Journal of Business and Technical Communication Apr 1998

Meeting Minutes as Symbolic Action

ROBERT W. McEACHERN

Abstract

Postmodern assumptions employed by some organizational theorists recognize that “administrators' greater power lies not in their ability to control resources but in their ability to manipulate symbols—the ceremonies, rituals, images, and language of the organization” (Graham and David 9). Thus, even a genre that is often considered neutral and objective, such as meeting minutes, can become a tool of managerial control. This article presents data from an ethnographic case study that describes how an administrator in a theater organization manipulated language by using the minutes from a board of directors meeting to influence board members to vote to disband the organization.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
1998-04-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651998012002002
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
modern rhetorical theory genre theory qualitative research
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (1)

  1. (2006)
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication

References (21) · 3 in this index

  1. Baker et al. (1994)
    The rhetoric of power: Political issues in management writing
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Barabas, Christine
    Technical Writing in a Corporate Culture: A Study of the Nature of Information
  3. BERKENKOTTER et al. (1993)
    Rethinking Genre from a Sociocognitive Perspective
    Written Communication
  4. Cross, Geoffrey A.
    Collaboration and Conflict: A Contextual Exploration of Group Writing and Positive Emphasis
  5. DOHENY-FARINA (1986)
    Writing in an Emerging Organization: An Ethnographic Study
    Written Communication
Show all 21 →
  1. Doheny-Farina, Stephen
    Writing in Nonacademic Settings
  2. Graham, Margaret Baker (1996)
    JBTC
  3. Janis, J. Harold
    New Standard Reference for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
  4. Levesque, Joseph D. (1993)
    Nonprofit World
  5. Locker, Kitty O.
    Business and Administrative Communication
  6. Macduff, Nancy
    Annual meeting of the Association for Research on Nonprofits and Voluntary Associations
  7. McEachern, Robert W. “Writing `Bad News' in an Arts Organization: A Sociocognitive Inquiry.” Diss. University…
  8. Miles, Matthew B.
    Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook
  9. 10.1080/00335638409383686
     ↗
  10. Odell, Lee
    Research on Writing: Principles and Methods
  11. Oliu, Walter E.
    Writing that Works: How to Write Effectively on the Job
  12. 10.2307/2393771
     ↗
  13. Pfeffer, Jeffrey
    Power in Organizations
  14. Schindler-Rainman, Eva
    The Nonprofit Organization Handbook
  15. Spilka, Rachel (1988)
    Technical Writing Teacher
  16. Thomsett, Michael C.
    The Little Black Book of Business Meetings
CrossRef global citation count: 15 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Res Rhetorica Dec 2024
    Persuasive strategies in competitive debates: A corpus rhetoric approach ↗
    Marcin Będkowski; Kinga Rogowska
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory argument qualitative research
  2. Philosophy & Rhetoric Sep 2024
    Where’s the Rhetoric? Imagining a Unified Field ↗
    Joshua Hanan
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism composition theory genre theory discourse analysis cultural rhetorics argument qualitative research quantitative research digital rhetoric social media grammar and mechanics gender and writing disability studies public rhetoric affect and writing body and rhetoric editorial matter
  3. Rhetoric & Public Affairs Mar 2023
    Remembering Women Differently: Refiguring Rhetorical Work ↗
    Carly S. Woods
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory feminist rhetorics teacher development argument archival research qualitative research digital rhetoric multimodality race and writing gender and writing
  4. Rhetoric & Public Affairs Mar 2022
    The Discourse of Propaganda: Case Studies from the Persian Gulf War and the War on Terror ↗
    Yishan Wang
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory discourse analysis writing pedagogy graduate education qualitative research multimodality public rhetoric
  5. Literacy in Composition Studies May 2018
    “To Whom Do We Have Students Write?”: Exploring Rhetorical Agency and Translanguaging in an Indonesian Graduate Writing Classroom ↗
    Amber Engelson
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory writing pedagogy graduate education teacher development qualitative research translingualism literacy studies