IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jomstd/v43y2006i4p711-730.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sensemaking and the Distortion of Critical Upward Communication in Organizations

Author

Listed:
  • Dennis Tourish
  • Paul Robson

Abstract

abstract Most research into feedback has focused on communication from managers to non‐managerial staff. To a lesser extent, it has more recently addressed upward and 360 degree appraisal systems. In contrast, the role of informal upward communication continues to be largely neglected, especially when it concerns the transmission of opinions critical of managerial orthodoxy. There has been little examination of the sensemaking heuristics employed by both managers and non‐managerial staff that stimulates the former to disregard much of the already muted critical upward communication they receive, and the latter to suppress its transmission in the first place. We therefore suggest that managers often over commit to particular courses of action, irrespective of whether they bode ill or well for the organization concerned. In so doing, they frequently demonize those who belong to stigmatized outgroups or who hold contrary value systems. We argue that the consequent elimination of critical upward communication (CUC) leads to iatrogenic phenomena – i.e. organizational problems that are derived from the treatment regime that has been prescribed, rather than from a pre‐existing condition. Implications for practice and further research are considered.

Suggested Citation

  • Dennis Tourish & Paul Robson, 2006. "Sensemaking and the Distortion of Critical Upward Communication in Organizations," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(4), pages 711-730, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jomstd:v:43:y:2006:i:4:p:711-730
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6486.2006.00608.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2006.00608.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2006.00608.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gabriel, Yiannis, 2000. "Storytelling in Organizations: Facts, Fictions, and Fantasies," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198297062, Decembrie.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sendlhofer, Tina & Tolstoy, Daniel, 2022. "How employees shape CSR transparency: A sensemaking perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 268-278.
    2. Kristen Lucas & Jeremy Fyke, 2014. "Euphemisms and Ethics: A Language-Centered Analysis of Penn State’s Sexual Abuse Scandal," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 122(4), pages 551-569, July.
    3. Edward WONG SEK KHIN & Yap Poh LIAN & Lau Wee YEAP & Rusnah MUHAMAD, 2016. "Organizational environment factors associated with corporate social responsibility: effects on communication and guanxi relationship between supervisors and subordinates in SMEs," The Audit Financiar journal, Chamber of Financial Auditors of Romania, vol. 14(141), pages 1025-1025.
    4. Gerard P. Hodgkinson & Barbara Burkhard & Nicolai J. Foss & Dietmar Grichnik & Riikka M. Sarala & Yi Tang & Marc Van Essen, 2023. "The Heuristics and Biases of Top Managers: Past, Present, and Future," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(5), pages 1033-1063, July.
    5. Mohammad, Shoeb & Husted, Bryan, 2023. "Skilled workforces and Law-abiding organizational climates in emerging markets," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    6. Thomas Diefenbach & Rune Todnem By & Patricia Klarner, 2009. "A Multi-dimensional Analysis of Managers’ Power – Functional, Socio-political, Interpretive-discursive, and Socio-cultural Approaches," management revue - Socio-Economic Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 20(4), pages 413-431.
    7. Kato, Toshihiko & 加藤, 俊彦 & Numagami, Tsuyoshi & 沼上, 幹 & Karube, Masaru & 軽部, 大 & Sasaki, Masato, 2013. "Types Of Upward Communication And Organizational Characteristics In Japanese Firms," Hitotsubashi Journal of commerce and management, Hitotsubashi University, vol. 47(1), pages 1-16, October.
    8. Prior, Daniel D. & Keränen, Joona & Koskela, Sami, 2018. "Sensemaking, sensegiving and absorptive capacity in complex procurements," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 79-90.
    9. Stefan Klaußner, 2013. "Führung und Feedback: zwischen Reflexion und Retention — Überlegungen zur Konzeption von Führungsgesprächen," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 65(2), pages 191-212, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Per Engelseth & Richard Glavee-Geo & Artur Janusz & Enoch Niboi, 2020. "The Emergent Nature of Networked Sustainable Procurement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-18, December.
    2. Arfan Khalid, 2011. "Effect of Organizational Change on Employee Job Involvement: Mediating Role of Communication, Emotions and Psychological Contract," Information Management and Business Review, AMH International, vol. 3(3), pages 178-184.
    3. Cliff Oswick, 2014. "A Study of Case Studies: Some Reflections and Projections on the Narrative Structuring of Management Cases," South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, , vol. 3(1), pages 7-14, June.
    4. Kevin Morrell, 2008. "The Narrative of ‘Evidence Based’ Management: A Polemic," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(3), pages 613-635, May.
    5. Beattie, Vivien, 2014. "Accounting narratives and the narrative turn in accounting research: Issues, theory, methodology, methods and a research framework," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 111-134.
    6. Sörgärde, Nadja, 2020. "Story-dismantling, story-meandering, and story-confirming: Organizational identity work in times of public disgrace," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(3).
    7. Jerzy Kociatkiewicz & Monika Kostera, 2015. "Into the labyrinth : tales of organizational nomadism," Post-Print hal-02423775, HAL.
    8. Jerzy Kociatkiewicz & Monika Kostera, 2023. "Longing as learning, learning as longing: insights and improvisations in a year of disrupted studies," Post-Print hal-03735974, HAL.
    9. Jean-Philippe Bouilloud & Ghislain Deslandes & Guillaume Mercier, 2019. "The Leader as Chief Truth Officer: The Ethical Responsibility of “Managing the Truth” in Organizations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(1), pages 1-13, June.
    10. Marcus T. Wolfe & Dean A. Shepherd, 2015. "What do you have to Say about That? Performance Events and Narratives’ Positive and Negative Emotional Content," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 39(4), pages 895-925, July.
    11. W. E. Douglas Creed, 2003. "Voice Lessons: Tempered Radicalism and the Use of Voice and Silence," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(6), pages 1503-1536, September.
    12. Czarniawska, Barbara, 2008. "Humiliation: A standard organizational product?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 19(7), pages 1034-1053.
    13. Ian Fillis & Ruth Rentschler, 2010. "The Role Of Creativity In Entrepreneurship," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 18(01), pages 49-81.
    14. Dirk Holtbrügge, 2013. "Indigenous Management Research," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 53(1), pages 1-11, February.
    15. Andrea Kampmann & Burkhard Pedell, 2022. "Using Storytelling to Promote Organizational Resilience: An Experimental Study of Different Forms of Risk Communication," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 74(4), pages 695-725, December.
    16. Michela Arnaboldi & Irvine Lapsley, 2010. "Asset management in cities: polyphony in action?," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 23(3), pages 392-419, March.
    17. Valérie-Inès de La Ville & Eléonore Mounoud, 2015. "A Narrative to Approach to Strategy as Practice: strategy making from texts and narratives," Post-Print halshs-01390100, HAL.
    18. Dan Wang & Zhongyuan Zhang, 2022. "Disassembling the influences of perceived family relational conflict on business family offspring’s intrapreneurial intentions," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 153-189, March.
    19. Guo, Ken H., 2018. "The odyssey of becoming: Professional identity and insecurity in the Canadian accounting field," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 20-45.
    20. John Luhman & Andy Nazario, 2015. "Alienation, Police Stories, and Percival," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(3), pages 665-681, September.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:jomstd:v:43:y:2006:i:4:p:711-730. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0022-2380 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.