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A Critical Reading of Impression Management in Times of Financial Crisis and Implications for Business Writing

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Title: A Critical Reading of Impression Management in Times of Financial Crisis and Implications for Business Writing
Language: English
Authors: Nair, Ramesh (ORCID 0000-0002-1872-7684), Arshad, Roshayani (ORCID 0000-0003-0277-159X), Abd Aziz, Ainul Zanariah (ORCID 0000-0003-3733-3864), Muda, Ruhaini (ORCID 0000-0002-2329-609X)
Source: Journal of Education for Business. 2021 96(4):230-236.
Availability: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 7
Publication Date: 2021
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Business Communication, Writing (Composition), Financial Exigency, Economic Climate, Discourse Analysis, Business Administration Education, Critical Reading, Language Usage, Metalinguistics, Teaching Methods, Reputation, Corporations, Social Responsibility, Foreign Countries
Geographic Terms: Malaysia
DOI: 10.1080/08832323.2020.1806017
ISSN: 0883-2323
Abstract: This paper examines the use of linguistic devices in a Chairman's Statement to foreground a positive self-image and background references to financial shortcomings in times of financial distress. Drawing on impression management theory and critical discourse analysis, we reveal the systematic use of language to portray an organization as a responsible entity caught up in uncertain times rather than one which is accountable for poor financial performance. The study draws attention to how business students may benefit from a critical reading course which heightens their awareness of how linguistic devices are used to shape reality for stakeholders while managing impression.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2021
Accession Number: EJ1295757
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0150040278;jeb01may.21;2021Apr30.03:35;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0150040278-1">A critical reading of impression management in times of financial crisis and implications for business writing </title> <p>This paper examines the use of linguistic devices in a Chairman's Statement to foreground a positive self-image and background references to financial shortcomings in times of financial distress. Drawing on impression management theory and critical discourse analysis, we reveal the systematic use of language to portray an organization as a responsible entity caught up in uncertain times rather than one which is accountable for poor financial performance. The study draws attention to how business students may benefit from a critical reading course which heightens their awareness of how linguistic devices are used to shape reality for stakeholders while managing impression.</p> <p>Keywords: Business writing; critical reading; evaluation; impersonalization; impression management theory</p> <hd id="AN0150040278-2">Introduction</hd> <p>Effective communication is essential for establishing trust and ensuring that a harmonious relationship exists between organizations and stakeholders (Brennan & Merkl-Davies, [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref1">1</reflink>]). Such communication is even more important when businesses perform poorly because it allows organizations to convince stakeholders that they are in control of a crisis and that the outlook for the future is positive. This desire to establish credibility and alleviate concerns through narrative disclosures forms a significant part of an organization's impression management.</p> <p>Impression management theory provides a framework for understanding how organizations selectively present information that shapes stakeholder perception. The theory posits that impression management is consciously carried out to create a positive perception even if this calls for embellishments and deception when communicating with stakeholders (Talbot & Boiral, [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref2">17</reflink>]). Language use is therefore at the heart of impression management as narrative disclosures in business documents such as annual reports or CSR reports warrant the use of linguistic tools to foreground favorable news and background negative news. For this reason, studies in impression management have focused quite extensively on the examination of language use. In a recent study for example, File ([<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref3">5</reflink>]) examined the complex link between language use and identity construction as evident in the impression management of an English Premier League football club by its past and present managers. It was found that the use of linguistic features by managers at post-match media interviews determined the extent to which an assertive identity could be managed, and this in turn contributed to a positive impression among club supporters. In another study by Pan, McNamara, Lee, Haleblian, and Devers ([<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref4">15</reflink>]), it was concluded that companies with riskier profiles benefited through the use concrete language for impression management while low-risk companies gained from the use of abstract language which induced positive investor response. Therefore, the selective use of language and presentation of information serve a manipulative purpose as reality is discursively constructed for consumers of narrative disclosures (Leung, Parker, & Courtis, [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref5">11</reflink>]). Within studies which have focused on language use in impression management, approaches for examining language have been varied. Nwagbara and Belal ([<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref6">14</reflink>]) reviewed trends of past studies and observed that many have relied primarily on quantitative content analysis. They also went on to highlight a paucity of work which draw on critical and discursive approaches for examining language use in business reporting practices in developing countries. The present study attends to this gap by critically examining the grammatical features in the Chairman's Statement of a Malaysian company in financial distress. Drawing on a framework offered by Merkl-Davies and Koller ([<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref7">12</reflink>]), we examine how grammatical features are used to discursively mitigate reputational risks to an organization. The examination of clause structures in the text allows for an understanding of how deep-rooted language structures are used to systematically foreground and background individuals, events and actions in ideologically significant ways that continue to position the organization in favorable light despite being publicly labeled as a company in financial distress. Such an examination is important given the fact that language can be used in fraudulent ways (Jaeschke, Lopatta, & Yi, [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref8">8</reflink>]). Therefore studies that draw attention to the workings of language in impression management has pedagogical implications, particularly in the teaching of business writing. Students who are sensitized to language use in impression management would be better able to both critically consume and produce business-related texts.</p> <p>In this study, we draw on Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as an approach for examining the workings of language in the construction of social realities (Fairclough, [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref9">4</reflink>]). Critical discourse analysts are concerned with semiotic codes such as written and visual texts that are used to convey meaning. Their contention is that texts do not exist in isolation; rather, they shape and are shaped by the wider discourse community; hence the idea that language is a social practice. A critical examination of language use within texts can therefore reveal how individuals, organizations and social groups strategically position themselves within communicative contexts.</p> <hd id="AN0150040278-3">Method</hd> <p>As we adopt Merkl-Davies and Koller's ([<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref10">12</reflink>]) framework for analysis, we take cognizance of their advice to limit the analysis to fewer texts, and like them we confine our analysis to a single continuous narrative. This allows for a detailed analysis of how language works as every clause structure is unpacked to bring to surface deep-rooted meanings. The examination of clause structures draws on the work of Halliday and Matthiessen ([<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref11">7</reflink>]) who unpack transitivity schemes to reveal semantic processes, and the participants within those processes. The Chairman's Statement was randomly selected from a list of annual reports published by companies under financial distress (referred to as PN17 organizations) as reported by the Malaysia Exchange. The Chairman's Statement was extracted and grammatical features were analyzed line by line to determine how linguistic devices were used to obfuscate agency and convey attitude through processes of impersonalization and evaluation.</p> <hd id="AN0150040278-4">Impersonalization</hd> <p>The framework proposes the examination of ways agency is obfuscated through grammatical means or impersonalization through referential vagueness, passivization, nominalization and personification.</p> <hd id="AN0150040278-5">Referential vagueness</hd> <p>This refers to shifts in reference, typically with the use of the first-person pronoun (i.e., we, our, us). In the Chairman's Statement for example, pronouns such as these may be used to position the Chairman as part of the organisation's top management team, or at other times, as a member of the organisation in a broader sense. By shifting references in this way, responsibility and accountability is not assigned clearly.</p> <hd id="AN0150040278-6">Passivization</hd> <p>Passivization refers to the use of passive sentence constructions which backgrounds the doer of the action or removes the actor altogether.</p> <hd id="AN0150040278-7">Nominalization</hd> <p>This refers to the rewording of a sentence which repositions processes and properties into states. For example, while the verb "invest" would require a doer in subject position, "investment" becomes the subject in a sentence, thereby removing reference to an agent.</p> <hd id="AN0150040278-8">Personification</hd> <p>This refers to the act of attributing human characteristics to inanimate subjects. For example, in the sentence, "The airline apologized for the cancellation of the flight" the act of apologizing is carried out by the airline, rather than by a person in authority. In this way, the social agent is obfuscated to avoid naming those responsible for the inconvenience caused to passengers.</p> <hd id="AN0150040278-9">Evaluation</hd> <p>In addition to examining impersonalization, the framework by Merkl-Davies and Koller ([<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref12">12</reflink>]) also includes a focus on ways positive and negative attitudes are ascribed through evaluative words and phrases or epithets. According to this framework, evaluative statements are made to convey to readers what should be viewed as desirable (positive) or undesirable (negative). Evaluative statements are marked through the use of adjectives, adverbs, and to a lesser extent, by nouns and verbs and presented both implicitly or explicitly.</p> <hd id="AN0150040278-10">Results and discussion</hd> <p>The following is an analysis of the Chairman's Statement of an organization in financial distress. We first searched for evidence of impersonalization as realized through referential vagueness, passivization, nominalization and personification. Next, the entire text was reexamined for evaluative statements. The analysis is presented here:</p> <p>(S1) Dear Shareholders, on behalf of the Board of Directors, I am pleased to present the Annual Report of the Group for the year ended 31 December 2016.</p> <p>As with standard opening remarks, the Chairman is assigned the more powerful subject position (Halliday & Matthiessen, [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref13">7</reflink>]) as he writes on behalf of the Board of Directors. The epithet "pleased" is used to describe the state of the Chairman, marking positive evaluation as positive tone is set and the desired atmosphere is created at the onset of the report (Patelli & Pedrini, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref14">16</reflink>]).</p> <p>(S2) The global economic growth remained soft with a growth of 2.6% in Q3 2016, mainly due to structural adjustments experienced in major countries, recurring natural disasters, geopolitical events such as Brexit, heightened uncertainty related to the US presidential election, the turmoil in Asian currencies and potential policy changes in the US.</p> <p>Following S1 is the subsection titled Operating Environment. The three statements that make up this subsection draw attention to a bleak environment beyond the control of the organization. In S2, nominalization is used as "the global economic growth" is made the subject of the clause and described as "soft", resulting from a variety of conditions which are beyond the control of the organization. In addition to nominalization, evaluative phrases such as "recurring natural disasters", "heightened uncertainty related to the US presidential election", "the turmoil in Asian currencies and potential policy changes in the US" all contribute to expressing negativity about global conditions which are clearly beyond the control of the company. These references to events beyond Malaysian shores serve as strategic noise (Graffin, Haleblian, & Kiley, [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref15">6</reflink>]) aimed at drawing attention away from failures within the organization.</p> <p>(S3) On this backdrop, the Malaysian economy registered a lower growth of 4.3% in Q3 2016 (Q3 2015: 4.7%) supported mainly by domestic private sector activities, albeit cut in public spending, contraction in agriculture sector and higher prices for food and nonalcoholic beverages due to withdrawal of certain subsidies by the Malaysian government.</p> <p>S3 follows with evidence of personification where the Malaysian economy is made subject of the action "registered". By personifying the economy, blame is shifted to a non-entity and the company is distanced further from responsibility through the use of evaluative words and phrases such as "contraction", "higher prices", and "withdrawal of certain subsidies" to describe negative external circumstances. The removal of agency in this way makes it difficult for responsibility to be assigned to corporations or political entities (Cramer, [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref16">3</reflink>]). Personification therefore may serve as a tool for corporate deception.</p> <p>(S4) In the year under review, the Group focused its efforts to completing several corporate proposals and at the same time monitoring the financial performance of the identified remaining operating businesses of the Group.</p> <p>S4 concludes the section by making the company subject of actions such as focusing its effort and monitoring its financial performance. By positioning itself in such a way, the company portrays itself as a responsible organization, steering itself through the tumultuous times described in S2 and S3.</p> <p>The next section on Updates on Corporate Proposals is the longest section of the Chairman's Statement, made up of nine sentences.</p> <p>(S5) The Group is pleased to provide the following updates for significant corporate proposals carried out during the year:</p> <p>This section begins with a positive tone as the Chairman announces in S5 that "The group is pleased" to report on "significant corporate proposals". The expectation at this point is that the proposals are to mitigate the various external problems described in the previous section. As such, this section serves to neutralize the negativity of the previous section.</p> <p>(S6) (a) On 30 June 2016, the Company had completed the disposal of its 75% owned subsidiary, [name of organization omitted] (now known as [name of organization omitted]) to [name of organization omitted] for a final cash consideration of RM364.4 million, of which the Group had received RM270.6 million with the balance RM93.75 million to be paid by [name of organization omitted] on the third anniversary of the disposal completion date in accordance with the terms and conditions of the sale and purchase agreement.</p> <p>(S7) (b) On 31 March 2016, the Group had completed the disposal of its 100% owned subsidiary, [name of organization omitted] to [name of organization omitted] for a final cash consideration of RM6.0 million.</p> <p>In S6, "the Company" in made the active agent of completing the disposal of its 75% owned subsidiary. The same structure is maintained in S7 below as "the Group" is made the agent of disposing 100% of its own subsidiary. In both these sentences the execution of key decisions are assigned to collective social actors rather than individuals like the Chairman. This allows for collective accountability which can be problematic because criticisms of those decisions and potential failures resulting from those actions cannot be assigned to specific individuals (Nicol, [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref17">13</reflink>]).</p> <p>In contrast to S6 and S7 which refer to the disposal of subsidiaries, sentences S8–S10 report of the acquisition of shares in a Philippine insurance company.</p> <p>(S8) (c) On 6 December 2016, the Company's subsidiary, [name of organization omitted] remitted a sum of PHP 300 million (approximately RM27.3 million) to subscribe for additional 300,000 new shares with par value PHP 1,000 each of [name of organization omitted], a licensed general insurance company operating in the Republic of the Philippines (referred to as "Proposed Subscription").</p> <p>In S8, "the Company's subsidiary" is personified as it is said to have "remitted a sum of PHP 300 million". This is then followed by the conditional statement in S9 and S10:</p> <p>(S9) The Proposed Subscription is subject to the approval of regulatory authority in the Philippines.</p> <p>(S10) Upon the completion of the Proposed Subscription, [name of organization omitted]'s equity interest in [name of organization omitted] will increase from the present 40% to 70%, thereby making [name of organization omitted] a subsidiary of the Group.</p> <p>S9 cautions readers that the acquisition process is subject to conditions which are again beyond the company's control. S10 uses the future tense ("will increase") to assert future plans to take the company out of its financial distress status.</p> <p>Direct reference to its financial distress status is finally made in S11–S13 of the Chairman's Statement:</p> <p>(S11) d) On the PN17 status of the Company, it has on 20 December 2016 submitted an application to Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad ("Bursa Securities") for further extension of time to submit a regularization plan for approval.</p> <p>(S12) The application for extension of time is subject to Bursa Securities' consideration.</p> <p>(S13)On 16 February 2017, Bursa Securities has approved the extension of time until 30 June 2017.</p> <p>In S11, the company's PN17 (financial distress) status is foregrounded through a prepositional phrase, before it is reported that the company sought an extension to submit regularization plans. In S12 and S13, there is no reference to the company. In S12, the company is muted when it is removed through nominalization and "The application" is made subject. In S13, the Malaysia Exchange is accorded subject position, highlighting its more powerful role in determining the status of the company. By removing direct references to itself in this section, the company appeared distanced from its PN17 status.</p> <p>The next section of the Chairman's Statement reports on the company's performance:</p> <p>(S14)In 2016, the Group recorded a higher Profit Before Taxation ("PBT") of RM267.6 million (2015: PBT RM32.6 million) mainly attributed by a gain of RM280.4 million from the disposal of the takaful business namely [name of organization omitted] Takaful and also higher profit contributions from the Group's associated companies with total share of profit after taxation of RM4.7 million (2015: RM3.8 million).</p> <p>(S15) Details of the Group's business, operations and financial performance during the year are discussed separately in the Management Discussion and Analysis Statement in the attached pages.</p> <p>The overall performance of the company is reported in just one sentence (S14), highlighting two contributing factors to the higher Profit Before Taxation, namely, the disposal of its takaful business and the higher profit contributions of associated companies. S15 then directs readers to another section of the Annual Report for details. The modest reporting of its performance is describe as minimal disclosure, a deliberate impression management strategy, which serves to divert attention away from an organization's poor performance (Leung et al., [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref18">11</reflink>]).</p> <p>(S16)To remunerate the shareholders for their support, the Company has paid interim dividends of 41 sen (2015: 6 sen) per ordinary share under the single-tier dividend system during the year, including an interim special dividend of 35 sen per ordinary share which was conditional upon the completion of the disposal of [name of organization omitted] Takaful.</p> <p>In this section on dividends, the remuneration of shareholders is foregrounded by placing them in a prepositional phrase at the beginning of the sentence. The company is then placed in the active subject position, asserting that it has complied with its responsibility of paying dividends to its shareholders despite its PN17 status.</p> <p>(S17) Continuing from previous years, the Group discharges its corporate social responsibilities through [name of organization omitted] Medicare Charitable Foundation and also its support for [name of organization omitted] Charitable Foundation.</p> <p>On corporate social responsibility, commitment is stressed through the participial phrase "Continuing from previous years". The company is positioned as subject of the verb "discharges", thereby foregrounding itself as a responsible entity that carries out its obligations to society. This conscious foregrounding is also observed in other studies of organizations positioning themselves in favorable light (Chen & Eriksson, [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref19">2</reflink>]; Kapranov, [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref20">9</reflink>]).</p> <p>The next section on prospects presents the organization's future plans, hence the use of the future tense from S19 to S21. S18 begins by setting the tone for the organization's future outlook, and again there is a return to references to circumstances beyond the control of the organization.</p> <p>(S18)Moving into 2017, there remain uncertainties impacting growth in the global economy such as those associated with Brexit, monetary policies in the major economies, protectionist policy in the US and potential sharper economy slowdown in the People's Republic of China.</p> <p>In S18, the existential process (see Halliday & Matthiessen, [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref21">7</reflink>]) is realized through the use of "There" which removes the need for agency. The sentence merely makes references to an existing condition, and frees the organization of any responsibility for potential poor performance in the future. Further distance between the organization and potential failures in the future is also achieved by references to global problems in the United Kingdom, United States and China.</p> <p>(S19) Similarly in 2017, the Malaysian economy will also face greater challenges and risks amid uncertainty from both the global and domestic fronts in particular the effects since end 2014 from the contraction in commodity prices, prolonged ringgit depreciation, goods and services tax implementation, domestic price adjustments and moderation in the economic growth of the People's Republic of China.</p> <p>S19 then draws attention to unfavorable conditions on the local front which is again beyond the organization's control. Also in S19, the Malaysian economy is personified as it is predicted to "face greater challenges and risks".</p> <p>Having described the uncertain conditions, S20 and S21 position the organization in the more active subject position.</p> <p>(S20) Amidst this challenging economic environment, the Group will focus its efforts in 2017 to completing and submitting the PN17 regularization plan with acquisition of new business to Bursa Securities for approval.</p> <p>(S21) On this note, the Group will be cautious in its identification and evaluation of new business for acquisition to meet the objectives of generating sustainable profitability together with the other existing continuing operations as the Group moves ahead to the future.</p> <p>In both S20 and S21, "the Group" is made subject of actions such as focusing its efforts (S20) and being cautious (S21). Through these constructs, the organization is portrayed as a responsible entity that is carefully maneuvering difficult times. The use of the future tense serves to promise action; however, neither S20 nor S21 provide any indication of concrete measures that will be undertaken to get the organization out of its status as a PN17 company. Instead there is circumvention of the problem as S20 reports of plans to submit a regularization plan to the Malaysia Exchange while S21 assures stakeholders that the company would be cautious in the acquisition of new businesses.</p> <p>The final section of the Chairman's Statement records the board's appreciation to various groups. This is a characteristic ending in any Chairman's Statement and often presented in formulaic terms.</p> <p>(S22) On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank the Management team and Staff for their commitment, dedication and contributions to the Group.</p> <p>(S23) I would also like to take this opportunity to extend our appreciation to our valued business associates, valued customers and the shareholders for the continued invaluable support, confidence and trust they have placed in us.</p> <p>(S24) Finally, I would like to thank my fellow Board members for their stewardship and contributions to the Group.</p> <p>Moving away from references to "the Company" and "the Group", the Chairman is present in S22–S24 as the pronoun "I" is used. However, there is also evidence of referential vagueness as the Chairman shifts from speaking on behalf of the board, and then himself as an individual. In S23 for example, it is not clear if the Chairman is speaking on behalf of his board members or on behalf of the entire organization when he thanks business associates, customers and the shareholders. Nevertheless, the act of thanking individuals and groups serves to normalize the act of presenting the report although it is being delivered in a period of financial uncertainty. This final section of the Chairman's Statement also contains words that assert positive evaluation such as "commitment", "dedication", "valued business associates", "invaluable support", "confidence" and "trust" which connote positivity and helps end the report on a positive note.</p> <hd id="AN0150040278-11">Conclusion</hd> <p>The analysis presented in this study serves to highlight how a critical reading of business-related texts helps unpack acts of impersonalization and obfuscation in managing impression. Examining such narratives should support business students in understanding the correlation between financial performance and the presentation of discretionary narratives (Khanna & Irvine, [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref22">10</reflink>]).</p> <p>The analysis has revealed that through the selective use of linguistic devices and grammatical structures, agency or responsibility for failures can be obfuscated. Also, the choice use of lexical items can convey a positive or a negative attitude depending on how the organization wishes to frame information for its stakeholders. Business students must therefore be trained to read critically so that they are able to make better use of linguistic devices to convey meanings and attitudes through their own writing. Future studies in this area may consider incorporating the framework for analysis presented in this paper in a critical reading course for business students. It would be interesting to assess the ability of business students to employ discursive strategies when writing for various business-related purposes, and this should be tied to discussions on how the inherent promotional narrative of certain business documents impede good governance practices.</p> <ref id="AN0150040278-12"> <title> References </title> <blist> <bibl id="bib1" idref="ref1" type="bt">1</bibl> <bibtext> Brennan, N. M., & Merkl-Davies, D. M. (2018). Do firms effectively communicate with financial stakeholders? A conceptual model of corporate communication in a capital market context. Accounting and Business Research, 48 (5), 553 – 577. doi: 10.1080/00014788.2018.1470143</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib2" idref="ref19" type="bt">2</bibl> <bibtext> Chen, A., & Eriksson, G. (2019). The making of healthy and moral snacks: A multimodal critical discourse analysis of corporate storytelling. 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Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: A Critical Reading of Impression Management in Times of Financial Crisis and Implications for Business Writing
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Nair%2C+Ramesh%22">Nair, Ramesh</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1872-7684">0000-0002-1872-7684</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Arshad%2C+Roshayani%22">Arshad, Roshayani</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0277-159X">0000-0003-0277-159X</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Abd+Aziz%2C+Ainul+Zanariah%22">Abd Aziz, Ainul Zanariah</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3733-3864">0000-0003-3733-3864</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Muda%2C+Ruhaini%22">Muda, Ruhaini</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2329-609X">0000-0002-2329-609X</externalLink>)
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Journal+of+Education+for+Business%22"><i>Journal of Education for Business</i></searchLink>. 2021 96(4):230-236.
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  Label: Availability
  Group: Avail
  Data: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: Y
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 7
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2021
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Evaluative
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  Label: Education Level
  Group: Audnce
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Higher+Education%22">Higher Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Postsecondary+Education%22">Postsecondary Education</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Business+Communication%22">Business Communication</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Writing+%28Composition%29%22">Writing (Composition)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Financial+Exigency%22">Financial Exigency</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Economic+Climate%22">Economic Climate</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Discourse+Analysis%22">Discourse Analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Business+Administration+Education%22">Business Administration Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Critical+Reading%22">Critical Reading</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Usage%22">Language Usage</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Metalinguistics%22">Metalinguistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teaching+Methods%22">Teaching Methods</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Reputation%22">Reputation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Corporations%22">Corporations</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+Responsibility%22">Social Responsibility</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Malaysia%22">Malaysia</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1080/08832323.2020.1806017
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 0883-2323
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: This paper examines the use of linguistic devices in a Chairman's Statement to foreground a positive self-image and background references to financial shortcomings in times of financial distress. Drawing on impression management theory and critical discourse analysis, we reveal the systematic use of language to portray an organization as a responsible entity caught up in uncertain times rather than one which is accountable for poor financial performance. The study draws attention to how business students may benefit from a critical reading course which heightens their awareness of how linguistic devices are used to shape reality for stakeholders while managing impression.
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  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2021
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  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: EJ1295757
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ1295757
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/08832323.2020.1806017
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 7
        StartPage: 230
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Business Communication
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Writing (Composition)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Financial Exigency
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Economic Climate
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      – SubjectFull: Discourse Analysis
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      – SubjectFull: Business Administration Education
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      – SubjectFull: Critical Reading
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      – SubjectFull: Language Usage
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      – SubjectFull: Metalinguistics
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      – SubjectFull: Teaching Methods
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      – SubjectFull: Reputation
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      – SubjectFull: Corporations
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      – SubjectFull: Social Responsibility
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      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
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      – SubjectFull: Malaysia
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    Titles:
      – TitleFull: A Critical Reading of Impression Management in Times of Financial Crisis and Implications for Business Writing
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            NameFull: Nair, Ramesh
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            NameFull: Arshad, Roshayani
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            NameFull: Abd Aziz, Ainul Zanariah
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            NameFull: Muda, Ruhaini
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            – TitleFull: Journal of Education for Business
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