Dissensus as part of dialogue in organizational change processes: a case study in an NGO

Abstract

In this article we discuss, from the experience of action research on organizational change in an NGO, how interpreting the concept of dialogue in organizational theory has impacted the way in which it has been understood and applied in the processes of change that organizations experience. The ontological relationship that has been established between dialogue and organizational change and the interpretative frameworks used, although they have represented a great epistemological and practical breakthrough, have also limited the potential of the concept of dialogue itself by oversimplifying it. The reflective analysis allowed by action research on the case leads us to propose dissensus as an alternative: recognizing dissensus as natural in the organizational context and as an engine of real change. Understanding dialogue only as a search for consensus leads people to hide differences and not properly manage them in the process of change, because talking about organization is talking about relational and communicative patterns that highlight the influence of power, internal asymmetry and diversity in the processes of change. This complexity demands a new look on know how to read it and understand it properly without oversimplifying it.