Communication and Theatre

4/514 Issues in Organizational

Communication

Deetz: What went wrong?

Robert Reich:

Managers are more butchers . . .

• Cutbacks/downsizing (I just want the loin)

• Re-engineering/efficiency (hamburger)

• Short term/greed (butchering as piece work)

• Emotional distance (slaughtering)

What is the difference between using a scalpel and an axe to cutback?

. . . than bakers.

•Longer term (Takes time/patience)

•Building/creating (recipe)

•Involved

•Collaborative (warm yeast)

Social/Political EconomicRelations Relations

Democracy Capitalism

Citizens Consumers

• Why are we in Iraq?

• Why are retirement benefits disappearing?

• Why does health care cost so much?

• What do you predict will happen to Social Security?

If we don’t raise taxes . . .

. . . we get less service.

Social/Political EconomicRelations Relations

Democracy Capitalism

Citizens Consumers

What does it mean to say that democracy has become subordinate to capitalism?

• “It’s the economy, stupid!”

• One person, one vote?

• What is dollar voting?

• Effect of lobbies?

• Independence Day holiday?

Social/Political EconomicRelations Relations

Democracy Capitalism

Citizens Consumers

• What does civic responsibility mean?

• Again, how do we participate in our culture?

• Why is the voting percentage so low?

• What does this indicate?

• serves a managerial class, and . . .

Private enterprise (pe) is a dated notion that:

Why is pe dated?

How does pe serve the managerial class?

What is a golden parachute?

How about stock options?

Respond to Deetz’ report that the managerial class was the only corporate stakeholder group:

• to decline in productivity

• And to dramatically increase in remuneration . . .

• disenfranchises other stakeholders.

Who gets disenfranchised?

And, what do they lose?

The marketplace fails because money is not evenly distributed.

The marketplace fails because not everything translates well into economic terms.

On a Taiwanese shampoo - “USE REPEATEDLY FOR SEVERE DAMAGE.”

The marketplace fails because hidden costs and longer term benefits do not get expression.

The marketplace fails because it is a weak and biased system of representation.

• Drug companies (prilosec vs. nexium)

• Accounting (Enron, etc.) clip = Enron 8 3.5m

• Advertising (Presidential election)

• Power corrupts . . .

Government intervention fails because corporations keep control over most decisions.

Government intervention fails because it lacks popular legitimacy to force proactive choices on corporations.

Government intervention fails because of the competition among communities and nations for corporate location.

Who is more committed to ham and eggs for breakfast . . . The chicken or the pig?

Government intervention fails because it is controlled by corporations

Useful assholes

Government intervention fails because it does not have timely information upon which to insist on changes in the direction of corporate responsibility.

Deetz’ theory is about moving towards

• discussion centered decision making

• coordinated in representative processes.

This was a quick interview and some background is needed. Paul Krugman graduated from Yale with a BS in economics and from MIT with a PhD in economics. He has taught at Yale, Stanford, The London School of Economics, MIT and is currently at Princeton. He is also an economics columnist for the NY Times. In addition he has worked at the World Bank. I imagine that he is a careful scholar who can mount a formidable case for his positions.