Organizational Rhetoric

1. What larger social/public issue (if any) is it dealing with? What is the message conveyed about that issue?
2. Which method would you need to choose to analyze these kinds of messages? Ideology critique? Cultural criticism? Feminist criticism? Others? Why? This is something you need to determine based on the nature of the social/political implications of your selected artifacts.
3. Based on your viewing of its rhetorical artifacts so far: How do your selected organization’s messages reflect its interests? What more do you expect to find out in this regard?
4. Who are the audiences? What are the implications of your selected organization’s rhetoric for individual audience members?
5. What assumptions are made about the organization, its members, other stakeholders, and society in general?
6. How is visual rhetoric (images) employed in this process? What do those images say about the organization or other groups?
7. Whose interests are represented by the organization’s messages?
8. Hoffman and Ford suggest that critical approaches to organizational rhetoric hope to reform “social order to enhance more equitable choices” (101). What would your specific hope be as a result of people’s reading and application of your analysis? What will you be directing attention to? Will you call anybody to action? Think about the possible things that your analysis might do for different groups of individuals in a society.

Due by 4:00 p.m. on September 12th

*All students should complete all blog post assignments. Brittany and John will present their responses to this particular post for class discussion on the 19th.

Before completing this posting, make sure you have read Chapter 3 in our textbook.

In order to systematically describe the rhetorical situation of your selected artifacts, please answer the following questions based on information that you already know or have gathered through research about your selected organization–and the particular rhetorical artifacts (or a particular promotional campaign) that you have identified in order to analyze your selected organization’s rhetoric.

Please enumerate your responses as in the following.

1. Exigencies: What elements in the rhetorical situation appear to be challenges or opportunities for the organization? Is there an imperfection or an opportunity? Was it anticipated or unanticipated? Is it marked by urgency? What are some options for how organizational rhetors might frame the elements?
2. Audiences: What types of audiences seem to be the most appropriate target in the situation –  enabling, functional, normative, or diffused? What are the characteristics of or interest of members of these audiences?
3. Constraints and Assets: What things might make it more difficult or easier for the organization to answer the exigencies? Are there pre-existing beliefs, attitudes or values, or past rhetoric or experiences that will affect how the message is interpreted by audiences?
4. Rhetorical Situations: Is the rhetorical situation similar to any of the types of situations that occur with regularity in organizations (identity, issues, risk, crisis, or internal)? Select which one seems to be more prominent in your selected organization. This will eventually determine the focus of your discussion of this organization’s rhetoric.

Due by 4:00 p.m. on September 12th

*All students should complete all blog post assignments. Savannah and John will present their responses to this particular post for class discussion on the 12th.

After reading and understanding Chapter 2, make sure you have identified the organization you want to analyze for your Analysis of Organizational Rhetoric paper. Complete this posting with that organization in mind.

Select one rhetorical artifact that somehow communicates a message from this organization; this artifact could be the organization’s official website, a video promoting the organization or one of its projects, a TV commercial promoting its products/services, and so on. You should choose only one artifact at this time. The artifact should be accessible online; embed the video or image or document in your blog post or provide a link to it.

To describe the rhetorical strategies in the artifact you have selected, identify and give examples of statements that fall into the following areas:

1. Medium of Delivery: What form is the rhetoric presented in (website, promotional video, TV commercial, press release, others)?

2. Ethos: Appeals to Organizational Credibility

-Competence

-Community

3. Pathos: Appeals to Emotions

-Needs: Identify the need being created or appealed to

-Values: Identify the value being appealed to

-Values advocacy

–Explicit appeals to values

–Demonstration of how products or services uphold values

–Discussion of philanthropic activities consistent with values

–Praise of individuals who embody values

-Identification

–Common ground

–Assumed “we”

–By antithesis

–Unifying symbols

4. Logos: Use of Claims and Evidence

-Claims

-Evidence

–Statistics

–Testimony

–Examples

-Reasoning

–Inductive reasoning

—>By example

—>By analogy

—>Causal reasoning

–Deductive reasoning 

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REMINDERS FOR THOSE WHO ARE SCHEDULED TO SHARE THEIR BLOG POST:

If you are scheduled to share your blog post and talk about it on 9/12, you should also check ‘Blog Post Sharing Schedule’ on our Canvas/Home site; the document includes expectations for your presentation. Below is a copy I am providing once. Remember that you should encourage and be available for a class discussion after your presentation so it will be your responsibility to encourage conversation with your peers in order for you and them to receive presentation/participation points. I might also help further our conversation on your posting.

Procedures:

You will individually deliver a 10- to 15-minute presentation of their own blog post due on the scheduled day. The class will then discuss various aspects of the student’s blog post.

While all class members will make the assigned posting by the blog post due dates listed below, if you are on the schedule for sharing your posting, you will also be responsible for presenting your post’s content to the class and then engaging in a discussion with your classmates about the aspects and implications of your posting (answer questions, respond to feedback, etc). Instructor may also engage in the discussion and will note participation on both sides (the effectiveness of your presentation and classmates’ participation/response as audience members).

To engage your classmates in a discussion, at the end of your presentation, check in with the listeners’ for any questions that you should address and then present to them a few discussion questions to get their viewpoints. Instructor may ask further questions to continue the discussion. Your participation points will be based on how clearly you present the blog content and how effectively your blog post answered the Instructor’s prompts as well as your discussion with the class.