In the context of this post, "out in the open" = spoken or otherwise communicated between individuals. In organizations without formal structure, you still get all the messy emotions and politics, but people don't verbalize them - they just adjust their behavior to avoid things or people that they don't like. The resulting culture can get very passive aggressive. It also often has a very lopsided power dynamic, where people who are naturally comfortable being outspoken or voicing grievances end up setting the agenda, while other people who are quiet but may have better ideas or observations end up being left out.