processes. While qualitative methods have erased the dominance of quantitative methods, greater parity and an appreciation for how methods may inform each other would advance scholarly contributions. While the number of studies conducted in organizations has grown, the percentage of studies using field work methods has declined, increasing the risk that research may miss important contextual cues. We discuss the implications of these findings as a road map for new scholars wanting to understand what organizational communication has been and all scholars wanting to know what organizational communication can be.
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