Application of the spiral of silence theory Essays

Application of the spiral of silence theory Essays Application of the spiral of silence theory Paper 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. 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.

Working (Entirely) from Home

Working (Entirely) from Home You might want to make the switch to freelancing entirely from home if you’re, for example, disabled like me, or you’re reclusive and prefer life behind the keyboard. Here’s how you can run your freelance writing business from home: Choose the right jobs. Some jobs (like travel writing) can’t do without travel: Skip those. Other times editors may make an exception if you explain your situation. Freelance career boards like Problogger and Writers’ Job Board are rich sources for jobs. Cold pitching magazines and blogs is another. Also consider working remotely as a copywriter or editor; look at classifieds like Gumtree, Indeed, Linked-In and Freelancer. Avoid the mills and scams. Many work from home writing jobs online are outright scams or content mills with terrible rates. Things like make money now and 2,000 words at $5 total should set off alarm bells. Scammers like these are rife on sites like Freelancer and best avoided. Real work is found Set your schedule. Plan for work not to interfere with your home life, and the other way around. People will assume you have more free time, so make it clear to everyone when you will be working. It’s hard not to ‘take your work home ’, so know when to switch off, too. Plan your calendar with scheduling software like Thunderbird, EasyAppointments or OpenLava Your house is your office. Dedicate at least one room to work as your office. Minimally include filing cabinets, a bookshelf, desk, comfortable chair, and clear lighting. Think ergonomically; everything comfortably within reach. Decide if you will see clients or interviewees in your home and keep the office neat. Consider the background when you’re interviewing via webcam, including noise. A plain color wall-back with little audio disturbances like wind or electronic hum is ideal. (See Hope’s office background here.) Business expenses change. As a from-home freelancer, your business expenses change. Your rent (or mortgage) pays for your office, and you’ll spend less on items like travel expenses and client dinners but more on utilities and phone plans. Keep track, most importantly for your filing tax returns but also to maintain awareness of where your money is going so you can make informed choices. Privacy and safety. Be sure that people won’t show up at your house unannounced. Never share your address or images of your house and family online. Rent a post box for business correspondence. Stalkers can happen. Consider basic security like a panic button or set your laptop up as a security camera for little to no cost with iSpy or Rear View Mirror. Interviewing remotely. You can conduct most interviews remotely ((whether interviewing someone for a story or being interviewed yourself), via secure email like ProtonMail, phone, webcam or VoIP (like Skype, Appear.in or ooVoo). Ask your source which is best for them, and be flexible for the one who wants to interview you. Double-check technology with a test-run and buy a decent headset and speakers. Logitech, AKG and Sennheiser are good brands. Record and file interviews with permission using software like MP3 Skype Recorder, Automatic Call Recorder (for Android) or Audacity for PC. Working online. Project management tools and cloud services instantly connect you and those you work with. You can upload documents, send messages and upload schedules across the board, and it’s great for keeping track of interviewees and co-workers. basecamp.com/ taskworld.com/ dropbox.com/ Making the switch to a home base? It’s really not as hard as you might think: all it takes is a couple of changes to your routine, and then, of course, a â€Å"do not disturb† sign for the office.