Winner of the Association for Business Communication's 2019 Distinguished Book Award Rhetorical Theory and Praxis in the Business Communication Classroom responds to a significant need in the emerging field of business communication as the first collection of its type to establish a connection between rhetorical theory and practice in the business communication classroom. The volume includes topics such as rhetorical grammar, genre awareness in business communication theory, the role of big data in message strategy, social media and memory, and the connection between rhetorical theory and entrepreneurship. These essays provide the business communication scholar, practitioner, and program administrator insight into the rhetorical considerations of the business communication landscape.
In this book, Elizabeth C. Tomlinson offers a rich analysis of the ways that rhetorical principles inform the world of work. With in-depth, engaging examples from across business, Tomlinson draws on a broad range of rhetorical scholarship including both ancient and contemporary works, as well as on select materials from management and entrepreneurship. The author shows how principles such as audience, ethos, stasis, kairos, metaphor, topoi, and visual rhetoric inform the development and survival of businesses. With extensive examples from surveys and interviews with business owners, archival trade journal data, business plans, annual reports, corporate social media, pitch competitions, ESG reporting, case studies, and business websites, Applied Business Rhetoric demonstrates how arguments can be successfully constructed across multiple business genres, and illustrates the usefulness of applied rhetoric for both building and analyzing arguments. Scholars of rhetoric, professional writing, and business communication will find this book of particular interest.
Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development in Africa presents a timely and compelling account of African entrepreneurship, shedding light on the critical part it plays in the continentÕs economic growth and development. It explores the various challenges, opportunities, and success stories that define the African entrepreneurial landscape and highlights the ingenuity and determination of the continentÕs entrepreneurial minds.
The evolving nature of the professional world has made it increasingly complex to project professionalism effectively. Policies, Protocols, and Standards for Professionalism in a Diverse Work Environment is a comprehensive solution that addresses these challenges. Authored by esteemed scholars, this book offers practical guidance and strategies for enhancing communication, building personal brands, making ethical decisions, and fostering collaboration. It equips readers with the necessary tools to excel in their professional interactions, whether in virtual or face-to-face settings. Academic scholars, faculty members, researchers, and students will find immense value in this book. It provides actionable advice that can be immediately implemented, going beyond theoretical discussions. Whether entering the workforce or seeking to enhance professional acumen, readers will gain the skills needed to navigate the complexities of modern workplaces, project professionalism, and thrive in diverse environments. Policies, Protocols, and Standards for Professionalism in a Diverse Work Environment serves as an indispensable resource for those looking to excel in their professional journeys.
Reinventing (with) Theory in Rhetoric and Writing Studies collects original scholarship that takes up and extends the practices of inventive theorizing that characterize Sharon Crowley’s body of work. Including sixteen chapters by established and emerging scholars and an interview with Crowley, the book shows that doing theory is a contingent and continual rhetorical process that is indispensable for understanding situations and their potential significance—and for discovering the available means of persuasion. For Crowley, theory is a basic building block of rhetoric “produced by and within specific times and locations as a means of opening other ways of believing or acting.” Doing theory, in this sense, is the practice of surveying the common sense of the community (doxa) and discovering the available means of persuasion (invention). The ultimate goal of doing theory is not to prescribe certain actions but to ascertain what options exist for rhetors to see the world differently, to discover new possibilities for thought and action, and thereby to effect change in the world. The scholarship collected in Reinventing (with) Theory in Rhetoric and Writing Studies takes Crowley’s notion of theory as an invitation to develop new avenues for believing and acting. By reinventing the understanding of theory and its role in the field, this collection makes an important contribution to scholarship in rhetorical studies and writing studies. It will be valuable to scholars, teachers, and students interested in diverse theoretical directions in rhetoric and writing studies as well as in race, gender, and disability theories, religious rhetorics, digital rhetoric, and the history of rhetoric. Publication supported in part by the Texas Tech University Humanities Center. Contributors: Jason Barrett-Fox, Geoffrey Clegg, Kirsti Cole, Joshua Daniel-Wariya, Diane Davis, Rebecca Disrud, Bre Garrett, Catherine C. Gouge, Debra Hawhee, Matthew Heard, Joshua C. Hilst, David G. Holmes, Bruce Horner, William B. Lalicker, Jennifer Lin LeMesurier, James C. McDonald, Timothy Oleksiak, Dawn Penich-Thacker, J. Blake Scott, Victor J. Vitanza, Susan Wyche
The Routledge Handbook of Language and Professional Communication provides a broad coverage of the key areas where language and professional communication intersect and gives a comprehensive account of the field. The four main sections of the Handbook cover: Approaches to Professional Communication Practice Acquisition of Professional Competence Views from the Professions This invaluable reference book incorporates not only an historical view of the field, but also looks to possible future developments. Contributions from international scholars and practitioners, focusing on specific issues, explore the major approaches to professional communication and bring into focus recent research. This is the first handbook of language and professional communication to account for both pedagogic and practitioner perspectives and as such is an essential reference for postgraduate students and those researching and working in the areas of applied linguistics and professional communication.
Winner of ABC's award for Distinguished Publication for 2006 This book explores effective written communication across cultures both theoretically and practically. Specifically it conceptualizes cross-cultural genre study and compares English and Chinese business writing collected from Australia, New Zealand and China. It is also one of those inspired by contrastive rhetoric but has contributed innovatively and uniquely by incorporating research findings from genre analysis, in particular, the sociocognitive genre perspective into this cross-cultural study. On the one hand, the endeavor represents an in-depth theoretical exploration by considering not only discourse community and cognitive structuring, but also the deep semantics of genre and intertextuality, while broadening genre study by integrating insights from cross-cultural communication as well as the Chinese perspectives. On the other hand, the book also addresses pragmatic issues. As a particular feature, it solicits professional members’ intercultural viewpoints; thus confirming the shared social "stock of knowledge" employed in the culturally defined writing conventions. Last but not least, this book explores the implications for genre education and training, and develops an appropriate model for cross-cultural genre learning, which encourages learning through legitimate peripheral participation and intercultural learning in business organizations.
The writing major is among the most exciting scenes in the evolving American university. Writing Majors is a collection of firsthand descriptions of the origins, growth, and transformations of eighteen different programs. The chapters provide useful administrative insight, benchmark information, and even inspiration for new curricular configurations from a range of institutions. A practical sourcebook for those who are building, revising, or administering their own writing majors, this volume also serves as a historical archive of a particular instance of growth and transformation in American higher education. Revealing bureaucratic, practical, and institutional matters as well as academic ideals and ideologies, each profile includes sections providing a detailed program review and rationale, an implementation narrative, and reflection and prospection about the program. Documenting eighteen stories of writing major programs in various stages of formation, preservation, and reform and exposing the contingencies of their local and material constitution, Writing Majors speaks as much to the “how to” of building writing major programs as to the larger “what,” “why,” and “how” of institutional growth and change.
This open access book serves as a comprehensive guide to digital writing technology, featuring contributions from over 20 renowned researchers from various disciplines around the world. The book is designed to provide a state-of-the-art synthesis of the developments in digital writing in higher education, making it an essential resource for anyone interested in this rapidly evolving field. In the first part of the book, the authors offer an overview of the impact that digitalization has had on writing, covering more than 25 key technological innovations and their implications for writing practices and pedagogical uses. Drawing on these chapters, the second part of the book explores the theoretical underpinnings of digital writing technology such as writing and learning, writing quality, formulation support, writing and thinking, and writing processes. The authors provide insightful analysis on the impact of these developments and offer valuable insights into the future of writing. Overall, this book provides a cohesive and consistent theoretical view of the new realities of digital writing, complementing existing literature on the digitalization of writing. It is an essential resource for scholars, educators, and practitioners interested in the intersection of technology and writing.
In the field of technical communication, academics and industry practitioners alike regularly encounter the same question: "What exactly is it you do?" Their responses often reveal a fundamental difference of perspective on what the field is and how it operates. For example, academics might discuss ideas in terms of rhetorical theory, while practitioners might explain concepts through more practical approaches involving best business practices. And such differences can have important implications for how the field, as a whole, moves forward over time. This collection explores ideas related to forging effective academia-industry relationships and partnerships so members of the field can begin a dialogue designed to foster communication and collaboration among academics and industry practitioners in technical communication. To address the various factors that can affect such interactions, the contributions in this collection represent a broad range of approaches that technical communicators can use to establish effective academy-industry partnerships and relationships in relation to an area of central interest to both: education. The 11 chapters thus present different perspectives on and ideas for achieving this goal. In so doing, the contributors discuss programmatic concerns, workplace contexts, outreach programs, and research and writing. The result is a text that examines different general contexts in which academia-industry relationships and partnerships can be established and maintained. It also provides readers with a reference for exploring such interactions.