3525 Session 1 TEACHER.pdf

Session one: Genres in corporate and professional communication EN3525 English in Corporate and Professional Communication Dr. Jamie McKeown [email protected] A brief overview of the course See Canvas course Course outline 1.Genres in Corporate and Professional Contexts (3/9/24) 2.Intertextuality and Interdiscursivity (10/9/24) 3. Blended Learning Session 1: (In)civility, (In)validation, Workplace Bullying (17/9/24) 4.Professional Identity and Collaboration in the Workplace (24/9/24) 5. National Day Holiday (1/10/24) 6. Quiz (8/10/24) 7. Reading Week (15/10/24) 8. Blended Learning Session 2: Gendered Communication in the Workplace (22/10/24) 9.Business/Crisis Communication (29/10/24) 10.Science Communication (5/11/24) 11.Multimodality and Advertising (12/11/24) 12.Blended Learning Session 3: Branding and Brand Archetypes (19/11/24) 13.Review (Hybrid session) + Consultations (in person) – optional by appointment (26/11/24 Course Intended Learning Outcomes Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: 1. Describe, explain and apply concepts of applied linguistics and discourse analysis in corporate and professional communication contexts; 2. Analyse corporate and professional texts in terms of their communicative purpose, audience, generic structure and lexico-grammatical realization; 3. Apply the principles learned to critically evaluate communicative situations in corporate and professional contexts; 4. Apply the principles learned to create effective texts for specific domains of corporate and professional practice; 5. Conduct themselves in an appropriately professional manner in collaborative and individual work Blended Learning Sessions This course has been selected to be part of the university blended learning initiative. Once per month, there will be a blended learning session. The sessions will be delivered via a recoded session and will involve interactive activities. You do not need to physically attend the campus for this session. The recording will be made available on Canvas. You must complete the activities – space for which will be set up in assignments with a due date for the end of that week. Failure to complete the exercises will negatively impact your participation score (10% of overall mark). Assessment In-class quiz: Professional/corporate writing and reflective report (individual work): 30% Text analysis project (groupwork 5-6 per group): 30% Individual production of a professional genre: 30% Participation: 10% Assessment In-class quiz: Professional/corporate writing and reflective report (individual work): 30% 1. Closed book, 90 min quiz, conducted under exam conditions. 2. The quiz will involve two components: text production & text reflection. 3. Students will be presented with a hypothetical workplace situation and be required to produce an appropriate generic response (text production). 4. Students will also be asked to write a short reflective essay justifying their language choices according to course concepts (text reflection). 5. Respondus lockdown will be used; paper booklets will also be available. Assessment Text analysis project (groupwork 5-6*): 30% 1. Students should select a 3-5 texts from a genre of corporate or professional communication (e.g., email, advertisements, scientific popularisation) 2. The texts should be analysed according to a course concept. 3. The report should be a minimum of 1500 words. *Form groups of 5-6; notify me of your groups by 1-10-24. Assessment Individual production of a professional genre: 30% 1. Students will be presented with material in response to which they will be required to produce one of two genres: chairperson’s apology (week 9); 60 second podcast (week 10). 2. The recordings should be no more than 3 minutes. 3. Submitted on Zoom. *Form groups of 5-6; notify me of your groups by 1-10-24. Assessment Participation: 10% 1. Failure to submit the worksheets on Canvas for the blended learning sessions will result in a 2O% of the participation score (i.e., 2% of the total score). Academic Honesty Please see Canvas for the course policy. The use of AI tools such as ChatGPT is not permitted in assessments for this course. Submitting work generated by generative AI tools, in part or in whole, without citation and as your own (even in paraphrased form) constitutes an act of academic dishonesty. Of course, students could refer to a large language model like ChatGPT as an encyclopaedic resource when brainstorming provided that they source any ideas that have come from that generative AI tool. However, students need to be aware of its (huge) limitations. Genres in corporate and professional communication Intended learning outcomes By the end of this session, students will be able to: Describe the key features of professional/corporate communication Explain key concepts of genre analysis Apply those concepts to analyze professional/corporate texts What is professional and corporate communication? (Most) examples from Schnurr (2013) Chapter 1 Professional and Corporate Communication Three nebulous terms. Clarify what we mean (at least on EN3525). Exercise Write down: What three words do you associate with the term professional? What three words do you associate with term unprofessional? Professional ‘For me, I feel that being professional is about not losing your BLEEP at work, not making people uncomfortable, not to be emotional, not to have outbursts, to dress appropriately, not to be sexy, not taking too many breaks, to be really self-directed’ (British Female, 44, VP Marketing, Global energy company) Professional A professional: ‘acts with restrained civility and decorum; wears a convincing shell of calmness, objectivity, and impersonality, thinks in abstract, rational terms, covers the body in conservative, mainstream attire; keeps [em]bodied processes (e.g., emotionality, spontaneity, sexuality) in check; has promising, upwardly mobile career track; derives primary identity and fulfilment from occupation and work accomplishments…’ (Ashcraft and Allen, 2003: 27) Professional The term ‘professional’ reflects, shapes, and indexes particular kinds of social relations and expectations (Cheney and Ashcroft, 2007: 147) …’to invoke professional is to put into play a set of unacknowledged cultural assumptions’ (IBID) Professional ‘In situations ranging from how one walks down an office corridor to how a customer is greeted, the idea of professionalism lurks as a means of shaping, containing, and legitimizing appearance, decorum, behaviour and attitude’ (Cheney and “Professional swagger…” Ashcroft, 2007: 150). Professional? Why? Unprofessional? Why? Professional? Why? Unprofessional? Why? Google search: Professional Man Google search: Professional Woman Normalisation of professional informality? Do we deny certain groups the title of ‘professional’? Corporate Anything that pertains to the commercial world (for the purposes of this course). Communication Communication is another nebulous term that covers wide conceptual ground. Fiske ‘communication is one of those human activities that everyone recognises but few can define satisfactorily’ (1990:1) Communication Fiske defines communication as: ‘social interaction through messages’ (1990:2) >The key point to grasp is that communication is about much more than the exchange of information. (non-verbal) Communication Even without language we are always communicating (Rosengren 2000: 38). E.g. prosodic features: tone of voice, stress, volume, speed. Such factors are often involuntary and a result of physiological factors. Note: communication does not even require intent. (non-verbal) Communication Physiological responses (e.g., blushing, sweating, shaking). Body language (e.g., posture). Non-verbal elements of texts Consider the role of handshakes in business contexts. Intercultural dilemma (see, Akklinic, 2019). Massive difference in cultural perceptions as to appropriateness. ‘I shook hands with the hiring manager and the other interviewer…what is it with giving a weak handshake? Like a limp handshake? I’m a strong believer in a firm handshake, we were taught it at school…I know I’m being judgey but a weak handshake gives off such a poor impression…I kind of hated both of them from that point on…I just felt like you’re representing your organization, you can’t come off this way; it’s so off-putting’ (Australian Female, 42, Director International Development) Topline thoughts on handshakes? Thinking about the Hong Kong context; what is the norm in regards to appropriate tactility? Any problems? Intercultural confusion? EN3525 For the purposes of the present course, we will largely focus on the written and spoken manifestations of communication. Our working definition of communication will be: purposeful text and talk. Defining professional and corporate communication Relating to Relating to Purposeful professions, business text and talk workplaces* PROFESSIONAL CORPORATE COMMUNICATION Take place in a workplace At least one Professionals of the to the wider interactants world is acting as a ‘professional’ ‘Transactional ‘Relationally aspects of an oriented aspects encounter refer describe to those behaviours that Including behaviours that aim at enhancing Professional Features of volunteer to professional workers for (more or less interpersonal lay/customer communication the organization explicitly) aim at relationships getting things and creating a done and positive working achieving atmosphere’ outcomes’ (Schnurr, 2013, p. Professional Topics may to be (Schnurr, 2013, p. 9) professional transactional 9) Topics may be relational, e.g. doing collegiality Activity: Identifying features of professional/corporate communication Read TEXT A and TEXT B and answer the questions. 1. What activity is this interaction a part of? How can you tell? Are there any language features that help to give it away? 2. Where is this activity taking place? Who are the participants? 3. What roles do participants play? How are these roles reflected in their communication? 4. Do the participants have equal power and status? How can you tell? 5. Is the activity transactional, relational, or a mix? 6. In your opinion, is this an example of professional communication? Why? TEXT A: WORKPLACE MEETING 1. Clara: okay well we might just start without Seth 2. he can come in and can review the minutes from last 3. week 4. Renee: are you taking the minutes this week 5. Clara: no I’m just trying to chair the meeting 6. who would like to take the minutes this week 7. Renee: who hasn’t taken the minutes yet 8. Benny: I haven’t yet I will 9. Clara: thank you //Benny\ 10. Renee: /oh Benny\\ takes beautiful minutes too 11. Benny: don’t tell them they’ll want me doing it every week [general laughter] 12. Clara: it’s a bit of a secret 13. okay shall we kick off and just go round the room 14. um doing an 15. update and then when Seth comes in with the minutes 16. we need to check on any action items from our 17. planning 18. over to you Marlene TEXT B: SELF-SERVICE PETROL STATION 1. SK: morning [the price comes up on the till] 2. SK: that’s twenty-two [C hands over the money] 3. SK: thanks good bye 4. C: Goodbye This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA Feedback: Identifying features of professional/corporate communication TEXT A 1. What activity is this interaction a part of? How can you tell? Are there any language features that help to give it away? Weekly meeting: continuity indexicals: temporal markers [‘last week’]; sequential organisation [‘who hasn’t taken them yet] 2. Where is this activity taking place? Who are the participants? Workplace meeting room: not normal to take minutes whilst having a conversation in the pantry. Participants: Clara, Renee, Benny, Marlene. 3. What roles do participants play? How are these roles reflected in their communication? Clara chairs [I’m…chair’], Renee & Benny are attendees, Marlene seemingly has a presenter role [‘over to you Marlene’] 4. Do the participants have equal power and status? How can you tell? Clara has most power as she clearly directs the direction of the conversation, opens meeting, refuses to take notes, controls the floor. Renee is not totally powerless; she challenges Clara’s power by co-directing ‘are you taking the notes…who hasn’t…yet’. Benny seemingly has least power: he just complies. Marlene has a degree of power through having the floor. 5. Is the activity transactional, relational, or a mix? Largely transactional, although there is a degree of humour. 6. In your opinion, is this an example of professional communication? Why? Yes, patently professional. Professionals are clearly engaged in communication for the purposes of employment. Feedback: Identifying features of professional/corporate communication TEXT B 1. What activity is this interaction a part of? How can you tell? Are there any language features that help to give it away? Service exchange: elliptical statement [‘that’s 22’] serves as a request for payment. 2. Where is this activity taking place? Who are the participants? Petrol station: checkout. Participants: Checkout clerk; customer. 3. What roles do participants play? How are these roles reflected in their communication? Service provider [greets ‘morning’ and asks for money]; customer [seemingly complies and terminates the exchange, i.e., ‘goodbye’]. 4. Do the participants have equal power and status? How can you tell? Customer seemingly has more power/status; they don’t reciprocate the greeting and also terminate the exchange. 5. Is the activity transactional, relational, or a mix? Transactional [minimal relationality] 6. In your opinion, is this an example of professional communication? Why? Professional. The checkout clerk is clearly communicating for the purposes of gainful employment. Activity: Is this professional communication? Read TEXT C (and the following TEXT): discuss whether you would classify either/or as professional communication, and why. TEXT C: EMAIL Subject: Coffee? I am for coffee (and sandwiches!) outside in the sun in about 30 minutes or so – anybody want to join? Anna Source: Schnurr (2013: 4) Activity: is this professional communication? Subject: RE: TGI - Progressives Using this image in an email (with no words) to say thanks. Data source: McKeown, (2018) Activity: is this professional communication? Context: A senior Subject: RE: TGI - Progressives male requested data from a mid-level Here it is! female. By way of The combined lifestyle group sample size is fine actually. I’ve added in the section on ‘technology gratitude he sent the you have in the home’ – 3D TV, blu-ray, wireless music streaming etc etc. image in email Clare. number 2. Activity: is this professional communication? Subject: RE: TGI - Progressives The senior male responded with this image. Activity: is this professional communication The female forwarded the email to a friend. Subject: RE: TGI - Progressives And then he sent THIS!!! Ewwww!!! Professional/corporate ways of thinking and being The scientific The fundamental importance of ethics and integrity is reflected in KPMG’s vision of being a great place for method advancing the careers of all our people in a rewarding and fulfilling environment. For our partners and all our Legal employees, that means a strong sense of inclusion, mutual respect, open and honest communication, reasoning fairness, teamwork, and pride in being associated with each other and being part of KPMG. Our unshakeable Corporate commitment to integrity and to our vision of being an values Employer of Choice is closely interconnected with the values that guide our actions. A professional/corporate identity When professionals and business people create texts, they may enact a certain ‘authorial’ or ‘discoursal’ identity This is a ‘textual presentation of self which aligns the author with the values of the relevant discourse community, thereby identifying the author as [an expert] community member’ (Hafner, 2014, p. 657). Genre analysis Key concepts Organization of Blommaert: What is genre? details in a particular order that creates the recognizability of a particular Produce genre recognizable meanings e.g. word by word Strategic, purposeful communication e.g. at other levels like a complaint or Ordering, compliment sequencing, recognizing Genres consist of conventional ‘moves’: A genre is like a dance For their communicative effectiveness, genres rely on conventions of discourse and language that are known to and understood by participants in the communicative event In this sense, genres are ‘conventional forms’ When it comes to the organization of a genre, Swales (1990) says that genres therefore have ‘moves’ and ‘steps’ Genre as goal-directed, strategic Genre as goal-directed, strategic Advertisement Oral argument Research article Press release Brochure Genre studies: Definitions of genre Typified rhetorical action in Communicative events between recurrent social situations members of a discourse (Miller, 1984 – Rhetorical Genre community (Swales, 1990, ESP Studies) genre studies) A social view of Rhetorical Genre Studies ESP Genre Studies language, in which the function of language is to scaffold some form The Sydney School of human activity (Gee, 1999, p. 1) Staged, goal-oriented, social processes (Martin, Christy, & Rothery, 1987 – The Sydney School) Purpose, community, expectations Text/genre Writer/speaker’s Audience’s communicative expectations purpose ACTION Writer/Speaker Audience Activity: Understanding communicative purpose and audience Part 1: Consider the genres listed: What do you think is the communicative purpose of each one? Could there be more than one communicative purpose? Advertisement, Who do you think is the intended audience? Could there TED Talk, be more than one of those? University essay, Part 2: Identify other genres: Recipe, What are some more examples of academic, professional, Email to your and corporate genres? professor Who creates them? For whom? For what purpose? As part of what community? Following what norms and values? Some suggestions (no single right answers here) Advertisement: to persuade, to promote (Audience: consumers) TED Talk: to inform, to entertain, to engage, to argue, to describe, to recount (Audience: academics, policy makers, general public) University essay: to argue, to persuade, to critique, to explain, to summarize, to demonstrate knowledge (Audience: professor) Recipe: to describe, to instruct (Audience: homemakers) Email to your professor: to request information, to request action (Audience: professor) Genre Analysis – Bhatia’s framework The linguistic analysis normally involves an identification of the generic structure (sometimes also called discourse structure) and the key lexical and grammatical features of the text (that is the lexico- grammatical realization of the genre); Swales’s (1990) concepts of moves and steps are particularly useful for the identification of generic structures. Essentially, moves are distinct parts of the text which have a clearly identifiable communicative purpose achieved through particular linguistic choices; each move can be further divided into steps, with each step fulfilling a smaller communicative function. Schnurr (2013: 36) ‘(obligatory) rhetorical moves and (optional) steps’. Genre Analysis – Bhatia’s framework When identifying genres (or classifying texts as belonging to one genre), our guiding question is: Do texts have relatively similar ‘regularities in structure, rhetorical moves, and lexico-grammatical choices’ …(Schnurr, 2013: 36) Moves in a Request Email Moves and Steps in RA Conclusion Section Activity: For one of the professional/corporate genres that you discussed previously, what kinds of moves do you Expected expect to see from the writer or speaker? That is, what moves do you expect to see them try to ‘do’ with language? In what order? Analysis of an advertisement A case of genre analysis Key components for a genre analysis The lexico- The situational The generic grammatical context structure realizations Who is typically What structural What language is writing/speaking? elements (moves) are typically used in order For whom? As part of typically there? to ‘realize’ the purpose what community? What is the purpose of of each move? What is their these moves? communicative In what order do they purpose? appear? Activity: Genre analysis Find an advertisement (online/social media). Perform an analysis by considering factors related to the communicative context (the macro analysis) and factors related to the text (the micro analysis) A. At the macro level (the communicative context): Who is the audience for this text? What is the purpose of the text? B. At the micro level: How is the text structured: what ‘moves’ can you see in the beginning, middle and end? How many moves can you see? How are different genre moves ‘realized’ through choices of grammar and lexis? 1. Headlines 2. Targeting the market Generic 3. Justifying the product or service by establishing a niche structure of 4. Detailing the product or service advertisements 5. Establishing credentials per Bhatia 6. Endorsement or Testimonials (2005) 7. Offering incentives 8. Using pressure tactics 9. Soliciting response 10.Signature line and Logo etc. (Bhatia, 2005) Thanks Dine in style at the Rivera The Picture of People Dining SAVE HK$200 In our constant search to provide Hong Kong Standard readers with the best of style and quality dining in Hong Kong, we have joined with the Riviera Restaurant at the Regal Hong Kong Hotel, Causeway Bay to present an exceptional value for money at one of Hong Kong’s top hotel restaurants. Located at the 31st floor of the five star Regal Hong Kong Hotel, this premier restaurant serves the finest Mediterranean cuisine with breath-taking views of Victoria Harbour. 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3525 Session 1 TEACHER.pdf

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