{"id":14754,"date":"2017-10-24T23:02:49","date_gmt":"2017-10-25T06:02:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=14754"},"modified":"2017-10-24T23:02:49","modified_gmt":"2017-10-25T06:02:49","slug":"do-i-walk-talk-or-stay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/do-i-walk-talk-or-stay\/","title":{"rendered":"Do I Walk, Talk or Stay?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/dUPkbT\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/8365\/8473973819_b1b0def6e3.jpg\" alt=\"... Talking &amp; Walking!!!\" width=\"500\" height=\"373\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>When there is a decline of an organization, the participants or customers wrestle with how to respond: do they exit by walking away from the organization, talk by voicing their opposition and concerns to the leadership, or remain loyal to the organization in hopes of improvements? Although Hirschman gives a thorough, intellectual explanation of each response, he does not adequately address the emotional dangers or hardships of a response, which this blog will attempt to address.<\/p>\n<p>An exit can be avoided if the voice is respected and change made. &#8221; If customers are succinctly convinced that voice will be effective, then they may well postpone exit&#8221; (37). Here are some valuable points to consider when choosing to use your voice in raising objections. The voice:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>can eliminate an exit, thus allowing the individual to still remain with the organization<\/li>\n<li>requires influence and bargaining powers to be recognized<\/li>\n<li>develops and evolves in an organization to facilitate change<\/li>\n<li>empowers the individual when the voice provokes change<\/li>\n<li>can raise awareness of improper functioning, thus improving the organization&#8217;s function and benefiting the whole.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To use your voice to alert the organization of concerns can also be a powerful yet dangerous activity when there is much to lose. Years ago, I met a woman who believed she was being poisoned by the nuclear plant she was employed at. When she voiced her concerns, her life was threatened and she had to be protected under the Whistleblower act. She could have walked away but she also felt it was her duty to warn the public of the health hazards they could be experiencing. Her voice was powerful and needed protection, but provoked the necessary changes.<\/p>\n<p>Walking away from a declining organization can have the following ramifications. It can:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>eliminate possible change as the presence and voice of the individual exits<\/li>\n<li>produce a powerful message of discontent and provoke change<\/li>\n<li>stimulate more competition to attract customers and keep them from leaving<\/li>\n<li>provide an escape from unpleasant circumstances<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Exiting an organization or system can sometimes become your only choice if you value your health or life. Abusive systems make it hard to stimulate change by using your voice since your voice is not even valued, much less your feelings, and exiting becomes your only option to be heard. Exiting or separating from an abusive partner can produce effective change. When the woman uses her voice to confront the husband of emotional and verbal abuse, and separates, many times this can produce significant changes. However, there are some cases that the woman&#8217;s life is in danger if she were to voice opposition to her physically abusive husband or attempt leaving him. Secretly exiting the relationship becomes her only option if she wants to live. Similarly, refugees exit their countries when the abuse has become intolerable.<\/p>\n<p>There are a few organizations that are immune to the pressures or influence of voicing concerns and leaving the organization, and have no regard for your customer loyalty. The Department of Licensing, otherwise known as the DOL, in Washington state is a great example. Whether renewing my driver&#8217;s license or renewing my professional license, they operate with exclusive power. I could protest waiting 2 hours in line to renew my driver&#8217;s license, then resort to a dramatic exit in protest, or mention how my friends and family are loyal customers to their department, but in the end, they do not care. They have total power and are unconcerned about delivering a relationship of reciprocity where we both experience a mutually enjoyable experience.<\/p>\n<p>To be at the mercies of an organization where my voice, departure, or loyalties are insignificant is a dismissive, powerless experience. If experienced for long periods of time, it can create victim behavior in an individual and a sense of dependency on the organization as you feel a total loss of power and control. To have a healthy organization, we need to value the voice of the members, and seek to partner mutually together.<\/p>\n<p>In one of the churches I attended, I found there to be limited emotional safety for people to voice opposition and achieve the desired changes. They were ostracized, dismissed, deceived, ignored, or marginalized when concerns were voiced that challenged the leadership. Confidentiality was non-existent, and the pastors operated with a substantial amount of power, as they made significant changes at the whims of leadership. On the outside, they appeared to be a welcoming, non-denominational church, but within the leadership, there was a system in place that benefited one primary voice, that of the lead pastor. There was also a covert system in place to admonish those who challenged the leadership in any way. Secrets, obligation, and shame, along with the message that the church was &#8220;special&#8221; and the only one of its kind, kept people from exiting. Although I quickly exited, many loyally stayed hoping for change. \u00a0Hirschman describes this response: &#8220;Many of these loyalists will actively participate in action designed to change policies and practices but some may simply refuse to exit and suffer in silence, confident that things will soon get better&#8221; (38).<\/p>\n<p>Unless your safety is in question, using your voice to express opposition is a great first option, especially if you have loyalty to the organization. If your voice is not heard, one is presented with the choice to help foster change by recruiting more voices or implementing change in other ways. Finally, there are some who are comfortable just remaining silently present, hoping for the best. Whether you choose to walk, talk, or stay, it remains a personal choice that depends much on: personality, energy level, health, and skill set. May God give each of us the wisdom in how to respond in a declining organization, church, or relationship, and may we support one another in love.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When there is a decline of an organization, the participants or customers wrestle with how to respond: do they exit by walking away from the organization, talk by voicing their opposition and concerns to the leadership, or remain loyal to the organization in hopes of improvements? Although Hirschman gives a thorough, intellectual explanation of each [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[251],"class_list":["post-14754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-hirschman","cohort-lgp7"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/86"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14754"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14754\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14755,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14754\/revisions\/14755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}