DISCOURSE COMMUNITY ANALYSIS 1 Discourse Community Analysis Context and Purpose The activity system of the Living Spaces community is compartmentalized into the functions that contribute to the fulfillment of its goals of providing excellent services to customers. The sales and marketing system of the community where the study participant operates from interacts with other functional groups in different ways, as well as serve as the main contact point between the organization and the external stakeholders. Also, this particular activity system is expected by others to focus a significant amount of its efforts on the establishment of relationships with other internal communities for shared activities without competing for resources in an unproductive way. For example, its relationship with administrative functional of Living Spaces is designed in a way that ensures the availability of resources for its needs, especially those required for promotion of the company’s services. While observing the salesperson for this study, it was observed that the primary and minor genres interact in a manner that makes it difficult to identify how each mediates the various activities that are performed by the system. It can be said that one of the factors that might be responsible for the kind of outcome is the establishment of a shared goal that people of the Living Spaces community are committed to pursuing, which is designed in the context of the organization’s aspiration. A further explanation for the lack of an obvious demarcation of the system into genres that mediate work is the adoption of a culture that recognizes and respects the dignity and rights of each individual within the community. However, the lack of distinct genres in Living Spaces does not hinder the expression of individual cultural identity, as well as the DISCOURSE COMMUNITY ANALYSIS 2 authority bestowed on the categories of employees by their various positions and responsibilities. The authority figure in this activity system is expected to determine the nature of work that every member is required to perform as a contribution to the shared goals. Meanwhile, the researcher observed that the motives of the members are structured according to the duties and responsibilities of the employees and in a manner that allows the expression of work capabilities and authority no matter how minimal. Also, the tools for executing the different activities with the systems are structured and allocated in a manner that enhances the functionalities as a group. Research/Data Collection The activity system of Living Spaces that is being studied by this researcher relies upon, has the purpose of promoting the marketing and sales activities of the company. As a profitbased organization, this activity system has the function of interacting with the customers so as to generate revenue through the provision of product and services that fulfill the goals of quality and affordable furniture for the people living in Scottsdale and its environs. While using the activity worksheet to map out the various functional areas of this group, it was discovered that sales manager is responsible for assigning tasks and responsibilities to other members of the group. He performs this role by sending the weekly work schedules to the sales team through the official email channels. Employees that require further clarification on the nature of the assignment and the metrics used to assess its performance would request a face-to-face to meeting with him and speak to him over the telephone if he is busy with other assignments. Meanwhile, the data collection regarding this aspect of the research was executed through an interview with the study participant. He stated that one of the textual tools used by the team is the weekly work schedule that explains the activities for each person regain the acquisition of new customers and retention of existing ones. The community is divided into segments DISCOURSE COMMUNITY ANALYSIS 3 according to the number of employees in the unit so to prevent conflict and encroachment of territories. Although some of the existing customers might come from territories that are assigned to another employee, the salesperson that had been providing services and managing the request of the client would be allowed to do so, especially when the relationship is critical to the attainment of the team’s common goals. An additional textual tool used by the team that was used to collecting data from the community is the product catalogs that are displayed and sent to both old and new customers of Living Spaces. According to the information gathered from the salesperson, the materials are essential communication tools that are used to generate the interest of the customers and attract sales. Also, their marketing communication materials are aimed at providing information about discount offers and loyalty programs such furniture trade-in systems. He explained that the Living Spaces’ monthly newsletter had become an object of awareness creation in the community about the activities of the company regarding the provision of quality products and services. Data Analysis The textual tools obtained from the data collection process are product catalogs, brochures for promotional campaigns and loyalty programs, newsletter and sales letters. These tools are marketing communication materials that this activity system utilizes in the brand awareness creation efforts that are critical to generating sales for the company. They are also important in showcasing the activities of Living Spaces in the community that are designed to promote the spirit of togetherness and respect for diverse nature of the various communities that patronize its services. Although the company is the only major retailer and manufacturer of furniture products in Scottsdale, it ensures that the marketing communication tools remind DISCOURSE COMMUNITY ANALYSIS 4 members of the community the type of bond that exists between them and how it is beneficial for all stakeholders to maintain it. Meanwhile, the research analysis revealed that these materials are created by an integrated marketing communication company, which utilizes the inputs from selected employee. While it was unclear the specific roles of the individuals that work with the service provider are, it was observed that they ensure the tools are useful to the particular activity system that use them in the performance of their duties. Regarding the utilization of the materials, it was observed by the researcher that every functional unit is required to incorporate the information into their operations. For example, employees in the accounts department require it to configure their systems for billing and invoicing; the same rule applied to other departments that are necessary to the success of the marketing campaign. It was observed that the materials are distributed both internally and externally to all relevant stakeholders. For example, the lexis in the product brochure is organized in a manner that is attractive to potential customers and makes them inquire about the products or offers on them. Genre and Audience The information acquired from this observational research is suitable for creating a professional training manual that would help new employees understand the compartmentalization of their organization into activity systems and the interactions that exist between them. The manual would also show them the link between the oral and written communications and accomplishment of shared corporate goals as well the methods used to create them. My experience from this research showed that the arrangement of the text, images and the color scheme of these materials are important to their capacity to fulfill their purpose, which is to inform and initiate conversations that would lead to revenue. An additional reason DISCOURSE COMMUNITY ANALYSIS why this report is suitable as training manual is its capacity to enhance the process of acculturalization that is essential for new employees to perform their jobs. Although Living Spaces might have existing information pack for new hires, the reason why this document is inefficient is due to the lack of information on the tools used by various activity systems within the larger context of the organization and how their purpose are interrelated to those of another unit. Therefore, the new employees experience difficulty in adopting some of the conventions and rules of the systems due to a lack of knowledge on their values to the shared goals of the community. 5
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