Browsing by Author "Van der Merwe, Joanie"
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- ItemThe discursive construction of the concepts organisational communication and organisational culture in a merged South African company(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014-12) Van der Merwe, Joanie; Oostendorp, Marcelyn; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study investigates the manner in which the concept of communication is discursively constructed in a South African insurance company. The company recently underwent a merger which, according to the literature, should increase its awareness of communicative practices. The thesis builds on recent theoretical developments in organisational studies, more specifically, the linguistic turn. The focus falls on the way in which organisational communication is constructed by implementing the analytical tools of thematic analysis and discourse analysis. All of the participants in this study were involved with the merger that the company underwent. The sample of twenty-three participants included eighteen employees who took part in an electronic survey questionnaire and five employees who were individually interviewed. Additionally, documents concerning the merger were analysed to reveal the way in which the company’s organisational communication is constructed by managers. During the data collection, participants were questioned about their perspectives of organisational communication and organisational culture with regard to the merger. The data strongly shows that communication is generally not considered an important aspect in an organisation during the merging process. Interestingly, when participants’ attention is, however, drawn to specifically the concept of communication, a mechanistic view of communication is presented with only selected communicative practices considered as ‘communication’. The analysis further indicates changing communicative practices in the newly merged company. In conclusion, this study argues that organisations, especially in a merging context, can benefit from a greater awareness regarding the importance of organisational communication. Further linguistic research in the form of organisational studies in this regard is suggested.