21878 Organizational Dialogue University of Technology Sydney
Autumn 2014 Assignment
Question 2:
A range of authors (e.g. Gerard and Ellinor 2001; Isaacs 1993, 1999; Schein 1993; Senge 1995) suggest that dialogue can positively transform organizational cultures. Do you agree with this assessment? Why? Why not? Engage with relevant academic literature in developing your argument.
Student Name: Nguyen Vu Hoang Dung
Student Number: 11477445
In organization people spend 80 percent of their time to communicate (The British Psychological Society 2012). Communication is a key tool to share information, foster different opinions and build alignment and trust. According to…show more content… Arguments would never come up as people just simply expressed their thoughts without any discussion or debate. Through that, they were aware themselves which idea was acceptable and were unacceptable (Schein 1993). This process allowed enough time for each person to listen to a deeper layer of other’s opinions then reflect on their own assumptions. Moreover, Schein introduced the check-in concept. At the beginning of the meeting, each person will respectively contribute his or her ideas, views and feelings to the group as a whole, and therefore, “has helped to create the group” (Schein 1993, p. 392). Lastly, Schein stressed the limitation of eye contact. This makes people feel easier to suspend disagreements and concentrate on listening.
Senge (1995) determined dialogue as a facilitator for team learning. Based on his research, team is the key unit to build culture in an organization. By applying dialogue into team learning process, it develops shared vision and brings result every member truly desires. It also creates teamwork and shares equal leadership to each member in the group. Through sharing a common pool of meaning, culture is positively transforming from individual to group values and beliefs. Although dialogue is proved to have a great effect on organizational culture, there are challenges in implementing it into organization learning system. The first challenge is due to hierarchy level in an organization (Raelin 2012).
