Negotiation in business meetings

Dannerer, Monika

doi:10.1075/cilt.214.08dan

“…Due to the lack of exploration of genres in multilingual settings such as multinationals, particular genres of spoken communication were selected based on workplace discourse in recent years (see Bargiela-Chiappini, 2004 for a historical overview of the evolution of the field of spoken discourse). The genre of meetings was selected because they have been identified as important in workplace studies in general due to their central role in management within organisations (Boden, 1994;Tracey & Dimock, 2004; see also Wasson, 2000;Dannerer, 2001;Bennington et al, 2003;Holmes & Stubbe, 2003;Marra, 2003Marra, , 2008Vine, 2004;Chan, 2007). Other genres of spoken genres were chosen based on recent workplace communication research (Presentations, Barbara et al 1996;Nair-Venugopal, 2001;Bramford, 2007;Bowker, 2007;telephone conversations, Sifianou, 1989;Halamari, 1993;Planken, 2005;Loos, 2007;informal communication, Morais, 1998;Goldstein, 2001;Holmes, 2000;Holmes & Stubbe, 2003.…”

Section: Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Language Policy in Multilingual Workplaces: Management, Practices and Beliefs in Banks in Luxembourg.

Kingsley¹

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For decades the primary focus of language policy research has been activities by states and their agencies, while language policy activities in workplaces have attracted little attention. Addressing this gap, explicit and implicit dimensions of language policies are investigated in financial institutions operating in the globalised context of international banking in multilingual Luxembourg. Three complementary theoretical frameworks are used to extend language policy research to include not just explicit aspects of language policy (language policy statements), but also implicit aspects (the language practices and beliefs of a community). Spolsky's (2004) theory is used to identify and analyse three components of language policy (management, practices and beliefs); Language Management Theory (LMT) (Jernudd and Neustupny, 1987) is used to explore one specific component of language policy (management), and Shohamy's (2006) framework is used to explore the complex interaction between management, practices and beliefs. The data base for the study comprised two phases: the first phase involved interviews with managers in ten Luxembourg banks regarding language policy, followed in the second phase by questionnaires and focus-group discussions with employees from three case study banks regarding language use and beliefs. This empirical data suggests that even in banks where English has been formalised as the working language, multilingual mechanisms (recruitment and language courses) contribute to employees' practices effectively creating, a top-down multilingual implicit (de facto) policy. The data from international banks in Luxembourg suggests that a flexible approach to language management is useful in workplaces where communication is complex, multi-faceted and dynamic. The bottom-up perspective indicates that employees at international banks use English as a lingua franca (ELF) alongside other languages, negotiating language choice across speech communities and linguistic repertoires, for transactional and relational purposes. These multilingual employees highly value English as the most common language in banks for including and involving all, highlighting its vital role in banks. Because the data provides a strong argument for the consideration of both top down and bottom up perspectives, the results have theoretical significance for our understanding of language policy. Overall, this thesis provides insights into the complex nature of language policy in multilingual workplaces, including the importance of both top-down and bottom-up pressures on language practices, the crucial role of ELF and the relevance of attitudes towards ELF and other languages at local and global levels of management.

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“…They include decision making (Yeung 2000;Huisman 2001;Marra 2003); negotiating (Dannerer 2001;Bennington et al 2003), common agreement (Barnes 2007), questions in meetings (Ford 2010), topic management (Bargiela-Chiappini 1997aHanak 1998;Du-Babcock 1999), management of meetings (Linde 1991), and turn-taking (Boden 1994, Kjaerbeck 1998Larrue & Trognan 1993;Silva 1994). However, in addition to the transactional goals, meetings also serve a relational function.…”

Section: Meetings From a Relational Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Relational Practice in Meeting Discourse in New Zealand and Japan: A Cross-Cultural Study

Murata¹

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This thesis explores Relational Practice in meetings in New Zealand and Japan, focussing in particular on small talk and humour which can be considered exemplary relational strategies. It examines these two areas of Relational Practice, firstly in terms of their manifestations in New Zealand and Japanese meetings, and secondly in terms of the ways they are perceived in the context of business meetings. This research takes a qualitative approach to the data analysis and employs a neo-Politeness approach to the analysis, a modified version of standard Politeness Theory. The concepts of Relational Practice and community of practice also proved to be of fundamental value in the analysis. Two kinds of data were collected: firstly meeting data from 16 authentic business meetings recorded in business organisations in New Zealand and Japan (nine from a New Zealand company and seven from a Japanese company). Secondly, perception data was collected in Japan using extended focus group interviews with Japanese business people (a total of six groups from three business organisations). The research involves a contrastive study using interactional sociolinguistic analytic techniques to examine manifestations of small talk and humour in meeting data collected in different contexts. The first phase of the study is cross-cultural, comparing meetings in New Zealand and Japan, and adopting a combined etic-emic approach. The second phase of the study analyses and compares the use of small talk and humour in different types of meetings, i.e. formal meetings (known as kaigi in Japanese) and informal meetings (known as uchiawase/miitingu in Japanese) in New Zealand and Japan. A further aim is to explore how Japanese business people perceive New Zealand meeting behaviours in relation to small talk and humour and to consider what might influence people‘s perceptions of these aspects of relational talk. The analysis of the authentic meeting data indicates that the important role of Relational Practice at work is recognised in both New Zealand and Japanese meetings, although the data also highlights potentially important differences in manifestation according to the community of practice and the type of meetings. The data demonstrates that Relational Practice is constructed among meeting members discursively and dynamically across the communities of practice and the kinds of meetings. The analysis of the perception data indicates that while Japanese business people do not have identical evaluations of the manifestation of any particular discourse strategy, their perceptions are mostly similar if they work in the same workplace. The data also demonstrates that the participants‘ international business experience influences their perceptions. Furthermore the analysis indicates that manifestations of small talk and humour in New Zealand meetings are not necessarily evaluated by the Japanese business people in the same or similar way as by New Zealand people. Through both the analysis of the meeting and perception data, this study indicates that people‘s linguistic behaviours and perceptions regarding Relational Practice are influenced not only by underlying expectations of their community of practice but also by those of the wider society in which the community of practice is positioned.

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“…They include decision making (Yeung 2000;Huisman 2001;Marra 2003); negotiating (Dannerer 2001;Bennington et al 2003), common agreement (Barnes 2007), questions in meetings (Ford 2010), topic management (Bargiela-Chiappini 1997aHanak 1998;Du-Babcock 1999), management of meetings (Linde 1991), and turn-taking (Boden 1994, Kjaerbeck 1998Larrue & Trognan 1993;Silva 1994). However, in addition to the transactional goals, meetings also serve a relational function.…”

Section: Meetings From a Relational Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Relational Practice in Meeting Discourse in New Zealand and Japan: A Cross-Cultural Study

Murata¹

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This thesis explores Relational Practice in meetings in New Zealand and Japan, focussing in particular on small talk and humour which can be considered exemplary relational strategies. It examines these two areas of Relational Practice, firstly in terms of their manifestations in New Zealand and Japanese meetings, and secondly in terms of the ways they are perceived in the context of business meetings. This research takes a qualitative approach to the data analysis and employs a neo-Politeness approach to the analysis, a modified version of standard Politeness Theory. The concepts of Relational Practice and community of practice also proved to be of fundamental value in the analysis. Two kinds of data were collected: firstly meeting data from 16 authentic business meetings recorded in business organisations in New Zealand and Japan (nine from a New Zealand company and seven from a Japanese company). Secondly, perception data was collected in Japan using extended focus group interviews with Japanese business people (a total of six groups from three business organisations). The research involves a contrastive study using interactional sociolinguistic analytic techniques to examine manifestations of small talk and humour in meeting data collected in different contexts. The first phase of the study is cross-cultural, comparing meetings in New Zealand and Japan, and adopting a combined etic-emic approach. The second phase of the study analyses and compares the use of small talk and humour in different types of meetings, i.e. formal meetings (known as kaigi in Japanese) and informal meetings (known as uchiawase/miitingu in Japanese) in New Zealand and Japan. A further aim is to explore how Japanese business people perceive New Zealand meeting behaviours in relation to small talk and humour and to consider what might influence people‘s perceptions of these aspects of relational talk. The analysis of the authentic meeting data indicates that the important role of Relational Practice at work is recognised in both New Zealand and Japanese meetings, although the data also highlights potentially important differences in manifestation according to the community of practice and the type of meetings. The data demonstrates that Relational Practice is constructed among meeting members discursively and dynamically across the communities of practice and the kinds of meetings. The analysis of the perception data indicates that while Japanese business people do not have identical evaluations of the manifestation of any particular discourse strategy, their perceptions are mostly similar if they work in the same workplace. The data also demonstrates that the participants‘ international business experience influences their perceptions. Furthermore the analysis indicates that manifestations of small talk and humour in New Zealand meetings are not necessarily evaluated by the Japanese business people in the same or similar way as by New Zealand people. Through both the analysis of the meeting and perception data, this study indicates that people‘s linguistic behaviours and perceptions regarding Relational Practice are influenced not only by underlying expectations of their community of practice but also by those of the wider society in which the community of practice is positioned.

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Negotiation in business meetings

Cited by 40 publications

References 0 publications

Language Policy in Multilingual Workplaces: Management, Practices and Beliefs in Banks in Luxembourg.

Language Policy in Multilingual Workplaces: Management, Practices and Beliefs in Banks in Luxembourg.

Relational Practice in Meeting Discourse in New Zealand and Japan: A Cross-Cultural Study

Relational Practice in Meeting Discourse in New Zealand and Japan: A Cross-Cultural Study

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