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    Developing the political perspective on technological change through rhetorical analysis

    Symon, Gillian (2008) Developing the political perspective on technological change through rhetorical analysis. Management Communication Quarterly 22 (1), pp. 74-98. ISSN 0893-3189.

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    Abstract

    Rhetorical analysis provides a means through which a political perspective on technological change can be developed at a micro-discursive level. Through the analysis of managers' arguments and counterarguments, this article identifies three rhetorical strategies that negotiate the relationship between the technical and the social: attributing the effects of technology; claiming convergent and divergent interests; and constructing identities for self, groups, and the technology. It argues that a rhetorical approach maintains space for agency on the behalf of employees (through the witcraft of argument) and analytical skepticism concerning the reality of technology properties and effects (through counterargument). In addition, it proposes the concept of the argumentative context as a means of bridging the gap between individual and organizational rhetoric.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    Keyword(s) / Subject(s): politics, argument, rhetoric, technology, organization
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Business and Law > Birkbeck Business School
    Depositing User: Administrator
    Date Deposited: 25 Jan 2011 15:02
    Last Modified: 02 Aug 2023 16:51
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/2077

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