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Table of Contents

1. Table of contents..1
Introduction...2

2. Spiral of silence Theory.....3


2.1 Assumptions..........3,4 2.2 Applications of the theory..................5 2.3 Strengths of the spiral of silence. Benefits5

2.4 Limitations of the spiral of silence. Disadvantages.5

3. Spiral of silence and the new network society.6


2.1 PR research that has made use of the theory in the past..6,7

4. Spiral of silence in internal corporate communication ...7,8 5. Conclusion.9 6.References................................................................................................................10,11

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1-Introduction
The topic of this essay is the importance of Spiral of Silence Theory into the internal corporate communication. Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann formulated this theory that nowadays is of a great importance when a public relations professional creates a communication strategy with their staff. This essay is divided into 4 parts: Firstly; Definition of the theory, assumptions, applications of the theory, strengths and limitations of the theory. Secondly; Spiral of silence and the new network society- PR research that has made use of the theory in the past. Thirdly; spiral of silence in internal corporate communication. Fourthly; conclusion.

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2-Spiral of silence theory


The basis of the Spiral of Silence Theory is the concept of public opinion. Jean Jacques Rousseau was the first author that consciously and critically analyzed the concept of public opinion. In The Social Contract (Du Contract Social, 1762), he writes: Im talking mainly about public opinion, an unknown factor for our theoreticians in politics, but in which the success of all the rest depends on. For the ones who see Rousseau with scepticism, I would add that he was not the only one who thought that way. Maquiavelo, Shakespeare, John Locke and David Hume were firmly convinced of the importance of public opinion as well. Public opinion is, essentially, a mechanism which makes possible the cohesion and the integration of societies and groups, from which it depends the survival of the community and its capacity of action. What is more, even though we do not have yet a great knowledge of the way this process is produced from an anthropological point of view or, in a broad sense, from a biological point of view, there are many indications which allow us to think that the investigation of the human brain will bring us an important clue. The key lies in the question that people, like animals, have an innate fear of isolation. From the concept of public opinion is born the theory of spiral of silence at the hands of its creator Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann who formulated the theory in Germany in 1984. The spiral of silence is a model which explains why people are unwilling to express their opinions in public when they believe that they are in the minority. The spiral of silence model describes the increasing pressure which people are noticing to conceal their views, when they think that they are in the minority. The framework is based on following assumptions: 2.1-Assumptions: 1. People have a fear of being rejected by those in their social environment, which is called "fear of isolation." 2. People are constantly observing the behaviours of those around them, and seeing which gain approval and disapproval from society.

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3. People unconsciously issue their own threats of isolation by showing signals of approval or disapproval. 4. Threats of isolation are avoided by a person's tendency to refrain from making a statement about something they think might attract objections. 5. People are more willing to publicly state things that they believe will be accepted positively. 6. The spiral effect begins because when people speak out confidently, the opposition feels a greater sense of fear of isolation and is further convinced to stay silent, since they are in the minority. The feelings continue to grow in either direction exponentially. 7. A strong moral component is necessary for the issue to activate the spiral. 8. If there is a social consensus, the spiral will not be activated. There must be two opposing forces. 9. The mass media has a strong influence on this process. 10. Fear and threat of isolation are subconscious processes. 11. The spiral of silence only "holds a sway" over the public for a limited time. 12. If a topic activates the spiral of silence, this means that the issue is a great threat to social cohesion In her 1984 book, Noelle-Neumann examines public opinion as a form of social control. Individuals almost instinctively notice the opinions of those around them. They shape their behaviour to prevailing attitudes about what is acceptable.

The closer a person believes the opinion held is similar to the prevailing public opinion, the more he is willing to openly disclose that opinion in public. Then, if public sentiment changes, the person will recognize that the opinion is less in favour. Now he will be less willing to express that opinion publicly. If the perceived distance between public opinion and a persons personal opinion grows, that person will be less likely to want to express his opinion.
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2.2-Applications of the theory Research on the effect of mass media Sensory input and how people detect changes in public opinion Statistical polling Public opinion research

2.3-Strengths of the spiral of silence. Benefits - Defines why people are not willing to express their opinion if they are in the minority - Explains why people prefer to withhold their true feelings. Rather than take the risk of being isolated - Is a good model in relating media effects to public opinion - Processes of public opinion hold the society together. Spirals of silence solve conflicts that can threat the society, if they remain unsolved.

2.4-Limitations of the spiral of silence. Disadvantages The rare phenomenon of a double climate of opinion can be observed, when the opinions provided by the mass media are not consistent with the opinions prevalent among most people outside the mass media. Are really good at assessing public opinion? Are really good at assessing if we are in the majority or minority? How can we determine whether someone truly believes that he is in the majority or not? Theory does not do justice to the persuasive impact of committed deviants on public opinion.

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3-Spiral of silence and the new network society


With the evolution of media, information travels faster through the new media and social networks can reach a large number of people. Relating this to business communication both internally and externally the new media can play a doubleedged sword: In one hand can transmit information much faster and a greater number of people, including employees of a company can use this advantage to work with modern information technology employees. On the other hand media and social networks can create new crisis in business, which until now were not studied and can damage a lot of companies without having to create a great campaign. We can see an example of this on the next point:

3.1-PR research that has made use of the theory in the past Enlightenment of The Spiral of Silence Theory to Enterprise Crisis Management by Wenzhou Zhang They propose in this paper that The Spiral of Silence Theory provides enterprise crisis management with a new perspective. Crisis is a universal phenomenon for enterprises survival and development in network society. How to identify, evaluate, survey and control risks has become a hot topic for enterprises to consider together. Network media has gradually become a platform to spread consensus over media, region and hierarchy. Also it is the original place of consensus and essential position of consensus spreading. Crisis management in network times is a significant issue for enterprises to discover and study.

In the research show five stages for solve a crisis using the theory of the spiral of the silence. 1- Recognize the Complexity of Network Information Environment Sufficiently

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2- Understand Channels and Forms of Network Spreading: Network News, Network Community, E-Mail, Search Engine 3- Effectively Utilize Stakeholders Collaboration 4- Strengthen Own Advantageous Opinion 5- Build Network Opinion Environment

4-Spiral of silence in internal corporate communication.


The spiral of silence is not uncommon in the corporate world, created by a system of rewards into silence. silent workers because they remember that time that a colleague complained about the company through an open letter to the editor and, when it came the economic crisis, was the first out. People prefer to blackout to problems: conflicts between workers, inefficiency, job insecurity, corporate policies that generate discomfort, as well as illegal and potentially dangerous. But it's about time that all this builds up and ends in a corporate crisis. The fear of dismissal, denial of promotions and be rejected by the co-workers are the main reasons for remaining silent according to a study on the subject published in the journal Personnel Psychology. The researchers set out what conditions are needed for people to speak freely in their work environment, for which interviewed 850 nurses in various health care centers in United States. Why nurses? Because silence can be fatal in the hospital and know why such a silent professional critical information can shed light on the reasons that prevail in other work contexts.

Findings

The nurses were less silent when they felt identified with her companions, attached to the organization (ownership) and proud of their profession (occupational selfSara Budio Prez 7

esteem). But the decisive factor to achieve an atmosphere of openness is the group awareness that the workplace is fair, research shows. Management should develop strategies to cultivate these values. In return, you get a free flow of information, better knowledge of the company, its people, their concerns. It reduces the likelihood of unexpected crises and performance increases. Here, the figure of the supervisor is key: if the team perceived to be a righteous person, it creates a climate where everyone feels comfortable talking, and fears of retaliation tend to disappear. But every coin has two sides. The study revealed that the higher the rank of supervisor in the organization, the tendency to silence among nurses was higher. The fear of authority and organizational verticality still remains in many areas of work. A similar study from Harvard Business School concluded that silence a high bill passes those who practice psychological, generating feelings of humiliation, anger pernicious, resentment, which contaminates all interaction cancels the creativity, productivity and constructive criticism.

Mistakenly believed that women and non-professional employees are more likely to shut their discomfort, but one study reviewed in the Harvard Business Review belies this myth. Over 25% of respondents in this study states not to provide constructive feedback on routine problems because they want to waste time, another 20% indicated as the main reason the fear of possible retaliation, while 42% say they prefer to remain silent when " there is nothing to gain, or is there something to lose. " The most common reason for being silent, according to this research is that "talk ends up being useless." Remaining silent is comfortable for the employee. One example is the group meetings in which all reinforce the initial idea of the first who dared to speak. Others are silent because they are afraid of saying something stupid. The fear of being expelled from the group of friends from the office makes people not question the ideas of their peers.

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5-Conclusion
In my opinion The development of new technology information sources such as email, Internet and Intranet during the past seven or eight years has had a significant impact not only upon how employees receive information about whats happening at their company, but also how they view the credibility of these various information sources. These new media have empowered the employees to the point where they now can and do play a much more dominant role in the communication process. In many situations today, these employees are setting the agenda for selecting the information they receive rather than having the mass media, or other information sources, do this for them.

For this reason, public relations should investigate how employees are informed of company data. By knowing what sources they use, public relations can improve this media Info internally to be the company to report first-hand the employee and to block so the spiral of silence and its possible consequences.

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References -Scheufele, D. A., & P. Moy (2000). Twenty-five years of the spiral of silence: A conceptual review and empirical outlook. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 12(1), 3-28. -Noelle-Neumann, E. (1974). The spiral of silence: a theory of public opinion. Journal of Communication, 24, 43-51 -Moy, P.; D. Domke and K. Stamm (2001). The spiral of silence and public opinion on affirmative action. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 1, 7-25. -Wanta, W., & D. Dimitrova (2000). Chatrooms and the spiral of silence: An examination of online discussions during the final 1996 U.S. presidential debate. International Communication Association, Acapulco, Mexico. - Locke, J. (1689) An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. 38th Edition.William Tegg, London - Scott M. Cutlip, Allan H. Center and Glen M. Broom (2006), Effective Public Relations, Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, New jersey, 8 ed. - Robert L Encyclopedia of Public Relations Heath/ Volume 2 - Zang, W.(2010) Enlightenment of The Spiral of Silence Theory to Enterprise Crisis Management International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Centre of Science and Education 191, Vol. 5, No. 8,pp. 191-194

-Simpson,C. Journal of communication. Volume 46/ Issue:3 ( 1996-01-01)

Websites:

-Andy. H. (2011) Available at http://www.slideshare.net/andyhowcroft/spiral-ofsilence-theory-8679103 Accessed 22 October 2011


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-Donald K. (2005) Available at http://www.instituteforpr.org/wpcontent/uploads/Wright_05IPRRC Accessed 23 October 2011

Videos:

The spiral of silence (2010) Available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ7lAy7RCNg&feature=related&fb_source=messa ge accessed 20 October 2011

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