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There may be no shared vision about the group's objective. One may also infer the potential for the tyranny of the majority, a term attributed to Tocqueville in his 1839 book Democracy in America. That idea also surfaces in democratic-style management, but a leader changes the anarchic process by guiding the group away from internal power plays and toward unified group objectives. Democratic-style leadership is consistent with management theory that views workers, or members of the leader's group, as resources rather than as drains or something to be coped with or otherwise got over. Even where some hierarchical structures are in place, communication processes are meant to travel up, down, and laterally within an organization, and management practice diffuses decision-making events "throughout the organization. Even important decisions involve input from employees at all levels" (Hamiton & Parker, 2001, p. 58). The democratizing influence of such practice implies that communication will be interactive, not simply a matter of transmission of messages (commands) from managers to employees. The implication, too, is that such communication must take place in an environment of openness, honesty, and shared confidence (Hamilton & Parker, 2001, p. 58), |
