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.

It is much harder to be a Christian now than it was when Jesus was with His disciples. Essays

It is much harder to be a Christian now than it was when Jesus was with His disciples. Essays It is much harder to be a Christian now than it was when Jesus was with His disciples. Essay It is much harder to be a Christian now than it was when Jesus was with His disciples. Essay Essay Topic: Hard Times Christianity is a worldwide religion and this leads us to believe that it is possible to be a true disciple in the modern world. Modern Christians believe that they are called to follow the example Jesus set. They spend time discovering the teachings of Jesus from the bible and trying to put those teachings into practice. Discipleship is usually thought of as following Jesus, being a preacher, teacher. My personal definition of a disciple is someone who believes in something, or who believes in someone, and leaves everything behind them to try to make others believe the same. A disciple of Jesus is also a follower of Him; they are like students because they learn from Jesus and have faith in him.Our society is generally materialistic and money-oriented thus causing suffering. The pressures which may cause this are for example, mass media such as Television. This can sometimes promote non-Christian values to increase pressure on Christians which is true in term s of relationships and violence. However, in Jesus day there were other pressures such as political and social issues. The demands which Jesus set are high, for example in the Sermon on the Mount. Christians then could keep these standards only through the help of the Holy Spirit. The same is true today. The Old Testament also makes clear that people would be tempted to steal, kill, commit adultery and tell lies. This was true at Jesus time and is still true in modern society. Jesus warned against pride, self righteousness and hypocrisy. These are still problems today. Also, human nature has not changed as opposition to God can be manifest.If Jesus is not all-powerful and not personally with us to the end, and if we do not trust him to be that for us, we will simply ignore the needs of others and live for our own private comfort. No one gets an exemption from hardship on planet Earth. How we receive it depends on whether we believe in an alternate reality that transcends the one we know so well. The Bible never minimises hardship or unfairness but simply asks us to deny final judgment until all the evidence is in.Do not be afraid is the most frequent command in the Bible, which seems entirely appropriate in an era when terrorists could strike at any moment. We each have a thousand fears: mammograms and prostate tests, our future as well as our present, retirement funds, job security, crime. We also fear not getting the job we want or the lover we desire, and if we have them we fear their loss. In the face of such everyday fear, Jesus points to nature such as a sparrow, and calmly says, Trust. Seek first the kingdom of heaven. This shows trust does not eliminate the bad things that may happen, whatever sparked our fear in the first place. Trust simply finds a new passage for anxiety and a new grounding for confidence: God. We should therefore let God worry about the worrisome details of life.Consequently, I believe it is just as hard to be a Christian yesterda y, today and forever as God and Jesus Christ have not changed, meaning His standards have not altered. By praying and presenting your requests to God, God will answer you if you will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. If the practicalities of those words in view of all the terrible things that have happened to Jesus followers over the years are questioned, you should remind yourself that Gods peace can transcend all understanding.