Writing In An Emerging Organization: An Ethnographic Study (Doheny-Farina)

Doheny-Farina, S. “Writing In An Emerging Organization: An Ethnographic Study.” Written Communication (1986): 158-185. PDF.

Two research questions:

1.      How do social and organizational contexts influence writing?

2.      How does writing influence those organizations?

Ideally, the primary object of student would be a larger and more varied culmination of organizations. However, in actuality, the secondary object of study happens to be Microware, Inc., which is a business that is one year after conception and has 25 employees. Because this organization only falls under the umbrella of all organizations, this study is not viably generalizable.

Theortical Assumptions

-          Rhetorical disclosure is situated in time and place

-          The rhetor conceives of these situational factors through interaction with people, events and objects

-          The researcher attempts to explore human interaction as it is evident in social and cultural settings

-          A microscopic investigation of important parts of a culture can elicit an understanding of the culture

-          Individuals act on the basis of the meanings that they attribute

-          Researchers seek diverse interpretations because any act can have multiple meanings

-          Researcher is the primary research instrument and must play a dual role

The Setting

-          Microware, Inc. is a company that is one year old with approximately 25 full time employees. The company was built to help spawn new high-technology companies

Data Collection

-          Visits to the company by the researcher occurred 3-5 times per week for approximately 8 months, with each visit lasting from 1-8 hours

-          Most data was collected during formal and informal staff meetings in offices, hallways, and open areas in two different buildings

-          The key informants were the top five executives, two middle managers, and two outside consultants

-          Data collected in four ways

o   Field notes – observational, theoretical, methodological

o   Tape-recorded meetings

o   Open-ended interviews

o   Discourse-based interviews

§  one version modeled after Odell, Goswami, Herrington

§  second version was adapted (collected drafts of writing from first to final)

Data Analysis

-          Reviewed data chronologically, then established analytical categories and properties of the categories

-          In general, describes the writing of an important company document, which was Microware’s 1983 Business Plan

-          This analysis explains the relationship between the writing of a Business Plan and the organizational context within which it was written.

The basis of information used as theory in this study is that our perceptions of writing, whether they be problems or crisis, are dominated by our knowledge of academic writing. Additionally, the theory is based on that this ideal binds the intellectual and social significance of writing.

One section that contains generalization specifically addresses the typicality of the results. For example, the article states that themes that affected rhetorical choices also influenced other aspects of the company’s operation. This is a generalization because it attempts to define how all people in the department relate one thing to another.