Rites and Ceremonials

Journal of Business and Technical Communication Oct 1992

CHARLOTTE THRALLS

Abstract

Although communication is widely accepted as central to the construction of organizational culture, researchers in organizational theory and in rhetoric and professional communication have focused primarily on traditional spoken and written texts, overlooking the vital role that new technologies—especially film and video—are now playing in socializing members of organizations to organizational life. This article examines corporate videos as cultural texts and develops the claim that videos function as rites and ceremonials in modern organizations, facilitating organizational socialization. Drawing on videos produced by a major national financial services firm, the article defines and analyzes four types of rites: integration, passage, renewal, and enhancement.

Journal: Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published: 1992-10-01
DOI: 10.1177/1050651992006004001
Open Access: Closed
Topics: writing across the curriculum multimodality professional writing

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

Longo (1998)

An approach for applying cultural study theory to technical writing research

Technical Communication Quarterly
CROSS (1994)

Recontextualizing Writing

Journal of Business and Technical Communication

Cites in this index (0)

No references match articles in this index.

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