Matching Items (2)
Description
This dissertation examines the organizational discourse of business meetings in a Kuwaiti financial organization (Innovative Kuwait Co., pseudonym) and an American non-profit trade organization (Global Phoenix, pseudonym). Specifically, I explore the discourse and social identities, agency, and power used in staff members' task-oriented business meetings (Bargiela-Chiappini & Harris, 1997). The study is based on ethnographic business meetings data collected during eight months of fieldwork in 2010, 2011 and 2012. I used three major qualitative methodologies: observation, audio recording, and feedback focus group. In this study, I propose three research questions: 1) How does agency of staff members reflect membership in the corporate culture of an organization as a whole? 2) How is power used in relation to agency in business meetings? And 3) How are discourse and social identities of staff members enacted in business meetings? The analyses of ethnographic and fieldwork data demonstrate similar and different business linguistic behaviors in the two companies. In Innovative Kuwait Co., male managers are responsible for opening and closing the meetings. They also perform power by using language directives and suggestions directed to staff members. In contrast, female staff members in the Kuwaiti company participated insignificantly in meetings and produce more nonverbal cues. However, in one meeting, a female manager organized the discussion by controlling topics and giving directions. In Global Phoenix, female managers outnumber their male counterparts; therefore, agency, power, discourse, and social identities are performed differently. Female managers are responsible for opening and closing the meetings and for organizing the overall discussions. Additionally, female and male staff members participate equally and they interrupted their colleagues less frequently compared to staff members in Kuwait. Interestingly, American staff members laugh and joke more together than staff members in Kuwait. The findings of this dissertation will contribute to existing linguistic literature on business discourse and the examination of social meanings and structures in organizations, explaining how language shapes the actions and relationships of business staff members. This dissertation will also encourage business people to become mindful of the role of language and language training in developing and maintaining the corporate culture of their organizations.
ContributorsAlHaidari, Fatma M. (Author) / Adams, Karen L (Thesis advisor) / Prior, Matthew (Committee member) / Broome, Benjamin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Chronic illness can be a stressful experience that requires coping and support. In the last twenty years, Shared Medical Appointments (SMAs) were developed in U.S. healthcare as a response to the rising rates and challenges of chronic disease management. Due to the infancy of the SMA model, however, little is known or understood about the benefits of group medical care for patients. To date, scholars have not explored or systematically observed the communicative aspects of the SMA model. Communal coping, a theoretical framework that foregrounds group interaction and communication, offers a pragmatic lens for exploring how patients collectively cope with the stressors of chronic illness in the context of SMAs. Using qualitative methods, I conducted participant observation of SMAs at a Veterans Affairs hospital to analyze the communicative, transactional nature of communal coping as it unfolded among heart failure patients, family members, and providers in context. I also conducted interviews with SMA attendees. Analysis is based on 56 hours of fieldwork and 14 hours of interviews. Findings of this dissertation revealed group members who attended heart failure SMAs engaged in communal coping to manage the stressors of chronic illness. Group members moved through four primary phases of the communal coping process: (1) establish a communal coping orientation; (2) discuss shared stressors; (3) engage in cooperative action; and (4) practice communal reflexivity. Findings suggest patients become empowered by group interaction during SMAs as they move through each phase of the communal coping process. This dissertation also highlights various communicative strategies providers' use during SMAs to facilitate communal coping and group interaction. Theoretically, this dissertation expands upon existing knowledge of communal coping by exploring how individuals embody and socially construct the communal coping process. Specifically, this dissertation extends past models of communal coping with the addition of the communal reflexivity phase and through conceptualizing communal coping as a facilitated process of empowerment. Pragmatically, this research also offers insight to the benefits patients derive from attending SMAs, such as reduced feelings of stigma and isolation and improved motivation.
ContributorsHoffman, Trisha K (Author) / Miller, Katherine I (Thesis advisor) / Tracy, Sarah J. (Thesis advisor) / Lederman, Linda C (Committee member) / Dev, Sandesh (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015