A Critical Discourse Analysis of Employee Involvement in Both Word and Deed
Discourse analysis deals with the use of language as social practice. The focus of analysis is on text, discursive practice as well as social practice. Its purpose is to show how social and cultural change takes place. Critical discourse analysis sees aspects of social practice as discur¬sive, that is, a practice in which written and oral manifestations are produced and interpreted. These texts are both constituted by and constituent for social practice. This dialectical approach ma¬kes discourse analysis particularly use¬ful for apprehending social changes. While this approach can help reach an understanding of the main discourse be¬hind the text itself, there are problems with the theoretical analysis of how dis¬course construes subjectivity and the meaning of body language for the dis¬course.
A discourse analytical review of orga-nization literature on employee involve¬ment and face to face communication re¬veals that employees are seen in the ab¬stract, they are objectivized, and are seen as harmony seeking, rational individuals without histories or biographies. To exemplify discourse analysis in face to face communication with employees, a videotaped conversation between a fac¬tory director and one of the production leaders is analyzed and reveals the domi¬¬nant discourse that characterizes the con¬versation and how the factory director places the problem on the production leader. Discourse analysis can provide a critical theoretical insight into employee involvement by for instance revealing the paradox that by making the employees into objects, they are supposed to become independent, responsible subjects. Hen¬ce it can be useful in contributing to un¬derstanding employee involvement.
