Image from facebook.com

I will continue analyzing the Bridge Children’s Academy’s Facebook page in this post. I will focus on the Risk Rhetoric demonstrated throughout their site. Their site can be found at this link: https://www.facebook.com/bridgechildrensacademy/

1) The four constrains associated with risk rhetoric are “diverse risk frames, the complexity of risk topics, the emotionally laden nature of risk topics, and the status difference between organizations and audiences” (Hoffman and Ford 171).  The most common constraint associated with daycares is emotionally laden nature of risk topics. Most parents are typically nervous to leave their children with strangers. They might be concerned that the children will not be fully taken care of, fed, cleaned, and loved as well as they might be capable of doing

2) The audiences include parents who know their children very well, so in this instance, they are experts about their children. However, many parents have not taken professional classes on the development of children, which also makes them nonexperts. Many parents appear to be very happy with seeing images of their children have a good time as preschool.

3) The organization is aware of the risk of emotionally laden nature of risk topics and tries to counteract it on their facebook page. They do so by posting images of happy and healthy children in fun and educational activities.

4)  The main appeal focused on the facebook page of The Bridge Children’s Academy, is pathos. Because facebook does not offer large amounts of texts, the organization showcases images of the children. By showing smiling children, audiences are encouraged to feel that their children are happy and safe.

5) The organization portrays themselves as qualified to take care of the children because they acknowledge the great job their staff is doing, and they indicate that when making decisions about closings and delays, they turn to expert meteorologists and examine the radar.

6) The strategy that accomplishes audience invitation is Community Participation. The organization’s site allows all audiences to participate in their posts. They can review the Academy and also comment/ask questions on each post.

7) The organization does not specify what might happen if a child is not taken care of. Instead, the organization prioritizes that their child will be taken care of.

Image from facebook.com

For this post I will continue evaluating the Bridge Children’s Academy Facebook page. The page can be found at this link: https://www.facebook.com/bridgechildrensacademy/

1. Exigencies: A few challenges in the preschool’s rhetorical situation might be the controversies of having overweight teachers, the programs are not educational, and that some teachers may not be as loving towards children. The Bridge Children’s Academy has to oppose these common misconceptions are show their organization as educational, loving, and healthy. Their Facebook page successfully showcasing this by taking the opportunity to share images of teachers interacting with the children in playful and educational activities. For example, there are images of teachers playing with the children outside in a giant water slide, but there are also educational and healthy activities where the children are making applesauce.
2. Audiences: The organization targets their functional audience of the currant parents. If the organization were using the website to attract new families than they would have information pertaining to prices and programs. Instead, it currently has a laid back feel and gives updates on what the children are doing. This is important to currant families because they are interested in what their children are doing.
3. Constraints and Assets: The organization is constrained by their Facebook page. The Facebook page gives limited information and it is not ideal to scroll throughout the page in hopes of maybe find this information. It would be much easier for the organization to give information to prospective parents, if they had a website. I do not think time is a constraint for this organization unless a major issue arises that causes families to either not want to join the daycare, or want to leave. Any major news can either be a constrain or an asset to the organization. If the daycare is closing early one night, then families will not be happy and the organization will have to know how to handle the situation. However, if the preschool decides to give all the children new book bags then the parents will be thrilled. Many people have prior opinions about preschools, some believe that the children will be mistreated and ignored. The organization has to showcase their programs and teachers positively. They do this in the image at the top of the teacher and students making applesauce. The teacher is smiling which gives off a friendly appeal. Also, the children are surrounding her so they must like her.

Issues:

1. A particular issue the organization commented on was the impending weather. The organization portrays itself as taking cautionary measures to insure the children are safe, and that they are waiting for officials to notify them when it is safe to return to normal activities.
2. Parents are notified of changes and they can comment on the posts. The organization does not openly ask for feedback. However, when a parent made a suggestion concerning their “remind” app, the organization agreed. So audiences have a reasonable opportunity to influence the process.
3. Another issue the organization mentioned was the July 2018 Virginia outbreak of hand foot and mouth. The Bridge Children’s Academy shared an article concerning the disease, but the organization did not make any statements. When asked by a parent, the organization stated that they have not had any cases. This could have been stated before hand though. Also, they do not give any tips on how to avoid getting the disease or what they are doing to prevent it.
4. I think the organization is open about their issues pertaining to closings and phone issues. They are aware that parents might not like the information but they make it clear that these decisions are what is best for the children, parents and staff.

Image by facebook.com

https://www.facebook.com/bridgechildrensacademy/

1. The company’s website that I will be analyzing is The Bridge Children’s Academy Facebook page. Their page uses different forms of identity strategies to appeal to viewers and to be informative.

a) Association strategies: The page showcases association strategies in a few examples; the heading of the webpage is an image of children. This implies that the organization is associating themselves with children. Also, their logo is a bridge symbolizing their name and their association with its co-partner, The Bridge Church and their relationship with religion. Behind the logo is another image of children which strengthens their association to kids.

b) Differentiation Strategies: Bridge Children’s Academy portrays differentiation strategies on their Facebook page by signifying their reviews two times. This shows that they take pride in their high rated reviews and that they are better than other preschools.

c) Branding strategies in the rhetoric: The branding strategies used on this page are the logo, the reviews of customers, and pictures of the children. The logo is colorful and aesthetically pleasing which catches the attention to audiences. The high customer reviews can be used as branding because potential and currant customers will be impressed. Finally, the pictures of the children act as branding because it shows that they are having fun and learning.

d) In what ways do these strategies help focus on what is central and enduring about the organization? These strategies help focus on the organizations priority of the importance of happy, healthy, and educated children by showcasing images of happy children, educational activities, their religious relationship.

e) Channels of delivery: Ideally, organizations have multiple channels of delivery so that many different audiences will see the advertisements, instead of only having one for of delivery and reaching only one group of audiences. The Bridge Children’s Academy, however, only uses their Facebook page to publicize their organization. This limits their audience because they are only reaching Facebook-using adults. And the web page will only appear if that parents “friend” either likes or shares a post about the organization. The chances of one accidentally finding the web page are very slim.

f) In what ways might the rhetoric use an already-existing identity to advance the goals of the organization? The Bridge Children’s Academy is using an already existing identity to advance their goals. They are an extension of the popular Bridge Church located in Powhatan, Va. By using the same name and logo as the church they are expressing both of their connections with religion and God. Since the church was already well-known, many of their members also joined the preschool, which prevented the organization from having to brand and advertise much.

2. What are the key elements of the rhetorical situation? The rhetorical situation is that many people see preschools as babysitting or people are not comfortable with leaving their child with strangers. The Bridge Children’s Academy must fight these stereotypes and portray the organization as professional, educational, and loving to all children.

a) Identity-building rhetoric and Identity maintenance rhetoric: To successfully portray the Bridge Children’s Academy as holding these qualities they must first implement identity-building rhetoric and then maintain them. You must first showcase these qualities to bring in new parents/customers, but you also must maintain it so that parents do not leave.

b) Audiences: By showing reviews the organization is targeting new parents/customers in an attempt to portray themselves as credible. The images of the children and teachers targets both prospective customers and currant ones.

c) Constraints: The constraints that the organization must face are the stereotypes that many parents may have on preschools, like: not being educational, professional, or loving towards the children. The Bridge Children’s Academy must prove that they contain these qualities.

Image from pixabay.com 

The Starbucks “Meet Me at Starbucks” campaign (https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=49&v=LZVCLVGymmo) deals with the social issue of people feeling unaccepted. The message Starbucks is sending is that at their store all people are welcome and accepted. This will interest most customers because most people want to feel accepted and want to be able to express themselves, Starbucks is showcasing their stores as a safe zone for all people. The best method of analysis is Cultural criticism because the main message is that Starbucks is a community accepting of all people, which fights cultural stereotypes that people need to stick with their clicks (race, generation, gender, peers, etc.).

Starbucks’ main interest is to keep and gain customers. The audience is a Functional audience because the campaign is focused towards its everyday customers. This artifact is appealing to customers through ethos by demonstrating the store/company as a community. This will persuade current customers and new customers to keep coming to Starbucks for coffee instead of their competitors. Feeling like one is a part of a larger group can give comfort to many people. A few implications associated with this community message is that some customers will not be accepting of others. For example, if someone is anti-children, how will they feel about children being in the store? Some people might be more concerned with the acceptance of homosexuals, minorities, personalities, and more.

The campaign is a collage of video clips of customers, that were taken in one day in 26 counties filmed in multiple Starbucks’ stores. This says that the organization already has a well-known popularity because they have many locations and many customers participated in the creation of the video.

A few assumptions we can make about Starbucks through this campaign is that customers mean a lot to them because they are creating a safe space for them. Also, it shows an employee turning on lights referencing the beginning of a new day this shows that their employees are diligent. Through their words and the many customers displayed, the organization is showing that they have created a comfortable and safe store. However, this implies that society needs a safe space of acceptance because much of society is not accepting.

I hope that after reading my rhetorical analysis of the “Meet Me at Starbucks” campaign, people will understand how influential companies, specifically Starbucks, and how they do so. I will be directing my attention of Starbucks’ use of community through the appeal ethos and the benefits and implications that come with this.

Image from Starbucks.com

In this post I will examine the Rhetorical Situations in the Starbucks “Meet Me at Starbucks” campaign (the video can be found under Post #3: Identifying Organizations’ Rhetorical Strategies)

1. Exigencies:

A possible challenge in the Rhetorical Situation for Starbucks is that the company is becoming too large and customers will want to find a smaller coffee company. The unanticipated is that showcasing 28 Starbucks stores around the world will establish the grandness of the chain. The anticipated opportunity of the campaign is that the chain will feel like a close-knit family. The urgency was definitive because the film was processed in only one day. Had Starbucks had more time they maybe could have used more/better material. Like Starbucks, other organizations can glorify what some might see as a problem. This puts a positive spin on the negative.

2. Audiences:

The intended audience are functional audiences because they are composed of customers that help Starbucks function day-to-day.

3. Constraints and Assets:

A few constraints faced by Starbucks are high prices, app failures, and the controversy event of the arrest of two African Americans from a Starbucks store in Philadelphia. The assets associated with Starbucks are hardworking and dedicated employees, long hours of operation, multiple locations, and a large selection of coffees, teas, and pastries.

4. Rhetorical Situations:

The rhetorical situation is similar to a re-branding of identity. The company is attempting to reestablish itself as a small community instead of a large chain.

Video from youtube.com 

1. Medium of Delivery:

The artifact I have chosen to rhetorically analyze for Starbucks is their advertisement from September 4, 2014 called Meet Me at Starbucks. The medium for this artifact is a television commercial.

2. Ethos: Appeals to Organizational Credibility

This commercial shows Competence by showing that employees “anywhere around the world” will be at the store “on any given day.” They are saying that they and their employees are dependable and that they can produce their product successfully, daily. By not only stating what can be found an any Starbucks, but also by showing it, they are also demonstrating that they can produce a sense of Community. Community is shown in the commercial by showcasing real Starbucks customers, from 28 countries, in one day. These customers are all from different countries, races, backgrounds, and yet they are all a family because they are apart of the Starbucks family. This makes viewers want to be apart of the family too and visit a Starbucks.

3. Pathos: Appeals to Emotions

The Needs appealed to in this commercial are love and belonging, creative outlet, and inclusion. The advertisement demonstrates Starbucks as being loving and excepting which makes viewers feel included and loved. The commercial also showcases customers participating in personal hobbies in the store, this represents their store as a creative outlet for all people.

The Value being appealed to is Community. The commercial shows many people coming as one to Starbucks. The explicit appeals in the commercial describe the many qualities that can be found at Starbucks, including: love, respect, sharing, and more. These appeals are held high to society so by saying that Starbucks also has them, makes them appear trustworthy. Their is no discussion of participation in philanthropic or charitable activities or praising individuals who enact these values in this commercial.

Identification is showcased throughout the commercial because it explores that at Starbucks customers can be themselves by: using technology or sign language to communicate, play games with one another, share, and more. The commercial uses common ground by using real customers and assumed “we” by showcasing Starbucks as a community and inviting anyone and everyone into it. The use of unifying symbols is shown in Starbucks’ logo, their classic green straw, and their coffee cups. The logo is viewed more than five times through out the video and the straw can be seen more than ten times. This is shown as evidence that these customers truly are at Starbucks and that their brand is recognizable by these items. It does not show identification by antithesis.

4. Logos: Use of Claims and Evidence

The evidence represented in the Meet Me at Starbucks commercial is the many customers visiting the store. They act as testimonials which is Inductive reasoning by example. Inductive reasoning by analogy and casual reasoning are not represented in the commercial.

Image from starbucks.com

For my Analysis of Organizational Rhetoric paper, I will be researching a discussing the company Starbucks. Starbucks is a leading coffee chain that contains more than 28,000 stores worldwide. I will be analyzing this company because the majority of the United States population has purchased something from a Starbucks, or at least has some general knowledge of the company, and I feel that because of this success I can succeed from learning some of the organizational rhetoric skills. Based on benefitspro.com, Starbucks’ Human Resource department is one of the top ten best within the United States, I find this interesting because I hope to one day work in the Human Resource department, so finding out how they use rhetoric will benefit me in the future.

The audience of Starbucks is directly coffee drinking adults; however, they have noncoffee items such as hot chocolate and pastries that all adults and children can also enjoy. Knowing Starbucks’ rhetoric will give us a better understanding in how they create a brand that entices us to spend our money and help us to avoid these messages. Personally, learning from their effective rhetoric will allow me showcase similar qualities in my future career in human resources.

A few messages I can already see that Starbucks has are:

• Television and Radio Commercials
• Print and Virtual Advertisements
• Website
• Posters

The mass number of diverse messages allows their brand to reach a broader audience. Each of these medias must be pleasing and catchy to the eye and informative in their own manners, searching for each of these differences will give me a better insight in how different messages can be relayed.

The context for Starbucks is the coffee industry. How does Starbucks continue to be a leading coffee distributor? How do they compete with competitors like Dunkin Donuts and at-home brands like Keurig? Where do they get their coffee beans from and for how much? Answering these questions will allow me to understand how they control the coffee industry in the United States.

Hello and welcome to my Organizational Rhetoric Blog. I am your host, Morgan Pearce. Just to give some brief background on myself: I am a current senior at Longwood University. My major is English with minors in Children’s Literature, Business Administration, and Rhetoric and Professional Writing. It is my goal to work in the Human Resource field, therefore, I am taking minors that will connect with English and Business. Rhetoric and Professional Writing is the perfect connection; Through this minor, I have taken Professional Writing, Technical Writing, Rhetorical Criticism, and Visual Rhetoric.

The purpose of this blog is an interactive project in my English 305: Organizational Rhetoric course that will explore the development and critiques behind organizational messages within corporations, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), trade associations, organizations, locally owned companies, and more. Some organization messages that may occur within these organizations are promoting their identity, managing an issue, resolving a crisis, or recruiting and retaining employees and volunteers. Having the ability to understand organizational messages will allow me make wiser choices as a consumer and to make ethical and effective productions of rhetoric in the organization I work.

This blog will discuss different aspect of Organizational Rhetoric within multiple types of organizations. I am most interested in focusing this form of rhetoric in locally owned businesses.

My intended audience is employees in the Human Resource field. My blog will allow them to implement organizational rhetoric into their work life so that their day will run more efficiently. A few benefits will be: managing issues, resolving problems, and recruiting/retaining employees.

The context of this blog correlates with my desire to work in the Human Resource field and being able to understand symbols and manipulate organizational rhetoric so that businesses run efficiently.