Managerial elites making rhetorical and linguistic ‘moves’ for a moving (emotional) display

Abstract

This article contributes to sociological studies of emotions in organizations. It resides upon an innovative move to extend the ethnographic approach to include audio-recording, in this case managerial elites’ naturally occurring interactions, to provide the basis for an ‘empirical filling out’ of emotions research. Furthermore, theoretically to develop this field in ways that encompass the simultaneous speaking of emotionality and rationality, Nash’s account of rhetoric as emotion is drawn upon. In particular, the four discursive constituents which orators are said to need for ‘moving an audience’ are deployed to analytically trace how elites intertwine emotional expressiveness and a rhetoric of rationality to influence management/strategic processes. These four constituents are empathetic matter/great theme, stance, utterance design ( taxis) and utterance relation ( lexis). Three brief transcribed extracts of elites-at-talk are reproduced from one ethnography to illustrate the scope of a fine-grained analysis of elites’ assembly of emotional displays – two are abstracted from the ebband-flow of interaction to illustrate everyday ‘mini-speeches’ of ‘great’ oratory and the third specifically illustrates the intricate nature of inter action revealing the ways emotion can be likened to a ‘barometer of moral and relational ethics’.

Emotional Dynamics and Strategizing Processes: A Study of Strategic Conversations in Top Team Meetings

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“…Westley, ). Relatively rare, however, are explorations of the role of emotion (Jarzabkowski and Spee, ; Samra‐Fredericks, , ). This gap is important because discourse in general, and strategy‐as‐discourse in particular, is inherently emotional (Harré and Gillett, ; Mangham, ; Perinbanayagam, ).…”

Placing Strategy Discourse in Context: Sociomateriality, Sensemaking, and Power

“…Samra‐Fredericks (, , ) and Whittle et al. () highlight the potential of CA to explore order as ‘ accomplished “in and through details of on‐going, irremediably situated production of order in particular settings” ’ (Samra‐Fredericks, , drawing on Jayyusi, , p. 235, emphasis added).…”

Working identities? Antagonistic discursive resources and managerial identity

“…Especially salient in our case were the stories that actors oriented to regarding their putative obligations to the business and to its people (including their selves). Various studies have illustrated how managers may draw on a 'grandiose discourse on management' to emphasize the importance of organizational survival (Sveningsson & Alvesson, 2003: 1187, and to cast themselves as 'saviours', essential for the continued success of their organization (Floyd & Wooldridge, 1997;Gratton et al, 1999;Lukes, 1974;Samra-Fredericks, 2004). The survival of organizations is frequently represented by managers as vital for its personnel and others who have what Watson (2001) has termed 'side bets' in its long-term future, and is often a convenient discursive resource used to rationalize decisions and actions.…”