Critical Approach to Organizational Communication and "People against Profits"

Chapter 6: Critical Approaches to Organizations and Communication

(I promise this will be the most overtly political blog I write for this class.)

“The critical approach to organizational communication seeks to advocate for the interests of working people rather than the interests of corporate leaders and shareholders typically favored by management theory and practice.”

With the exception of those who hold government jobs or engage regularly in collective bargaining our hold on employment is tenuous at best. We are not guaranteed a next day’s wage without that next day’s labor. Do the CEO’s, members of the board, and top level executives of the company’s we work for ever make this same rationalization? That is highly doubtful.

The argument that a critical approach to the concerns of average employees pits “people against profits” is absolutely absurd. The more we learn about the general nature of the economy the more we realize that trickle down economics, supply side economics, voodoo economics etc…was just another way of rolling back the gains made by working families during the New and Fair Deals and further destroying our regulatory system; a fact which has had dire consequences for the health and fairness of American industry.

Ultimately, we all realize that a corporation’s main intent is to maximize profits. The shareholders who have invested well and the CEOs who have effectively steered the course should be rewarded for their individual achievements in business. The critical approach seeks only to look at the concerns of the average worker alongside those of the board or executive division; profit AND people.