ABSTRACT
This work provides an exceptional case study, shedding light onto the functioning of an actual corporate board of directors. It presents analysis of a series of corporate management meetings shown in the 1974 documentary film, Corporation: After Mr. Sam. The film chronicles the discussion and communication processes as a company considers how to replace its president, and it serves as a unique opportunity for analysis of real-world organizational discourse.
With an impressive list of prominent contributors, Interacting and Organizing: Analyses of a Management Meeting employs the dual perspectives of organizational communication and language and social interaction (LSI) to examine the film. It is arranged around specific topics, analyzed separately by organizational communication and LSI scholars. Editor François Cooren provides an introduction for each topic, and a comparison and synthesis conclude each part. Readers will appreciate the information presented, as it is an arena typically off-limits to outside eyes. The transcript of the film is included as an appendix to the volume.
This volume is appropriate for use in advanced courses and seminars in organizational communication, LSI, management, and organizational behavior. With its distinctive approach to studying the film's content, it will be invaluable to scholars, researchers, and graduate students in organizational communication, LSI, and management.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|71 pages
Leadership and Speakership
chapter 2|21 pages
Enacting the Institutional Role of Chairperson in Upper Management Meetings
part II|54 pages
Organizing and Emotional Display
part III|6 pages
Strategies of Decision Making
chapter 7|29 pages
“We Ought to Have … Gumption …”:
part IV|98 pages
Can We Study Interactions in Documentaries? Ways of Talking, Closure, and Data