ASSIGNMENT for Argumentation and Rhetoric in the

Organizational Environment

2014-2016 cohort, MBA, 1st year, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration
Dunrea de Jos University of Galai, Romania
Anca G, Professor, & Gabriela SCRIPNIC, Associate Professor
The goal of this assignment is to make a presentation of a companys CSR objectives
and achievements as reflected in their CSR report. Your presentation may be in
Powerpoint or in a Word document, as it seems most convenient to you. It is advisable
to draft it as a word document and then transfer it into a .PPT document. There is no
inconvenience if you present it as Word document.
You may wish to:
follow the plan given below;
make any necessary modifications to this plan;
use the information provided during the seminar on figures of speech,
standpoints, fallacies, argumentation techniques and rhetorical strategies;
include graphic representations, pictures, screen prints, to illustrate the various
points you are making.
Timing: The oral presentation itself should not last more than 7 minutes.
Structure: The most important part of the presentation is given in yellow in the plan
provided.
Main questions to be answered in the Discussion section and in the
Conclusions of your presentation:
What appears to be the organizations goals for the message?
Which rhetorical (persuasive) language and action strategies is
the organization using to achieve its goal?
Does the rhetoric seem well designed to meet its goal?
What is the organization not saying?
What voices may be marginalized by the organizations message?
To the extent it is possible to judge independently of the
organization, what does the organization appear to be up to?
Does the organization appear to be wielding its influence fairly
and ethically?
ALTERNATIVE
You may wish to turn this assignment into a presentation of the main rhetorical
strategies used b a company on its website to introduce itself to customers and the
larger category of stakeholders. In this case, you will have to adapt the plan. You will
no longer take up the issue of CSR specifically, but you may include it under other
aspects dealt with. Your goal will be to make a presentation of the strategies used on
the website to build the image and the brand through specific elements of website
design. You will try to answer quite the same questions by:
o a rhetorical analysis of the website in point of ethos, pathos, and logos (text,
graphics and their combination throughout)
o highlighting elements of multimodality (text, graphics, hyperlinks, interactional
elements, specific devices available on the website to communicate with the
stakeholders).

INDICATIVE PLAN
Introduction

Association of text and graphics

I.
What is a CSR report?
Discussion. The Rhetoric of the CSR
Social responsibility
Report
The CSR report
II.
Presentation of the company
V.
Ethos / Credibility
Past, Present and Future (geography)
Is the company socially legitimized?
Products
competence
III.
Structure of the CSR Report
sharing values with the
IV.
Analysis of the CSR Report
community
Audience of the CSR Report - Stakeholders
VI.
Pathos
Customers
needs and values
Employees
explicitly mentioned values
Investors
explicit mention of shared
Shareholders
values
Policymakers
discourse strategies used to
Activists
express the companys
Analysts
commitment to the set of values
Suppliers
brought to the fore
Targets of the CSR Report
VII.
Organization (topical, spatial,
Environmental care
chronological, problem-solution)
Preoccupations for Employees
VIII. Style (text and images)
Product Quality
Associations
Use of Money and Financial Benefits
Comparisons: resemblance and
Strategy and Future Plans
contrast
Bolstering & self promotion
Metaphor
Bolstering = a way of building up the
Antithesis
status or credibility of the organization
Language choices
Text
Assumed WE
Graphics
IX.
Delivery
Bolstering through text
format
Financial wealth
length
Financial statement / disclosure
font used
Facts
Figures
Conclusions
Human development / progress
Facts
X.
Define the ideology of the
Figures
company
Health and well being
XI.
What is more / less important for
Facts
the company?
Figures
XII.
Which audience seems more /
Historical events
less important to the company?
Geographical areas
XIII.
Which groups of people seem
Tradition
more / less important to the
Innovation
company?
Bolstering through graphics
XIV.
Possible implications of the
Buildings
companys activity for / in
Groups of people
society?
Computers & IT
XV.
Topics not addressed What is
Equipment
left unsaid
Most representative picture
XVI.
Assessing persuasiveness /
Colors
whether the message was
Symbols
persuading