Effectiveness of Critical Discourse Analysis to Solve Constrained Employment Relations

Abstract

In employment relationship, power is a dominant construct. Power per se can have adverse effect on institutional employment, which even culminates to conflict and resistance to change. When organizations are constrained by the negativity of workers' power it is difficult to bring order, and even to offer the right solution for lack of problem identification. This book chapter explains the process of interventions in two organizations to solve the problem of constrained employment relations, pertaining to workers' redeployment subsequent to technological change. The author in this case played the role of an interventionist and using primarily the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) could evolve a solution, which ultimately could redeploy most of the erring workmen in restructured job positions, even outside their job family. The book chapter is unique in application of CDA in specific issues pertaining to constrained employment relations. The chapter at the end also discusses on implications for practice of CDA in organizational research, particularly to resolve conflict in employment relations. However, the paper has the inherent limitations as the results are very much organization specific.