Last update:
2 September 2010
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Getting Things Done at WorkThe discourse of power in workplace interaction
2004. x, 278 pp.
Publishing status: Available
Hardbound
– In stock
978 90 272 5366 8 / EUR 95.00 978 1 58811 521 8 / USD 143.00
e-Book
– Available from e-book platforms
The linguistic study of workplace language is a new and exciting area of research. This book explores the expression of power in a New Zealand workplace through examination of 52 everyday interactions between four women and their colleagues. The main focus of this research is the expression of three types of "control acts", i.e., directives, requests and advice. The women include two managers who demonstrate an interactive participative style of management. They tend to minimise rather than exert power, although their status is still evident in their speech.
The study is original in its combination of a quantitative and a qualitative approach, as well as in its combination of a detailed categorisation of head acts and an analysis of context and role relationships. Through the design of the study and the methodology used, the results which are brought forward challenge earlier research both on power and control acts. The data analyzed is drawn from the Wellington Language in the Workplace Project.
Table of contents
“The book, based on V's dissertation, focuses primarily on the use of 'control' speech acts [...], between managers and staff in a New Zealand workplace. The book presents a detailed and useful account of how such control acts and their modifications function in this environment.”
Jennifer N. Garland, University of California, Santa Barbara
“[...] Vine's book is an example of careful, meticulous and scholarly research. [...] Vine's study provides us with a clear and detailed account of some ways in which a linguist approaches the corporate world. In so doing she expands the possibilities and potential approaches of women in management research.”
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Communication Studies