ABSTRACT
According to Deetz, all communication, regardless of which area of society it derives from, and how it plays out, is-and has always been-suspended between the goals or ideals of participation and
eectiveness (Deetz, 1992). The way in which we have considered these qualities has varied historically. In some eras, communication theory and its development has been preoccupied with eectiveness, and with the associated instrumental and ends/means-oriented orientation. This approach centered on the eect of our communication and how we can use communication to exercise control, resulting in the consequent marginalization of the participative aspect of communication. In other eras, the ideal of participation in the communicative process has been accorded priority, at the expense of eectiveness.1 Deetz dened participation and eectiveness as follows:
Participation deals with who in a society or group has a right to contribute to the formation of meaning and the decisions of the group-which individuals have access to the various systems and structures of communication and can they articulate their own needs and desires within them. Effectiveness concerns the value of communicative acts as a means to accomplish endshow meaning is transferred and how control through communication is accomplished.
