Chapter 13: The Dialect Method

The CEO of EMC, Joseph M Tucci, advocates that “Good leaders always leave room for debate and different opinions.” This is a necessary belief that individuals who want to become great and successful leaders have to follow. In order for an individual to be influential, he or she must be willing to understand and to listen to the opinions of others, even if others opinions are very different. The dialect method is defined as the calling for managers to foster a structured debate of opposing viewpoints to better understand an issue prior to making a decision. As mentioned in the text book, court systems in the United States and elsewhere such as large corporations rely on directly opposing points of view for determining guilt or innocence.

Judges cannot make fair decisions when it comes to sentencing an individual without the opinions of the others such as the jury. Sam S. Souryal discusses in her article the corruption in U.S. prison institutions due to the lack of different opinions of the jury which lead to poor decisions made by the judge. Therefore, she proposes effective methods such as the dialect method to deter its continuance. She knows through this method there will be more universal norms of fairness, dignity, and humanity. This article concludes by presenting a few practical propositions to better assist judges when given sentences to future possible prisoners. As demonstrated, shared opinions are essential especially when the quality of life of another individual depends on it.

Source: Souryal, Sam S. "Deterring Corruption by Prison Personnel: A Principle-Based Perspective." Prison Journal 89.1 (2009): 21-45. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 3 Apr. 2010.