Dulek, R. E., & Campbell, K.S. (2015). On the dark side of strategic communication.
International Journal of Business Communication, 52(1), 122-142.
By orienting the reader to the understanding that the word strategic in front of communication alters to focus of the discipline from those who hear it within a particular context to those from whom it originates and its purpose. Ambiguity is presented as a tool on a continuum of gray scale, where various forms and intent are lighter (less devious) or darker (more devious) than others. Following is a brief history of strategy, ambiguity, and deception as they relate to organizational communication, offering military examples, linguistic values are discussed: syntactic (multiple meanings for one word), lexical (specific word choice), and pragmatic (more than one meaning drawn from multiple contexts). Pragmatic ambiguity is the primary focus of the study, and the authors state that deception is what moves pragmatic ambiguity from the “gray” scale to “black”. What follows are four examples of financial institution leaders’ use of pragmatic ambiguity in relation to stock prices, and the methods they employed when questioned about the possibility of price volatility. After dissecting each case and the strategies employed to achieve pragmatic ambiguity, including making claims that are either a bluff, a request to those “in the know”, or deceptive in order to prevent an action, the article proposes that a continuum of gray is better suited to represent the ethicality of deceptive, strategic communication.
This article challenged my understanding of intentionally vague communications in regulated environments. It highlighted ways individuals in leadership roles in my workplace and individuals who provide quotations to media outlets, specifically in politics or the financial industry, offer indirect statements to strategically communicate their goals.
LO2: demonstrate the ability to assess complex organizational environments and achieve communication goals.
LO5: critically analyze messages.
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