Stasis Theory as a Strategy for Workplace Teaming and Decision Making

H. Allen Brizee Purdue University West Lafayette

Abstract

Current scholarship tells us that skills in teaming are essential for students and practitioners of professional communication. Writers must be able to cooperate with subject-matter experts and team members to make effective decisions and complete projects. Scholarship also suggests that rapid changes in technology and changes in teaming processes challenge workplace communication and cooperation. Professional writers must be able to use complex software for projects that are often completed by multidisciplinary teams working remotely. Moreover, as technical writers shift from content developers to project managers, our responsibilities now include user-advocacy and supervision, further invigorating the need for successful communication. This article offers a different vision of an ancient heuristic—stasis theory—as a solution for the teaming challenges facing today's professional writers. Stasis theory, used as a generative heuristic rather than an eristic weapon, can help foster teaming and effective decision making in contemporary pedagogical and workplace contexts.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
2008-10-01
DOI
10.2190/tw.38.4.d
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (12)

  1. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Rhetoric Review
  4. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Written Communication
Show all 12 →
  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Technical Communication Quarterly
  6. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  7. Philosophy & Rhetoric

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