Monopolization of information within organizations

Nature

Withheld information limits power of action. A monopoly of information can give a form of security. There is, in all organizations at all levels, selective withholding and extending of information. Sole possession of information can make others dependent on a single individual or unit. Withholding of information can limit the scope and power of others' actions and reduce the threat to such units. Control of information channels can isolate certain persons from the remainder of the organization and keep them within a controlled sphere of influence.

Claim

A number of political and organizational regimes have operated under the mistaken idea that not to share information is to make people dependent. After a time, revolution swept them away. Individuals will not have their right to attempt to secure information abrogated. If they are unable to get real information from an authoritative source, they will seize upon or invent rumoured news or will speculate unnecessarily, causing insecurity and a lack of confidence in leadership. Much undistributed organizational information is due to executive torpor and an insensitivity to organizational dynamics.