Date of Award

12-2-2009

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Rhetoric and Writing

First Advisor

Karen Kuralt

Abstract

I am the Safety Coordinator for approximately 300 retail stores throughout the United States. I frequently have to visit store locations in order to gain the cooperation of all store personnel in acting safely, preventing safety hazards, and maintaining compliance with workplace safety regulations. I must persuade store management to change their behavior in a way that improves the safety culture of their store. To do this, I must maintain an appropriate balance of being a caring corporate communicator and being an authoritative corporate representative. I need to be able to analyze each communication situation so that I can produce an effective message. I have looked to other disciplines for a complete answer to this challenge. Synthesizing research from the areas of business, psychology, and sociology has allowed me to formulate a heuristic that aims to help corporate communicators solve a range of rhetorical issues when addressing audiences face-to-face.

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