Dissent and the Failure of Leadership - 9781847205759

Recent events indicate that there is a crisis of leadership in the world today. In politics, religion, industry, commerce, even Boy Scout troops. Banks (communication studies, University of Idaho) and his contributors posit that much of this stems from a lack of "leaders" who actually lead, rather then occupy positions of leadership. After a discussion of the ambiguous nature of the terms lead/leader/leadership, articles focus on the role of dissent. They cover the chilling ways in which dissent is quashed, using intimidation or coercion, in every sector of society. The narrowing of allowable dissent in the press is discussed, as is the specific role of women in dissent issues. One article looks at the change among younger people caused by access to information through the Internet and how this affects dissent. While painting a gloomy picture of the present situation, some articles also suggest how dissent can and should be integrated into the workings of a group. How a leader manages dissent is indicative of his/her leadership ability. An important point made by several authors is that evaluating, even encouraging, dissent means that the leader is listening to the rank and file and paying attention to alternate opinions. They feel this is what differentiates a leader from a dictator. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)