Summary
Effective environmental management requires a degree of adaptability not commonly exhibited by either individuals or organizations. Yet the innovative ideas and new perspectives which would help to produce more adaptive environmental policies are commonly dismissed as troublesome dissent, and suppressed. Indeed, a negative response to the dissent which originates from within the professional ranks is just as frequent in scientific organizations as it is in the political arena. This is unfortunate, since it results in organizations losing a major source of creative vitality. The main point of the paper is that professional dissent can be put to constructive use and need not be treated as an unmitigated evil. However, given the internal politics of organizations, it would be naive to believe that the suppression of dissent will suddenly end. Instead, one can only hope to counter some of its more debilitating effects. This could well be achieved by those professionals who are willing to try, or make better use of, the conflict resolution methods described here, thereby helping to dispel some of the fear and suspicion that surrounds dissent.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abrams, N. and Berry, R. (1977) Mediation: A better alternative to science courts,Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.April, pp. 50–53.
Beck, P. (1982) Corporate planning for an uncertain future,Long Range Planning, 15, pp. 12–21.
Belbin, R. (1981)Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail, Heinemann.
Brett-Crowther, M. (1980) Uncertain decision making on environmental problems,Science and Public Policy, October, pp. 377–393.
Brett-Crowther, M. (1981) The spruce budworm controversy in Nova Scotia,Science and Public Policy, February, pp. 55–76.
Cosier, R. (1981) Dialectical inquiry in strategic planning: a case of premature acceptance,Academy of Management Review, 6, pp. 643–648.
Detwiler, P. (1981) Environmental analysis after a decade: “If prophecy is impossible then go for understanding,”Public Administration Review, 41, pp. 93–97.
Dunbar, R., Dutton, J. and Torbert, W. (1982) Crossing mother: Ideological constraints on organizational improvements,Journal of Management Studies, 19, pp. 91–108.
Friedlander, F. (1967) The impact of organizational training laboratories upon the effectiveness and interaction of on-going workgroups,Personnel Psychology, 20, pp. 289–309.
Hanley, J. (1980) The silence of scientists,Chemical and Engineering News, 58, p. 5.
Harshbarger, D. (1973) The individual and the social order: Notes on the management of heresy and deviance in complex organizations,Human Relations, 26, pp. 251–269.
Herbert, T. and Estes, R. (1981) The role of the devil’s advocate in the executive decision process,Business Quarterly, 46, pp. 56–63.
Higgins, R. (1982)The Seventh Enemy: The Human Factor in the Global Crisis, Hodder and Stoughton.
Holling, C. (1978)Adaptive Environmental Assessment and Management, Wiley.
Hudson, L. (1966)Contrary Imaginations, Penguin Books.
Kantrowitz, A. (1977) The science court experiment: Criticisms and responses,Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 33, pp. 43–49.
Katz, R. and Allen, T. (1982) Investigating the Not Invented Here syndrome: A look at the performance, tenure, and communication patterns of 50 R & D project groups,R & D Management, 12, pp. 7–20.
Lenz, T. and Lyles, M. (1981) Tackling the human problems in planning,Long Range Planning, 14, pp. 72–77.
Linstone, H.et al. (1981) The multiple perspective concept: With applications to technology assessment and other decision areas,Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 20, pp. 275–325.
Lyles, M. (1981) Formulating strategic problems: Empirical analysis and model development,Strategic Management Journal, 2, pp. 61–75.
Lyles, M. and Mitroff, I. (1980) Organizational problem formulation: An empirical study,Administrative Science Quarterly, 25, pp. 102–119.
Mahoney, M. (1976)Scientist as Subject: The Psychological Imperative, Balinger Publishing Company.
Majone, G. (1979) Process and outcome in regulatory decision-making,American Behavioral Scientist, 22, pp. 561–583.
Martin, B. (1981) The scientific straightjacket: The power structure of science and the suppression of environmental scholarship,Ecologist, 11, pp. 33–43.
Mason, R. and Mitroff, I. (1981)Challenging Strategic Planning Assumptions: Theory, Cases and Techniques, Wiley.
McAdams, T. (1977) Speaking out in the corporate community,Academy of Management Review, 2, pp. 196–205.
McAllister, D. (1980)Evaluation in Environmental Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press.
Miller, A. (1982) Tunnel vision in environmental management,The Environmentalist, 2, pp. 223–231.
Nelkin, D. and Pollak, M. (1979) Consensus and conflict resolution: the politics of assessing risk,Science and Public Policy, October, pp. 307–318.
Noll, R. (1976) Information, decision-making procedures and energy policy,American Behavioral Scientist, 19, pp. 267–285.
Nutt, P. (1982) Hybrid planning methods,Academy of Management Review, 7, pp. 442–454.
O’Day, R. (1974) Intimidation rituals: Reactions to reform,Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 10, pp. 373–386.
Olsen, S. (1982)Group Planning and Problem-Solving Methods in Engineering Management, Wiley.
Parmerlee, M., Near, J. and Jensen, T. (1982) Correlates of whistle-blowers’ perceptions of organizational retaliation,Administrative Science Quarterly, 27, pp. 17–34.
Perrucci, R., Anderson, R., Schendel, D. and Trachtman, L. (1980) Whistle-blowing: Professionals’ resistance to organizational authority,Social Problems, 28, pp. 149–164.
Schwenk, C. and Cosier, R. (1980) Effects of the expert, devil’s advocate and dialectical inquiry methods on prediction performance,Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 26, pp. 409–424.
Smith, J. (1983) A-test man faked fall-out figures,Sunday Times (London), January 30th.
Staw, B., Sandelands, L. and Dutton, J. (1981) Threat-rigidity effects in organizational behavior: A multilevel analysis,Administrative Science Quarterly, 26, pp. 501–524.
Stevens, K. (1975) Systematic methods: The implications for project teams,DMG-DRS Journal, 9, 145–152.
Taylor, S. and Bogdan, R. (1980) Defending illusions: The institution’s struggle for survival,Human Organization, 39, pp. 209–218.
Tjosvold, D. and Deemer, D. (1980) Effects of controversy within a cooperative or competitive context on organizational decision-making,Journal of Applied Psychology, 65, pp. 590–595.
Tschirley, F. (1979)Scientific Dispute Resolution Conference on 2, 4, 5-T, American Farm Bureau Federation, Park Ridge, Illinois.
Tshirley, F. (1982)Imported Fire Ant Symposium, June 1982, Atlanta American Hotel, Atlanta, Georgia.
White, I. (1979) An interdisciplinary approach to applied policy analysis,Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 15, pp. 95–106.
Williams, N., Sjoberg, G. and Sjoberg, A. (1980) The bureaucratic personality: An alternate view,Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 16, pp. 389–405.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Dr Alan Miller who is now associate professor at the University of New Brunswick received his training in biology (in England) and ecology (in Canada). He then spent several years pursuing research at the Northwest Institute for Medical Research in Chicago, USA. A growing interest in the human aspects of environmental and medical problems led to a further graduate study in psychology, followed by teaching positions in Ireland and Canada. His current interests include: the education of environmental professionals; the psychosocial problems involved in environmental management, and, the problems inherent in interdisciplinary project groups.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Miller, A. Professional dissent and environmental management. Environmentalist 4, 143–152 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02337290
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02337290