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Hannah Cox
ENC1102 B001
July 7, 2014
Genre Analysis
Amy Devitt, Anis Bawarshi, and Mary Jo Reiff, professors of writing and co-authors of
Materiality and Genre in the Study of Discourse Communities suggest that Genres are
rhetorical maps that chart familiar or frequently traveled communicative paths and provide
guideposts as writers adapt to unfamiliar academic terrain and study parts of society beyond the
classroom (Devitt, Bawarshi and Reiff, pg 14) In other words, we use genre to communicate in
unfamiliar situations. Genres can also be used to describe actions that happen in certain
rhetorical situations. Within a discourse community, there are certain languages and a sort of
lexis that only people in that community really understand. This can create conflict between the
community and people outside of it. Devitt used the example of politics and the voting process.
She explained that although the creators of the ballots try to put explanations of the amendments
and put words in a simpler from for the non-experts to understand, there still is a gap between the
two simply because it is almost always impossible to understand language inside of a discourse
community unless you become a part of it .(Devitt pg 4)
The purpose of this paper is to understand the context and genre of layoff notices that are
distributed via hand delivery from the Human Resource Department of companies. Each notice I
will be discussing is from a very different company/business than the other two. Layoff notice
one comes from a company called Ericsson. Layoff notice number two comes from a company
called Interpath and layoff notice number three comes from the Hamburg Central School
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District. All three have many similarities but also many differences resulting from their genre
and individual discourse communities.
Setting
Finding these articles proved to be difficult. Finding layoff notice templates and examples was
simple, but finding actual layoff notices brought trouble. This is reasonable because layoff
notices are personal and confidential so it would not be acceptable for a business to post
someones layoff notice online. That could bring lawsuits and other ordeals if permission was
not granted by the employee. From an employee perspective, I also would not want to post my
layoff notice online because it is personal and not something most people are proud of.
I gathered my articles from google. Each article comes from a different company. As I
stated above, Ericsson, Interpath and Hamburg School District all have layoff notices that Im
analyzing in this paper. It is safe to say that these articles were not posted online by the
employers, but rather by websites that leak these types of documents. For example, the layoff
notice from Hamburg School District came from a blog that talks about school district ethics. It
cannot be assumed that the recipient of the notice did not post this to the blog because it is
possible that the ex-employee was angry and felt that the layoff was unethical of the school
district. The other two documents that I am analyzing also came from similar sources and the
same can be assumed. Whether it was an ex-employee posting the notice or an angered citizen
that got ahold of the notice, it is notable that they are being posted online in anger or discontent.
This is assumable because pf the websites people can retrieve them from.
Topic
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The topic of these articles is implied. They are used to inform an employee of an
upcoming layoff period and that they could possibly be included in the layoffs or just that the
employee is being let go. These layoff notices are a popular element of the business world
today. Employers will issue these letters instead of holding a one-on-one meeting in which they
will inform the employee of a possible/definite layoff. In most layoff situations, it is not only one
employee being let go, therefore it has become easier for the employer to issue notices via paper
instead of holding multiple one-on-ones. It is safe to say that this genre is most certainly the
result of the rhetorical situation of letting go large numbers at one time. It has become more of a
convenience to do things this way and so it has evolved to this form of letting people go. A
common theme that I was able to identify among all three of my documents (1, 2, and 3) was that
they were all hand-delivered. It is assumed that this is because the company wants the
employees to feel like they are important and that they do care about them. It is less personal to
receive a fax, email, letter via mail, etc. than to receive something delivered right to your desk.
The employers might feel like they are softening the blow a little bit, although that is debatable.
Seeing this common trend among the documents, you can infer that events in the past resulted in
this form of delivery. Complaints, hard-feelings, etc. Whatever the reasoning may be, it is certain
that this technique is unique to its genre and from a rhetorical situation.
Participants
There are not many people who are invited to participate in this document. It is clear that
the document is for the employer and the employee that is receiving the document to see only. It
is a private document and cannot be shared without permission from the employee whose name
is on it. In a layoff situation, it is a conversation between an employee from a higher position and
the one who is getting let-go. In order to comprehend these letters, one must possess a basic form
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of literacy. The letters do not involve complex words or phrases, however, they do include
language that might only be understood by members of the discourse community. Words such as
bumping rights, PTO, and transition pay are all words and phrases that people outside of this
discourse community may not have ever heard in their lifetime. So, those who are invited to
participate must have a basic understanding of the language in their discourse community,
otherwise the layoff notice might confuse them. Another participant that could be considered is
the head of the Human Resources department of the company. Another common feature among
all of my documents is a section at the very end dedicated to making the employees feel more
than welcome to talk with the H.R department to discuss any issues, comments or questions. It
includes a phone number and an email address. With this feature, employees can feel like they
are able to communicate with higher-ups about anything they feel is necessary in regards to this
layoff. It is reasonable to assume that the head of the H.R department more than likely receives
quite a few questions, comments, or concerns from former employees, as this is a very difficult
period in someones life. It is never easy to cope with the loss of a job, and many questions and
concerns certainly accompany that.
Features
Although all three of my sources are from extremely different places and companies, they
all possess quite a few common characteristics. I touched on a few earlier in the analysis: letter
form, hand delivered, a section dedicated to contacting someone with any questions or concerns,
etc. But there are a few other aspects that link them all together under one genre. All three
documents address the employee by saying; Dear,. All three also include a signature and contact
information for the person who wrote the letter. The information in the body of each document
varies, though. In document one, the explanation for termination involves the companies need to
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establish fiscally appropriate management practices (doc 1) It also Includes the date of
termination and what the employee will be eligible for; including information on an attached
packet that further explains these benefits. This document also encourages employees to contact
a certain person with feedback.
Document two explains in the body that the reason for termination is budget issues. It
also includes the termination date and a section explaining what is next (i.e. benefits,
opportunities, etc.). Different from both document one and three, this document includes
information on how the school district will assist them in finding a new job by assisting with
resume writing, writing recommendations, and many other accommodations. They give the
employee an opportunity to opt out of this service by including a section at the bottom that they
fill out and send back in, either accepting or declining the help. I found this very interesting, as
the other two documents did not have this service. The employer does not want the employee to
feel lost, or dissatisfied with their employment in the school district or as a teacher. It is a
difficult field to work in with the continually shrinking budgets and pay cuts, the employer wants
them to continue their career as a teacher and wants to offer them as much help as possible.
Document three explains the reason of termination to be the network rollout of a new
program that will eliminate jobs. This document also includes the termination date and explains
what to do next(benefits, etc.) and it also encourages employees to seek employment elsewhere,
as this company will be hard to get another position with for some reason or another. It also
states that seniority will not and has not been a factor in the layoff decision and gives the
employee a chance to contact the head of the H.R department with any questions or concerns, as
did the other letters.
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All three documents looked the same, they included the company logo and were all
written and printed in black and white ink with only words, except the logo. None included
highlighted or bolded sections. More than likely because they wanted the employee to feel that
the whole document was of equal importance. No color or pictures to the document makes it
look more professional, as this is a very professional situation that should be handled by both the
employee and employer with utmost respect and maturity. It might not be taken as seriously if
the writer included pretty text, color and pictures in the letter. It is a serious situation as someone
is losing their job and source of income so to some, an unprofessional document might be
offending. There are many explanations to the reasoning of the layout of the letter, but, I feel the
one word that describes it best is: professional.
Conclusion
The genre of layoff notices in the community of business management and human
resource management involves a ton of language and paperwork specific to the community. This
genre of layoff notices is a specific document used specifically in the business world to inform
employees of their termination from the company. Rhetorical situations have led to the use of
these forms of communication, as well as the information provided in it. Although all three
documents are very different information wise, they follow a specific pattern and share many
similar features. But, each document comes from a different source, all with different reasons for
the terminations and different resources used to handle it. These things are specific to a smaller
community of the exact company that the letter is coming from. Analyzing and reading these
documents and some of the terminology used in them proves the gap between those in the
profession and those outside of it. Even within the company there could be a gap, between the
higher-ups and the ones being let-go. The employees being let go may not understand some of
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the terminology nor may they understand the reasoning listed. Genre and discourse communities
have clear qualities to them that are not achievable by those outside of it simply because of the
fact that they do not use those words or phrases.
















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Works Cited
Devitt, Amy, Anis Bawarshi, and Mary Jo Reiff. "Materiality and Genre in the Study of
Discourse Communities." Diss. 2003. College English 65.5 (2003): n. pag. Print.
Document one:


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Document two:

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Document three: