Critical Theory & Organizational Structure
Critical theory is about communication. Organizational structure is also about communication, though with a specific goal in mind, that of efficiency and production. Critical theory, above all else, seeks to bring the organizational structure into line with its famed idea of the "ideal speech situation" that unmasks power and changes it for the better.
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The Basics of Criticism
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A critical theory as applied to organizations, according to such figures as professor Brad Steffey of the University of Minnesota, seeks to do four things. First, it wants to challenge the privilege status of rationality and efficiency as dominant goals. Second, it seeks to unmask the assumptions of science and individualism. Third, critical theory challenges structures of domination and, finally, acts as an agent of change within these organizations. The basic concept is that in late capitalism, the forces of globalization have unleashed a level of international competition among firms that lead to the total dis-empowerment of employees. All is sacrificed to efficiency and competitiveness --- all, apparently, except CEO salaries. This, in turn, creates alienation, competition for jobs and isolation that turns workers against each other for the sake of the profits of a few.
Habermas and Ideal Speech
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In terms of organizations, Jurgen Habermas is the central theorist of communication. The "ideal speech situation" is defined as a state of affairs where the lowest member of an organization can speak freely to the highest without any fear of being silenced or otherwise penalized. For this to be the case, radical changes must be made in capitalist organizational structure and its final end.
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Critical Theory and Activism
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Critical approaches did not being with Habermas, though he was the main figure in dealing specifically with communications. Critical theory deals largely with organizations as foci of power. "Foci" is plural, in that the methods by which power is utilized are many and multiform. This is a significant point since many aspects of power in the organization are not written down or obvious to all who work under them. The purpose of critical theory, therefore, is to unmask these foci of power and the mentality that justifies them.
Theory and Structure
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Critical theory has been associated with Marxism or socialism in one form or another. Its purpose in dealing with organizational structures has been to unmask the ideology of capitalist relations as they have infiltrated how business runs. For critical theory, "organization" usually refers to firms, though not always. The basic idea is that firms are organized in an hierarchic model because it reflects the values of capitalism, competition and inequality. In other words, those who control organizations do so largely for the purposes of a) gaining more wealth and power for themselves and b) gaining wealth and power for the major stockholders.
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