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Power, empowerment and organisational communication

Anna Oksiutycz
Vaal University of Technology
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Power, empowerment and organisational communication. (2022). Communicare: Journal for Communication Studies in Africa, 25(2), 25-41. https://doi.org/10.36615/jcsa.v25i2.1741
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  • Submited: October 18, 2022
  • Published: October 20, 2022

Abstract

Power is an integral part of organisational life. Main schools of thought on the subject of power
in an organisational setting consider power to be either a resource held by individuals and
departments, or an inherent feature of organisational structure and society. While it is relatively
easy to identify surface manifestations of power, the deep structures of power are much more
difficult to analyse. Public relations literature focuses on power “held” by public relations practitioners
and the power of public relations departments in their relations with other departments in an
organisation, as well as the imbalances of power between the organisations and their respective
publics. In the context of the increasing complexity of the organisational environment, this article
suggests the application of organisational cybernetics to public relations theory, and it considers
the role that organisational communication plays in releasing the productive power of employees
and in designing effective organisations through the introduction of recursive organisational
structures.

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How to Cite
Power, empowerment and organisational communication. (2022). Communicare: Journal for Communication Studies in Africa, 25(2), 25-41. https://doi.org/10.36615/jcsa.v25i2.1741

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