This book provides a unique orientation to the present, past, and future of the field of business communication by collecting reflective essays from some of its most influential scholars, teachers, and leaders.
Through a series of essays that bridge personal narrative and critical analysis, this book mentors a new generation of students, teachers, and professionals as they encounter the challenges and opportunities of business communication and shape the future of the field. The authors—all influential figures and award winners—describe their personal histories with the field and discuss how major aspects have evolved over time. The essays examine the pathways through which scholars encounter the discipline, the professional challenges they face, the evolving content of the business communication curriculum, the development of business communication programs and institutions, the value of an entrepreneurial mindset for career development, and the relationships between research, teaching, and professional practice. They offer stories about a diversity of paths for achieving personal and professional success and invite readers to think about what lessons they can apply to their own career advancement and satisfaction. In total, this collection provides both a living history of the field and a series of real-world examples of business communication at its finest.
This book is essential reading for students and scholars of business communication and can be used as a supplemental text for courses in business communication, professional communication, and communication
Author(s): Janis Forman
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 214
City: New York
Cover
Endorsement
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
Contributors
1 Introduction
Why the Essay
Why the Journey
Questions for the Rising Generation of Teacher-Scholars in Business Communication and in Other Academic Disciplines
Lessons Learned From the Essays
Collaborative Work
An “Unending Conversation”
References
2 Take Two Xanax and Call Me in the Morning; Or, Career Tension in Business Communication
First Conference and First Academic Job
Assistant Professor
Associate Professor With Tenure
Full Professor—A New Set of Tensions
A 17-Year Administrative Aside—1988–2005
The Final Chapters: 2005–
Wrap Up
References
3 Cultivating a Liberal Arts Perspective On Workplace Communication
The Journey
A Writing-Centered Career
Material Culture and Rhetoric
The Journal
Business Communication at the University of Delaware
Material Culture Studies: A New Position
Rhetoric and Material Culture Studies: Research On the Workplace
From Context to Community: Revisiting a Textbook After 20 Years
This Is Not a Box
Learn With Your Students
Learn With Your Colleagues
Work Smart
Integrate Your Teaching and Research
Write, Read, and Support the Writing of Colleagues
Take a Broad Perspective
References
4 “Only Connect” Between Personal Life and Professional Choice, Scholarship and Teaching, My Generation and the Next
Connections Between the Personal and the Professional
Links Between a Business School’s Mission and the Discipline of Business Communication
An Entrepreneurial Frame of Mind and Moment
Translation as Cross-Cultural Communication and Political Act
Connections Between My Students and My Work as a Teacher-Scholar: Observe, Listen, Respond, and be Entrepreneurial
Observe the Millennials as a Way to Figure Out How to Teach Them
Listen to Students’ Account of Their Progress and Goals for the Session and Adjust Accordingly
Listen and Respond as an Expert
Listen First for Students’ Draft Story of Next-Stage Development for an Organization—and Then Respond
Establish a “Clearing” for Listening and Responding to Emerging Stories
Apply My Work in Translation Theory and Practice to Teaching
Apply Genre Theory
View Persuasion as Performance
Be Entrepreneurial
From E.M. Forster’s Howard’s End to T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets: From My Generation to the Next
References
5 Collaborative Networking for Better Teaching and Research
Beginnings
Post-MBA Career
Early Academic Career
Mid Academic Career
The Future and Concluding Advice
References
6 To Summon the Future: Defining the Field and Deciding What to Teach
“That’s Not Business Communication”
Defining Business Communication
Teaching Business Communication
Do Overs?
Research
Administration
Teaching
Look to the Future
In Conclusion
References
7 The Visual Expeditions and Related Adventures of a Teacher, Scholar, and Administrator
Uncertain Beginnings: Transitioning From Student to Professor
The Emergence of “Professional Communication”: Developing a Doctoral Program
Visual Communication: Blending Past and Present in New Scholarly Directions
Journal of Business and Technical Communication: Mentoring Other Scholars
Administration: Practicing Business Communication in the Academic Workplace
Takeaways for New(er) Teacher-Scholars: Connecting Past and Future
References
8 Persisting in the Field of Business Communication: “There’s Really Something to It”
Texts-in-Use—What Do Business Communication Academics Do?
Interest—What Pursuits Does a Business Communication Career Require?
Pursuing Personal Interests
Pursuing Public Interest
Belonging—Where Do Business Communication Academics Fit?
“Something to It” Going Forward
In Closing
References
9 Selling My Soul: Moving From the Humanities to Business Communication
Understanding the Conflict Between Business and the Humanities
Historical Origins of the Conflict
Cognitive and Perceptual Origins of the Conflict
Criticisms of Business and Business Schools
Negative Perceptions of Business
Negative Perceptions of Business Schools
Reconciling the Conflict Between Business and the Humanities
Teaching Students to Take a Critical View of Business
Enron
Walmart
Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers
For-profit Colleges
Starbucks
Applying Literary Theory to Business Discourse
What the Future Holds for Business Communication
References
10 My Experiential Learning Journey as a Management Communication Teacher-Scholar
A Constant Imperative: An Experiential Learning Style
Entrée Into the Field of Business and Management Communication
Crafting a Philosophy for Teaching, Research, and Consulting
Teaching Philosophy
Research Philosophy
Consulting Philosophy
Influences That Shaped My Teaching, Research, and Consulting Philosophies
Institutional Influence
Mentors, Muses, and Collaborators
Closing
References
11 Developing From a Teacher to a Scholar Across Cultures: The Moves From the East to the West and Back Again
Stage 1: Formative/Preparation Stage (1971–1992)
What Path to Choose: An Unknown Future and the Need to Change My Career Goals
Stage 2: From Teacher Only to Teacher-Scholar (1993–2020)
The Initial Period (1993–1998)
The Intermediate Period (1999–2013)
Insulating Myself and Taking On a College-Based Administrative Role (2006–2012)
The Final Period at CityU (2013–2020)
Professional Growth in the Field of Business Communication
Professional Recognition Beyond the Department and the University
ABC Support Network
Stage 3: Maturity Stage (2020 Onwards)
Concluding Remarks and Suggestions for Young Scholars
Perseverance, Determination, and Focus
Flexibility
Networking
References
Acknowledgments
Index
