South African companies employ a corporate discourse that may alienate the very audience they intend to engage.

1. South Africa’s corporate Discourse Model and
the implica7ons on communica7on in a
mul7cultural, unionised workplace.
6 January 2016
Presenter: Carmen Curtayne
MPHIL in Intercultural Communica7on (Cum Laude)
University of Stellenbosch
Natural Communica.ons
Real strategies for real engagement

2. • Context
• Socialism vs. capitalism discourses
– Underpinning themes
– Case in point - @ChrishartZA
• Social construc7on, cultural values & biases
• Corporate SA Discourse
• Summary & implica7ons
• Further research and analysis
Outline

3. Cost of strike ac7on
Strikes have a nega7ve impact on SA business (directly
and indirectly).
• SACCI – 30% member businesses – permanent
increase in costs.
• Economist Mike Schussler – economy has lost 0,4%
growth
• Dept of Labour – 88 strikes cost economy $500
million (6.1 billion)
• Reserve Bank – 3,1% growth not realised due to
metal sector strike.

4. Strikes are set to con7nue and intensify
Cosatu end of year statement 2015 - Workers must be ready to
intensify campaigns against e-tolls, labour broking, and for the
implementa9on of a minimum wage and other pressing
socioeconomic issues
Trade unions represent 25,3% of the formal workforce

5. Discourses & underlying
themes (socialism)
• Poverty, unemployment, inequality and corrup7on
• Neoliberal (monopoly) capitalism
• Corrupt capitalist agenda
• Working class
• Economic reform/jus7ce
• Na7onalisa7on
• Elite minority/bourgeoisie
• Colonialism/neo-colonialists/The West
• Individual advancement
• White monopoly/capital/interests/control
• Na7onal minimum/living wage
• Apartheid
• Capital flight
• Land reform
• Wealth distribu7on

6. Discourses & underlying
themes (capitalism)
• Free market economy
• Capital ouflows
• Priva7sa7on
• Foreign direct investment
• Neoliberal (business friendly)
macro-economic/fiscal policies
• Credit ra7ng
• Commodity prices
• Economic growth
• Global economy
• Interna7onal markets
• Sovereign debt
• Current account deficit
• Austerity measures
• Investment community
• Skills development
• Private sector
• Infla7on targe7ng

7. Produc7vity Exploita7on
Market-related wages Slave wages
Foreign direct investment Imperialism/neo-colonialism
White capital
Pro-capitalism narra7ve An7-capitalism narra7ve
Private sector

8. Capitalist economic
discourse
Presented as:
Neutral
Empirical
Factual
Progressive
First world/global
Unemo7onal
Long term
Correct
Analy7cal
Objec7ve
Impar7al

9. SA economy in decline. Losing compe77veness. State
ins7tu7ons failing badly. Blame game in full swing: “the
whites” and “private sector.”
Yet on ideological and ANC control grounds, “the
whites” and “private sector” are increasingly being
pushed out of govt ins7tu7ons.”
More than 25 years aler Apartheid ended, the vic7ms
are increasing along with a sense of en7tlement and
hatred towards the minori7es.”
Poisonous ideologies are flourishing … Economies are
never built on en7tlement but on produc7vity. To sort
out the maladies, the economy derived from bonom up
not trickle down. Investment in business ac7vity.”
Whatever the past has been, SA needs to win the
future.”
@chrishartZA

10. “Apartheid denialist”
“right wing”
“bigot”
“sense of self-preserva7on”
“economy has been surviving on
slave wages”
“repatria7ng cash through illicit
means”
“Chris …Dawie…Mike
Schussler ..apartheid bestowed
esteem”
“.greater sense of en7tlement than
bankers?”
“ignorant racist”
“taking back what belongs to us”
“emo7on over analysis”
“insults and ad hominen anacks”
“speaking sense and being called a
racist”
“wan7ng to grow the economy and
give people jobs is racist, apparently”.
“It’s not racist if its true”
“crazy loons”
“scraps poli7cal correctness its
immediately branded racist”
“points out reali7es”
“frank commentary …sober minds”
“home truths”

11. Reality does not present itself objec7vely to the viewer, it is understood through human experience.
Reality is socially constructed - a product of linguis7c terms.
These terms are social ar.facts, products of historically situated interchanges/exchanges between people –
nego.ated understanding.How reality is defined is determined by the conven.ons of communica.on. The very
words and expressions used to present reality are formulated within a linguis.c context. Categories of language are
determined by social interac7ons at force at a par7cular 7me
Social construc.on – the process by which people describe, explain, or account for the world (including themselves)
in which they live.This context is culturally, socially, historically situated. Therefore, construc7ons of the world
have a historical and cultural base.
Western concepts of objec7ve, individualis7c, ahistoric knowledge permeate most modern ins7tu7onal discourse.
The concept that scien.fic theory based on empirical data reflects an accurate and truthful account of reality is
receiving increasing cri7cism.
Construc.ons of the world are not impar.al, objec.ve or unbiased - they cons.tute forms of
social ac.on and social pa@erns which serve to sustain and support certain systems at the exclusion
of others.
Whose reality?

12. Cultural value orienta7ons
Individual self
People are autonomous, self-contained
and self reliant, with their own concerns,
mo7ves, aspira7ons and desires.
Individualist cultures eg.Western cultures
anach less value to the significance of
context and demonstrate an individualis7c
approach.
Focus: Individual freedom, rights &
autonomy.
Emphasize elements of iden7ty that reflect
possessions-what do I own, what
experiences have I had, what are my
accomplishments
The basic lenses through which we view our own ac7ons and the ac7ons of others within the
boundary of our own culture
Cultures differ in terms of which is most salient – a rela.onal self or an individual self.
Individualism/collec.vism: rela7ng to whether a person’s iden7ty is defined by personal choices
and achievements, or by the aspira7ons and success of the group to which the person belongs.
Rela9onal self
Iden7ty as inescapably integrated with
others, i.t.o mutual du7es and obliga7ons.
Influenced by the norms, role defini7ons, and
values of the par7cular collec7ve and behave in
ways considered appropriate by members of
that collec7ve.
Collec7vist cultures - iden7ty is defined
more in terms of rela9onships-I am the
mother of X, I am a member of family Y, and
I am a resident of Z.

13. Socrates – induc7ve reasoning – essence of the scien7fic reason.
Observa7ons are made, data are collected and conclusions are drawn – the
conclusions reached are probably but not defnitely empirical
Any7me we make a predic7on about what will happen based on our
observa7ons about what has happened in the past we are using induc7ve
Western philosophy

14. Myside bias – peoples’ prior
beliefs may cause them to focus
on informa7on that agrees with
their beliefs and disregard
informa7on that doesn't.
Confirma.on bias – informa7on is
favoured that confirms a
hypothesis. We seek evidence
that confirms our rules.
Biases at play

16. “There are but four expenditure threats: wage bill; na7onal health; SOEs and nuclear. All unsustainable without
economic growth.”
“The rise in state spending has effec7vely transferred resources from high mul7plier ac7vity to lower mul7plier
ac7vity, slowing growth”.
“Yet to get growth, investment into business and enterprise ac7vity is most important. Infrastructure of secondary
importance”.
“Capital also gets anracted to the more welcoming jurisdic7ons. SA has become more difficult to to do business”.
“The three key mistakes: labour unrest, regulatory escala7on and taxes that target capital forma7on and
investment viability”.
“Essen7ally redress policies have focused on economic transfer rather than growth. Yet exclusion is perpetuated by
lack of growth”.
“Economic transfer policies may sa7sfy the more emo7onal side of Apartheid redress but provides zero solu7on to
the excluded”.
“A focus less on what exists but what needs to come into existence is what will really accelerate transforma7on”.
@chrishartZA

17. Corporate communicators in South Africa are trained to apply the Western approach
of the sender-receiver model; meaning that audiences do not ac7vely par7cipate in
the construc7on of meaning.
This methodology is routed in the science of persuasion and advocacy rather than in
social involvement and contribu7on. That is, developed countries put enormous faith
into science because it is perceived to be based on fact and objec7vity. What is olen
overlooked, however, is that science is a human construct.
Conven7onal corporate discourse assumes a fragmented, linear, causal and
mechanis7c view of the world
Implicit within corporate discourse is the assump7on of the autonomous individual –it
is only the finest person that both survives and triumphs. This assump7on seems to
grant respect to individual freedom of choice and fosters individual development.
Corporate SA

18. South African corporates and SOEs are experiencing moun7ng ideological banles between top
management and the workforce. The opposing ideologies are evidenced in divergent Discourse
Models which appear to be indelibly irreconcilable.
Each presents reali7es as an argument and jus7fica7on for respec7ve rhetoric:
unions – poverty, unemployment, exploita7on
business – foreign investment, economic growth, compe77veness
Reality is socially constructed – not objec7ve, natural phenomenon in its own right.
• Michel Foucault (social psychologist) - discourse is always linked to power i.e. the power to
construct an iden7ty. Some iden77es are more powerful than others, they have greater
privileges / authority.
• Constructs are perpetuated through mass media – who controls the content, controls the
discourse.
• Discourses are supported by social ins7tu7ons that support exis7ng power dynamics.
Summary

19. Implica7ons
Corporate Discourse (esp. economics) in SA is predominantly Western-centric (individualis7c) ie.
presented as scien7fic, linear, causal – whereas many South Africans have collec7vist value
orienta7ons on the back of years of oppression and disenfranchisement.
In light of our history and present circumstances Corporate Discourse stands the risk of being
interpreted by many as impersonal, one-dimensional, manipula7ve, pro-colonialist monopoly –
producing further divisiveness and aliena7on.
Opportunity/challenge/impera7ve:
• Take stock of the language we are using in our business communica7on – and recognise
underlying ideologies and ins7tu7onal systems they protect that empower/benefit one
group over another.
• Enter into the internal logic of the world constructed by the other in order to understand
their strategies of meaning making.
• Apply more care and sensi7vity in the terms we use to explain, argue and propose.

20. Further research – discourse anlysis of corporate communica7on against
social comment and opinion.
Interview with communica7on spokespeople – esp. black people from older
genera7on to analyse underlining themes of value conflicts
End note
Thank-you

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References