When Is a Solution Not a Solution? Wicked Problems, Hybrid Solutions, and the Rhetoric of Civic Entrepreneurship

Gerding, Jeffrey M.; Vealey, Kyle P.

doi:10.1177/1050651917695538

Cited by 18 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Conversations about entrepreneurship often work in the background to support TPC's focus on communication's critical role in human-centered solutions to wicked problems [21,54]. In addition to work on design thinking [2,50,53], TPC scholarship on entrepreneurship has explored concepts such as pitches [4,29,42]; social and civic entrepreneurship [21,47]; networking [29,35]; and transnational practices [19,56]. Entrepreneurial pedagogy and social justice have largely been taken up in terms of community engagement projects and practices [4,14,24,42,49].…”

Section: Entrepreneurshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Justice and Entrepreneurial Identity

Bay

Ruiz

2020

Proceedings of the 38th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication

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Technical and Professional Communication (TPC) scholarship has embraced a socio-cultural turn that places attention on underrepresented groups and values contexts that house less visible forms of work, process, and organization. We extend this discussion by aligning soft skills with everyday entrepreneurial practices as another route for teaching students social and cultural awareness. We argue this pedagogical shift will help students succeed as communicators to diverse audiences given the demands of today's globally diverse workplace. Cultivating entrepreneurial expertise alongside soft skills can produce students who are more attuned to diversity and inequity, and are able to reshape workplace contexts to be more socially just. We situate entrepreneurs as everyday rhetoricians to demonstrate opportunities to teach students fruitful ways to foster socially attuned communicative practices, thereby contributing to the development of the students' own professional identities. To this end, we present a case study highlighting everyday entrepreneurship framed by participants whose identities are attuned toward social justice. Next, we apply the entrepreneurial values demonstrated by those cases to teaching redefined notions of "soft skills, " which are traditionally seen as a nebulous amalgam of generic rhetorical and communicative skills. We conclude with next steps and pedagogical interventions to help cultivate these entrepreneurial skills among TPC students.

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Section: Entrepreneurshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Justice and Entrepreneurial Identity

Bay

Ruiz

2020

Proceedings of the 38th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication

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“…Furthermore, problem-solving studies have usually relied on the premise that problems are solved during group situations; these studies focus on the processes aimed at solving the problem rather than on the problem itself or on the other functions that problem-related discussions can present to the group or organization. Hence, problem-solving research relying on ad hoc groups does not fully address the needs of organizations, particularly in terms of wicked problems that organizations need to manage or cope with (Carcasson & Sprain, 2016; Gerding & Vealey, 2017). Practically, complex problems are often discussed in groups without the aim of finding a solution, because even if groups cannot solve a problem, it still may need to be addressed to some extent, or at least identified in the first place.…”

Section: Problem Talk (Pt) In Management Group Meetingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Problem Talk in Management Group Meetings

Laapotti

Mikkola

2019

Small Group Research

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This naturalistic study focuses on problem talk (PT) in hospital management group meetings. The study aims to understand how PT constitutes the hospital organization through the different uses of PT within the meetings, and, therefore, to understand the organizing role of these meetings. The communication as constitutive of organization (CCO) perspective forms the theoretical background of the research. The results of the qualitative analysis show that PT comprises many intertwined tasks that aim to perform the meetings, enhance problem solving, and maintain the relational level of group life. Thus, PT is much more than merely solving problems. In PT, problems are discussed from the viewpoints of the group and the organization. Meetings as an institution and as a nonhuman agent affect organizing because they influence both the group’s communication and organizational processes. Future research on groups should develop the use of the CCO concept of nonhuman agency.

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“…They presented the classical concept of enthymeme as an example for rhetorical analysis-"Apple urged consumers to 'Think different' in response to IBM's slogan 'Think'" (p. 92). Gerding and Vealey (2017) analyzed the rhetoric of civil entrepreneurs in a crowd funding case. Their detailed rhetorical analysis of crowd funding showed how to persuade or motivate investors and solve problems.…”

Section: Neo-aristotelian Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Business corporations play an important role as participants more attention to the rhetorical criticism of the business leaders' public speeches. Several researches have examined the academic domain and impact of corporate rhetoric (Conrad, 2003;Deetz, 1992;May, Cheney, & Roper, 2007), and more recently, others have investigated the theories and practice of the rhetoric of entrepreneurs (Gerding & Vealey, 2017;Jones, 2017;Spinuzzi, 2017). Some researchers have critically discussed the proper role of corporate rhetoric in public decision-making (Matten & Crane, 2005;Morrison, 2003;Saiia & Cyphert, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating Rhetorical Criticism into Business Communication as an Interdisciplinary Approach

Lee¹

2019

Bus. Commun. Res. Pract.

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Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to suggest integrating rhetorical analysis and criticism into business communication research and pedagogy. Rhetorical analysis and criticism on public addresses of business leaders can provide important insights into the political and social issues of the community and the economic impact of the participants. Such an analysis would contribute to the development of communication scholarship taking place at the intersection of business communication, rhetoric, and society. Methods: This paper reviews articles on the rhetoric of business leaders published in business communication journals (e.g., Journal of Business Communication, Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, Management Communication Quarterly, Journal of Business and Technical Communication, Technical Communication Quarterly). It examines the purpose of rhetorical criticism in business communication and discusses popular criticism methods. Among the various perspectives on rhetorical criticism in the field of speech communication, this stduy discusses three commonly adopted methods -Neo-Aristotelian criticism, Genre Criticism, and Narrative criticism. Results: Studies on the rhetorical criticism of speeches of business leaders are not systematically integrated into business communication education and research. Rhetorical critics of speech communication are more interested in public speeches by prominent politicians or social leaders, while business communication scholars are more concerned with rhetorical theory and pedagogy. Conclusions: Integrating rhetorical criticism into business communication as an interdisciplinary approach infuses a new approach that goes beyond the domains of contemporary research and pedagogy. Integrating rhetorical criticism into business communication not only improves the quality of discourse in business society but also tests and modifies both the theory and practice of corporate rhetoric.

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When Is a Solution Not a Solution? Wicked Problems, Hybrid Solutions, and the Rhetoric of Civic Entrepreneurship

Cited by 18 publications

References 18 publications

Social Justice and Entrepreneurial Identity

Social Justice and Entrepreneurial Identity

Problem Talk in Management Group Meetings

Integrating Rhetorical Criticism into Business Communication as an Interdisciplinary Approach

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