Applied Business Rhetoric

Elizabeth C. Tomlinson

doi:10.5771/9781666905489

Summary

In this book, Elizabeth C. Tomlinson offers a rich analysis of the ways that rhetorical principles inform the world of work. With in-depth, engaging examples from across business, Tomlinson draws on a broad range of rhetorical scholarship including both ancient and contemporary works, as well as on select materials from management and entrepreneurship. The author shows how principles such as audience, ethos, stasis, kairos, metaphor, topoi, and visual rhetoric inform the development and survival of businesses. With extensive examples from surveys and interviews with business owners, archival trade journal data, business plans, annual reports, corporate social media, pitch competitions, ESG reporting, case studies, and business websites, Applied Business Rhetoric demonstrates how arguments can be successfully constructed across multiple business genres, and illustrates the usefulness of applied rhetoric for both building and analyzing arguments. Scholars of rhetoric, professional writing, and business communication will find this book of particular interest.

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2023
ISBN-Print: 978-1-6669-0547-2
ISBN-Online: 978-1-6669-0548-9
Publisher: Lexington, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 228
Product type: Book Titles

1. Contents No access
2. Acknowledgments No access
1. The Meeting of the Classic and the Contemporary No access
2. 1. 1. Chapter 2: Audience and the Creation of Adherence No access
    2. Chapter 3: Topoi and Founders’ Initial Audiences No access
    3. Chapter 4: Stasis as Heuristic: The Development of Early-Stage Businesses No access
    4. Chapter 5: Stasis for Analysis: Appealing to Investors No access
    5. Chapter 6: Ethos: Establishing a Reputation with Investors and Consumers No access
    6. Chapter 7: Epideictic Rhetoric: Founders’ Approaches to Establishing Shared Values No access
  2. 1. Chapter 8: Case Study: A Longitudinal Examination of a Business’s Rhetorical Work in Creating Customer Adherence through Its Website No access
    2. Chapter 9: Loci: Using Corporate Social Media to Connect with Customers No access
    3. Chapter 10: Kairos and the Timely Pivot No access
    4. Chapter 11: Metaphors and Annual Reports No access
    5. Chapter 12: Visual Rhetoric in Business Documents No access
    6. Chapter 13: Conclusion No access
1. 1. Audience and Adherence No access
  2. Self and Family No access
  3. The Audience of Debt Capital Providers No access
  4. Investors No access
  5. Customers No access
  6. Employees No access
  7. Other Audiences No access
  8. Takeaways No access
  9. Note No access
2. 1. Background on the Topoi No access
  2. Personal Values That Influence Founders’ Decisions to Start Businesses No access
  3. Takeaways No access
  4. Note No access
3. 1. Stasis Theory in the Rhetorical Tradition No access
  2. 1. Business One: Morning Delight No access
    2. Business Two: Fast Greens No access
    3. Business Three: Wiper Helper No access
    4. Non-profit: Feed the Hungry No access
  3. Drawing the Strands of Stasis Together in Business Settings No access
  4. Takeaways No access
4. 1. Research Context No access
  2. 1. The Rhetorical Foundations of Stasis No access
  3. 1. Methods No access
    2. Results No access
    3. Stasis of Quality No access
    4. Stasis of Quantity No access
    5. Stasis of Place No access
  4. Shark Tank Across the Seasons No access
  5. 1. Navigating the Stasis of Quality No access
    2. Making Bank through the Stasis of Quantity No access
  6. Applications No access
  7. Conclusion No access
  8. Notes No access
5. 1. 1. 1. Corporate Ethos No access
      2. Corporate Ethos in Practice: A Historical Industry Perspective No access
  2. 1. Values No access
    2. Ability and Competence No access
    3. Practical Wisdom No access
    4. Benevolence No access
    5. Behavioral Integrity No access
  3. Takeaways No access
6. 1. Perspectives on Epideictic Rhetoric No access
  2. The Values Business Owners Want Others to Associate with Their Enterprises No access
  3. 1. The Professional Services Industry No access
    2. Commercial and Industrial Engineering No access
    3. Health Care Providers No access
    4. Specialized Consumer Services Industry No access
    5. Restaurants No access
  4. Takeaways No access
  5. Note No access
1. 1. 1. Modernizing the Brand’s Online Presence No access
  2. 1. Beginning Again with Sycamore Partners No access
    2. Ups and Downs No access
  3. Crumbling and Picking Up the Pieces Again No access
  4. Takeaways No access
2. 1. Defining Loci No access
  2. 1. 1. Consumer Education No access
      2. Quality No access
      3. Storytelling No access
      4. Direct Selling No access
      5. Inviting Interaction with the Post No access
      6. Recognizing Holidays No access
      7. Corporate Announcements No access
      8. Humor No access
      9. Quantity No access
      10. Community Service and Corporate Social Responsibility No access
  3. Takeaways No access
  4. Note No access
3. 1. Timing the Launch No access
  2. Kairotic Pivots No access
  3. 1. Case Study: The Kairos-Laden History of American Ice Cream No access
    2. Ice Cream as a Status Symbol No access
    3. Colonial Ice Cream Challenges No access
    4. Cultivating Desire through Small-Scale Commercialization and At-Home Production No access
    5. Technological Advances and Mass Production No access
    6. Evolving Standards for Product Purity No access
    7. The Rise of Novelties No access
    8. Ice Cream Innovators: Ben & Jerry No access
  4. Takeaways No access
4. 1. 1. Metaphor Use in Entrepreneurship No access
    2. Founders’ Metaphors for Their Businesses No access
    3. 1. Looking Within: Individual Companies’ Use of Metaphors in Their Annual Reports No access
    4. Looking Across the Data: Recurring Business Metaphors No access
  2. Takeaways No access
5. 1. The Context of the Pitch No access
  2. 1. 1. Seeing Visual Rhetoric in Action No access
  3. Takeaways No access
6. Chapter 13: Conclusion No access
References No access Pages 199 - 220
Index No access Pages 221 - 226
About the Author No access Pages 227 - 228