The length of the document below is: 22 page(s) long
The self-declared author(s) is/are:
The subject is as follows:
Subject: Original authors did not specify.
The original URL is: LINK
The access date was:
Access date: 2019-04-10 13:35:29.120032
Please be aware that this may be under copyright restrictions. Please send an email to admin@pharmacoengineering.com for any AI-generated issues.
Loading...
Reload document 
Open in new tab The content is as follows:
1Ambiguity as Strategy inOrganizational CommunicationWritten more than two decades ago, this essay was my first attempt to counter
the prevailing ideology of clarity and openness in organizational communication
theory and research that stood in sharp contrast to most people’s experience of
organizational life. Cited hundreds of times in the fields of Communication and
Organizational Studies, this essay identified four functions of strategic ambiguity—
specifically, its capacity to promote unified diversity, to preserve privileged posi-
tions, to foster deniability, and to facilitate organizational change. The discussion of
plausible deniability foreshadowed a central theme of the Iran-Contra hearings,
during which an American Lieutenant Colonel (Oliver North) testified to the U.S.
Congress about the role and importance of “plausible deniability” in the illegal sale
of weapons to the Nicaraguan Contras. The lack of serious consequences for the
Colonel or anyone else connected to the case showed the power as well as the poten-
tial for abuse inherent in this kind of communication.In retrospect, this essay reflects my youthful desire to edify and explore the more
mysterious and less rational aspects of human connection (I was 23 when I began
work on it and 26 when it was published). In focusing on these things, I paid little
attention to other dynamics, such as how ambiguity can mask and sustain abuses of
power. Looking back, I am also unsure about my relational definition of strategic
ambiguity; it seemed to make sense at the time, but has proven difficult to study.
Nevertheless, the paper accomplished what I had hoped it would, prompting schol-
ars and practitioners alike to reflect on their assumptions about the centrality of
Please note all content on this page was automatically generated via our AI-based algorithm (BishopKingdom ID: 0zDbzKycU5N03c1gI0pQ). Please let us know if you find any errors.