Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jan 2008

This Is Too Formal for Us...

Jo Angouri University of Essex ; Nigel Harwood University of Essex

Abstract

This article reports a case study of three multinational companies that work together in a consortium, focusing on intercompany and intracompany variation in writing products and processes. The authors discuss variation in two genres: meeting minutes and internal memos. Adopting a social constructionist, communities of practice (CofP) approach, they argue that the companies form overarching constellations of CofP. Although the participants broadly work with the same genres of written documents, the form of these documents varies according to the local context, audience, and purpose. The authors discuss the implications of their findings, with particular reference to the difficulty writers face when they make the transition from writing for one community of practice to writing for another.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2008-01-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651907307701
Open Access
Closed
Topics
qualitative research multilingual writers

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (4)

  1. Breuch (2015)
    Glocalization in Website Writing: The Case of MNsure and Imagined/Actual Audiences
    Computers and Composition
  2. Dryer (2013)
    Scaling Writing Ability
    Written Communication
  3. Gygi et al. (2010)
    Productive Tensions and the Regulatory Work of Genres in the Development of an …
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Starke-Meyerring (2010)
    Globally Networked Learning Environments in Professional Communication: Challen…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication

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