Research Information System
International Conference on Social Sciences, İzmir, Turkey, 10 - 11 September 2009, pp.1-9, (Summary Text)
Power distance is considered to be the extent to which
individuals at lower level of a cultural hierarchy accept their lack of
autonomy and authority versus power shared throughout a hierarchy. However, few
studies intend to investigate whether silence at work occurs as an effect of
power distance. Power distance in Turkey is considered to be at high level, and
recent research in a university shows that as many as 70% of the academicians
preferred to remain silent at work. This finding is somehow paradoxical as a
pluralistic organization; the university is expected to be an organization,
which values and allows for the expression of multiple opinions. In this study,
we aim to explore the relationship between power distance and silence at work
within the framework of university organizations. The research was conducted in
two large sized state universities located in Istanbul.