The dynamics of silencing conflict
By: Leslie A. Perlow, Nelson P. Repenning
Contributors: Repenning, Nelson P. (Nelson Peter); Harvard Business School. Division of Research
Series: Working paper / Division of Research, Harvard Business School -- 04-014; Working paper (Harvard Business School. Division of Research) -- 04-014
Publisher: Division of Research, Harvard Business School
Published: 2003
Place of publication: Boston]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 44
Description: In many organizations, when people perceive a difference with another they often do not fully express themselves. Despite creating innumerable problems, silencing conflict is a persistent phenomenon. While the antecedents of acts of silence are well documented, little is known about why norms of silencing conflict evolve. To explore this evolution, we draw on an ethnographic study that spanned the entire like of a dot.com, starting with its founding and ending with its sale to a larger company. Distilling our data using causal loop diagrams, we document the processes through which acts of silence became self-reinforcing. The dynamic model of silencing conflict induced from our data has implications not only for norm development, but for a variety of other domains including network analysis, autonomous actor models, diversity and demography, and change management.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.