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Interpretative Management in Business Meetings

Understanding Managers' Interactional Strategies through Conversation Analysis

University of Copenhagen, Denmark, femoe{at}hum.ku.dk

Middle managers interpret experiences and observations of employees and relate them to organizational contexts, practices, and strategies. By analyzing authentic verbal communication between middle managers and employees, this article will draw five conclusions about how interpretational work support organizational goals and values: 1. Middle managers and employees collaborate in interpreting tasks in relation to organizational context; 2. This interpretative work is based on language acquisition: learning the vocabulary of the organization; 3. The managers articulate the process, explicitly defining reality and influencing language use; 4. Employees show expectation of having their experiences interpreted by managers; 5. Employees may challenge managers with competing interpretations. This article will contribute to the study of leadership communication by combining organization communication theory and conversation analytic methodology. The article shows important ways in which middle managers "do leadership": by contextualizing employee actions and bringing employee perceptions in accordance with executive-level perceptions of organizational practices.

Key Words: business meeting • leadership • middle manager • professional interaction • interpretation • managing meaning • conversation analysis

Journal of Business Communication, Vol. 46, No. 1, 23-56 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0021943608325752


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