شمارۀ جدید فصلنامه (تابستان 1404) منتشر شد
1- PhD Student in Social Problems of Iran, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran
2- Assistant Professor, Sociology, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran ,Nabavi@khu.ac.ir
3- Associate Professor of Sociology, Faculty Member, Presidential Center for Strategic Studies, Tehran, Iran
2- Assistant Professor, Sociology, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran ,
3- Associate Professor of Sociology, Faculty Member, Presidential Center for Strategic Studies, Tehran, Iran
Abstract: (42 Views)
Organizational "silence" represents a critical challenge within educational institutions, obstructing the optimal utilization of employees' knowledge and experiences. This study aims to develop a model for organizational silence within the education sector, employing the Grounded Theory method. Organizational silence, defined as the reluctance of teachers and staff to voice practical opinions, stems from structural and cultural factors that threaten organizational development. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 30 cultural experts, teachers, managers, and employees of the Qom Province General Education Department, selected via purposive sampling. During the open coding phase, 375 conceptual codes, 60 subcategories, and 27 core categories were identified. The findings reveal that organizational silence manifests in eight distinct types: hegemonic passive silence, hegemonic conservative silence, hegemonic altruistic silence, strategic passive silence, strategic conservative silence, strategic self-interested silence, emancipatory silence, and ambiguous silence. Furthermore, causal factors driving silence include "personality weaknesses, inefficient socialization, perceived insecurity, organizational conformity processes, organizational injustice, toxic management styles, and fragile organizational identity," which emerge as key triggers of this phenomenon. Contextual conditions such as "inhibitive organizational culture, support-related frustration, inefficiency in performance and structural evaluation, and demographic factors," alongside intervening factors like "anomic organizational conditions, socially undesirable circumstances, politicization, and lack of institutional autonomy," exacerbate its intensity. In response to organizational silence, actors adopt one of two strategies: passive acceptance or resistance and change. The consequences of this phenomenon are categorized across three levels: individual (e.g. reduced motivation), organizational (e.g. diminished efficiency), and societal (e.g. eroded public trust). By presenting a comprehensive model, this study facilitates a deeper understanding of organizational silence and offers strategies to address it, underscoring the need to revisit managerial and cultural structures to mitigate silence and enhance employee participation.
Keywords: Organizational silence, Education Organisation, Individual and organizational consequences, Toxic management style, Organizational injustice, Qom province.
Type of Article: Original Research |
Subject:
Social problems
Received: 2025/05/30 | Accepted: 2025/08/10
Received: 2025/05/30 | Accepted: 2025/08/10
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC-BY-NC).
