Application of the spiral of silence theory Essay Example

Application of the spiral of silence theory Paper 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 affect whether they speak out or not. Research indicates that people fear isolation in their small social circles more than they do in the population at large. When they are at work, they are in their small social circles, this fear of isolation is stronger than the fear of being isolated from the entire public. Also, personal characteristics will have an influence on whether a person will willingly speak out. Naturally, if one has a positive self-concept and lacks a sense of shame, that person will speak out regardless of how she or he perceives the climate of public opinion. (Ross, C. , 2007). Another important element for people not to speaking out is culture. What culture a person lives in affect their minds directly. Not every culture holds freedom of speech in as high regard as the United States, and in some cultures, open expression of ideas is forbidden. (Ross, C. , 2007) Scheufele Moy, further assert that certain conflict styles and cultural indicators should be used to understand these differences. We will write a custom essay sample on Application of the spiral of silence theory specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Application of the spiral of silence theory specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Application of the spiral of silence theory specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Although the spiral of silence theory caused a lot of controversy, it still has a practical significance. Internal communication plays a key role in all organisations, particularly regarding employee engagement. Nowadays, all companies are experiencing rapid growth. P. Sanchez(1999) asserts that doing business and managing change makes effective internal communication a critical success factor. When internal corporate communication becomes smooth, managers could collect useful advice and wisdom, understand different point of view and evaluate different levels of suggestions, providing more reference for their decision-making. Maybe a little suggestion from one subordinate can have a greatly influence on the interests of the company. Furthermore, through the communication, employees feel comfortable and are respected, it will establish their loyalty and make them care about the development of not only themselves but the whole company. In fact, their engagements directly affect the company’s performance. The theory provides a unique perspective that the final consequence of the discussion in company is not the rational opinions and may be the convergence of the strong opinions. Sometimes, the strong opinions are not accurate and result in the wrong choice of managers. Because of the spiral of silence, some people hold their opinions in mind and do not speak it out, they will lose their enthusiasms of their work and make no contribution to the company. Usually, those people’s opinions are known as adverse opinion, which are opposite to the leadership or the mainstream. It may be correct, also may be wrong. So we cannot just treat it as wrong opinion. Only if the administrators make it clear, the employees would disclose their true own opinion. It is not normal that there is not a voice against the majority opinions, this actually means managers do not play a good role in creating a free, democratic environment for employees. As time passes, the staff are too lazy to put forward their opinions. If so, the managers of company will lose so many value aspects of the different voice. Amounts of adverse opinions may stimulate some other new, fresh ideas, sometimes these ideas are even better than the original advantageous opinions . For minorities to stimulate the thinking of the other group members, the minorities have to share their opinions. Factors that might encourage people to express minority opinions would include having personal qualities that can offset the risk ( Hollander, 1958); getting support for their position ( Latane Wolf, 1981; Tanford Penrod, 1984); and having a positive and accepting social atmosphere in the group ( Hackman, 1987). In fact, creating a nonjudgmental atmosphere is the cornerstone of group discussion techniques designed to maximize participant contributions (e. g. , Delbecq, Van de Ven, Gustafson, 1975; Osborn, 1957). There is no doubt that the existence of the spiral of silence in company is the last thing managers want to see. If it exists, minority will not comment about many things, they bend to the public opinion. Several different opinions precisely are the indispensable condition of making correct decisions. Critically, that doesn’t mean managers should adopt the minority opinions all the time. When discussing adverse opinions, managers should not reject them flatly, but let employees fully expound them views and reason, and then analysis their opinions seriously. The reasonable part should be accepted and the unreasonable part should be abandoned. Since some few people’s insights are profound, decision-makers need to determine whether the strategy should be changed. Managers must be able to recognize those wrong opinions, and according to their different properties, adopt appropriate methods. In order to maintain the enthusiasm of staff, it is important for managers to treat all opinions of the staff equally, no matter they are right or wrong, positive or negative and valuable or not valuable. For those right and valuable opinions, managers should not only verbally accept them, but give the presenters praise and reward. For those abandoned opinions, it is important to encourage the presenters to continue to point their opinions out. Only totally understand how the spiral of silence theory works in the enterprise and treat the disadvantageous opinions properly, administrators could create a smooth channel of internal corporate communication.

WATERGATE Essays - Watergate Scandal, Richard Nixon, Free Essays

WATERGATE Essays - Watergate Scandal, Richard Nixon, Free Essays WATERGATE President Ricmard M. Nixon is refereed to as one of the most controversial presidents in the history of the United States of America. He is synonymous with this title, because of his involvement in the great "Watergate" scandal. It all started with the election of 1972, Nixon's bid for a second term of presidency. In his attempt at re-election, Nixon took on a different strategy than any other re-election campaign of the past. Instead of using the usual Republican National Committee for re-election, President Nixon divided his campaign into two separate committees. These two committees were named , the Committee for re-election of the president, headed by Attorney General , John Mitchell, and the finance committee to re-elect the president, headed by Secretary of Commerce, Maurice Stans. "Together these committees managed to raise over sixty million dollars for the president' campaign." (Sam J. Ervin, The Whole Truth, pg.36) The work of these two committees enabled Nixon to defeat democrat nominee, George S. McGovern, by a landslide. This decision, by Nixon, would, in the future prove to be the beginning of the end for a good old "Tricky Dick". In his second term, Nixon was known to be positively involved with foreign affairs. "For example, he worked out an agreement with Vietnam to order a stoppage of the war and commence a prisoner exchange program in 1973." (World Book, Nixon, Vol 17) Also in 1973, he worked hard to improve relations with China. His attempts allowed us to open diplomatic office in their capital and they in ours. His events at home also included many positive advancements. His major accomplishment was ending the military draft in 1973. Many of his efforts were thwarted by his inability to work cooperatively with congress. This began with his refusal to approve of a program, spending billions of dollars on projects created by congress. "In return, they refused to support his bombing of Kampuchea, which Nixon said was needed to prevent a communist takeover on their government." (Sam J. Ervin, The Whole Truth, pg. 79) In addition, congress also disagreed with a resolution introduced by President Nixon to reduce the war powers of the president. This resolution was the strongest action ever taken to spell out the war-making powers of congress and the President. Along with these problems, Nixon also had to endure economic setbacks. In January, 1973, he ended most of the government required limits that had been placed on wage and price increases in 1971, but prices still ballooned. Another brief use of controls resulted in a shortage of beef and other foods. By the end of 1973, inflation had risen to 8.8 percent nationally, the largest increase in any year since 1947. Also in 1973, a fuel shortage hit the nation. It led to reduce supplies of oil for home heating and industry, and to a form of gasoline. In 1974, congress approved Nixon's proposal to establish a Federal Energy Administration to deal with the energy shortage. As you can see, President Nixon had a very eventful term. The whole Watergate controversy came about in 1973, when many Nixon employees were arrested and convicted for the burglary of the democratic headquarters in the Watergate Building Complex in 1972. Two of the major figures of the case were James McCord and Gordon Liddy, two figureheads of Nixon's Committee for re-election of the President. Also, information linking many top White House aids to the break-in of Watergate or attempting to hide information concerning it, was released in 1973. This did not look good for our president, but he still denied involvement with the break-in and ordered an investigation. Nixon thought that he could walk right through this investigation unharmed, but he would find later that he had another thing coming. Archibald Cox, a Harvard law professor, was appointed to head the investigation. The chief witness in the case would turn out to be Nixon's own former counsel, John W. Dean. Upon questioning Dean, Cox learned of Nixon's awareness of the cover-up of the Watergate break-in. For his involvement, Dean served four months of a four year sentence that was handed to him. Also during the investigation, the Senate investigation committee learned of recordings of conversations that Nixon made

Outsourcing Is the American Way Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Outsourcing Is the American Way - Coursework Example In fact, most of the jobs that are outsourced are because the technological capabilities to run many of these customer service centers with phone banks and high-speed Internet capabilities would be difficult—not to mention expensive—to maintain in the United States. Since India already has expanded its WiFi networks to accommodate several workers at cheaper prices, this actually keeps the production costs of products low because the customer support can be cheaply outsourced, thus giving companies more opportunities to invest their revenue elsewhere which can significantly increase their profit—and in turn, benefit employees and vested interests here in the U.S.   even-handed, centrist views on all the topics they cover. Lou Dobbs, on the other hand, is a conservative—and it could even be said ‘right-wing’— a commentator who only projects personal opinions supported by very little factual evidence. Mr. Dobbs is discriminatory against minorities and any other factions that don’t agree with his corporate elitist attitude and approach to the real issues at hand—ultimately making his claims that much less credible. Ultimately, Mr. Canto, seeing as how he writes for the Review, has much more credible insights.   outsourcing is truly the issue, and 2) how we might be able to create jobs in America since outsourcing is a way to get cheap labor to significantly reduce a company’s overhead. Regarding the first point, we need to realize if outsourcing really is the big problem some conservatives make it out to be. â€Å"In spite of what is said in much of the press, the greatest beneficiary of outsourcing is the U.S. itself. We import many more jobs than we export.

Female Nazi War Criminals Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Female Nazi War Criminals - Research Paper Example It cannot be said that all these women had started their lives as ones who were capable of such awful deeds. Some were prompted to violence whereas others joined Nazi service as they thought of this to be a way out to escape from their lives that were mostly filled with poverty and hardships. Up to 3,200 women offered their duties in different concentration camps. Those who served as female guards were mostly low-to-middle class and they had little or at times no working experience. SS records also show that some of them served as hairdressers, matrons, tram conductors and retired teachers. Eventually, these women acted upon Hitlers message and as a result many people were brutally deprived of their lives by their hands (Clark, 1995). When the fears, the carnage and the wide spread destruction associated with Nazi killing are discussed, a few merciless and cruel women have always attracted a lot of attention for their outrageous behaviors and brutal inflictions. There were low esteemed and notorious camp guards just like Irma Grese and Ilse Koch. In Poland’s region that was seized by the Nazis, another example of a heartless Erna Petri is seen, who was married to one of the Special Security officers and was later on convicted for the case that brought out the shooting incident of six Jewish young children. There is also the case of Johanna Altvater Zelle who served as a German assistant and was taken into custody for murdering a child in Volodymyr-Volynsky’s jail, a Ukrainian district that was also occupied by Nazis. Undoubtedly, the Nazi slaying mechanism was a male-dominating event. However, after analyzing the actual ratio in accordance with the latest outcomes, the amount of German females, who had participated in this holocaust, serving as guards, assistants and assassins, was far much higher than what was being estimated previously (Kershner, 2010). Most of the staff members and workers from the Nazi concentration bases

Photography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Photography - Essay Example Public disclosure of private facts would be another basis for a tort involving photography. For instance, if one takes a picture of another at an AIDS clinic, and it is clear that this picture was taken at an AIDS clinic, and this picture was published, then this would be public disclosure of private facts, and it would be actionable. Publicity that places another in a false light is another restriction. Perhaps an example of this would be to photograph a teetotaler with a beverage that resembles a beer, when it is actually a non-alcoholic beer. The fourth major restriction is that one cannot take another’s likeness or name to use for one’s own advantage (Krages, 2007). An example of this might be taking a picture of somebody, then putting this picture up on one’s own website and use it, without permission, to advertise one’s business. While the right to photograph others in public is pretty straightforward, in that, with some restrictions, there is genera lly a right to photograph individuals in public, it is different in private places. This might include residences, museums, concerts, etc. The owner of the venue or the residence has a right to restrict photography within the residence or venue. Generally they post signs stating this fact, but, even if they do not, they have the right to verbally prohibit photographers from taking photographs (Manning, 2012). In general, I think that photography laws are just right. I believe that anyone has the right to photograph anybody on the street, yet I also see the need for the restrictions. If an individual is suffering from AIDS and does not want this known, then he or she has the right to make sure that his or her picture at the clinic is not publicized. This is a basic privacy right to keep one’s illness hidden, and it is perfectly acceptable to make sure that this privacy right is not abridged. Likewise, it is a clear invasion of privacy to take pictures with long-range lenses, s o this is another excellent restriction. The false light restriction also goes a long way to protecting privacy and protecting others from defamation. In other words, I feel that the restrictions upon photographing individuals provide an excellent balance between the first amendment rights of photographers with the privacy rights of individuals. As for restrictions in private residences and venues, I wish that these restrictions would be lessened, although I understand that private places have a right to make these restrictions. Discussion 3 According to Mendelson (2007), paparazzi are denigrated by journalists, who do not consider what he paparazzi do to be in line with journalism’s ethics. This is because they are intrusive and often harass their celebrity â€Å"prey.† Not only that, their focus is often on the trivial, as opposed to the focus of a â€Å"serious† journalist. Alach (2008) takes issue with the fact that the paparazzi invade the celebrity’ s privacy. He also decries their tactics, stating that paparazzi often scare the children of celebrities, and that they often â€Å"hunt in packs,† with hordes of photographers, who have been tipped off about a certain celebrity’s whereabouts, ambushing the hapless celebrity and the family of the celebrity. Alach (2008) finds paparazzi to be exploitive, therefore their First Amendment rights

Technology improves life

Technology improves life Nowadays, people use the technology to make their life better, easier and more enjoyable. Also, the technology can make their society more convenient and safe. Without the technology the world wouldnt be what it`s today. the technology has made the world smaller and made things easier. According to the American heritage science dictionary Technology is the use of scientific knowledge to solve practical problems, especially in industry and commerce. Also, the specific methods, materials, and devices used to solve practical problems. (Houghton Mifflin Company 2005). One of the major benefits of technology is the great advances in medical science .It saves a lot of innocent lives and we cant dispensable it in medicine today. It discovers many serious diseases and find newer ways to cure them. Also, getting everything easily and faster .we can download from the internet any song, music and movie instead of buying them. Although there are many benefits of technology, what people do not understand is technology can be harmful to the society. Omar Bradley says If we continue to develop our technology without wisdom or prudence, our servant may prove to be our executioner. (Omar Bradley 1893-1981).In this essay, I would like to analyses how the technology can be harmful to the society. Laziness is a major side effect of technology in society. Who can remember when people had to go to the library to research for a topic or had to go morning to get news paper? When the Internet was introduced, people never thought it would be like today. Now , people are able to do everything in internet while they are sitting such as research ,getting the latest news , reading books and sending emails .Also, at the moment the lectures give assignment to the students, they do plagiarism instead of going to the library or doing by their own word. One of the effects of technology is cybercrime. Cybercrime is a crime related to any electronic device. According to James R. Richards Cybercrime is computers are responsible directly or indirectly for every aspect of our lives, from the operation of our cars to our personal banking to flow of date in our business. With the exponential rise in the legitimate uses of computers, it follows that there would be an inevitable increase in their ill egitimate use (James R. Richards, 1999). For example, hack the emails and the computers are the simplest crime of cybercrime. Also, one of the most popular crimes committed on the internet is attaching websites. In recent years, some teachers were hacked their computers by students to get the exam papers. Less motivated is the second effect of technology in society. Always people choose the easiest way to solve their problems and this led to less thought and work. The problem is if someone get in terrible no one will help him and this can make him frustrated and less motivated. Example of less motivated is students fail to do their work because they play games in their computer all the day instead of working on their lesson plan. Also, nowadays people start to use a technology way such as calculator to resolve mathematics exercises instead of using their brain. Less tolerant is the third effect of technology in society .Nowadays , productivity is the most important but the rights and the needs of workers have become less priority .Also, the workers have to do not just more work ,but also they have to work more faster .This strategies includes any methods for producing products. The problem is these equipments give employers something they want: cheap labor, make the job easier and create a need for fewer people. In this way, technology affects the society to become less tolerant. Therefore, people begin to expect these equipments to help them to solve their problems more faster. Refrences 1- Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005, The American Heritage Science Dictionary , 1st edition, Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. Available from : http://books.google.com/books?id=yKUagx8PB_ECprintsec=frontcoverdq=the+american+heritage+science#v=onepageq=f=false 2-Guy de la Bedoyere, 2005, The first computers, 1st edition, Published by Evans Brothers Limited. Available from : http://books.google.com/books?id=DPAnH6_3-UACprintsec=frontcoverdq=inauthor:%22Guy+de+la+Bedoyere%22#v=onepageq=f=false 3- James R. Richards, 1999 , Transnational criminal organizations ,cybercrime and money laundering .

The Management of 21st Century: Hong Kong Essay -- essays research pap

Hong Kong is the most suitable place for business. It is characterized by its high degree of internationalization, business friendly environment, rule of law, free trade and free flow of information, open and fair competition. Therefore, the business management is a very important part in the business. The management of Hong Kong includes the external environment and the internal environment. The external environment includes the economic environment, labour market and social environment. In the economic environment, Hong Kong has faced the Asian financial turmoil in 1997. But now, the overall economic condition progressively improved. Later, China will be a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Hong Kong will gain a lot of business opportunity in different trades, such as banking, insurance, telecommunication. Those businesses need the new management for their future. For example, they must plan the new organization ¡Ã‚ ¦s goals, or they estimate the demand of human resources in the future. However, this phenomenon will disappear very soon when China would be a member of WTO after two years. It is because Hong Kong may not be the intermediate between China and the world since China will open their market for the world. Therefore, the Hong Kong companies may plan how to reduce the labour supply within an organization at that time. In the labour market, manpower is Hong Kong ¡Ã‚ ¦s most treasured asset. Because of much labour supply, it does no...