Article Review Task
i) Think back to the article ‘Differences in managerial Communication: Fact or Folk-linguistics?’ and answer the following questions:
a) Who is the author and when was the text published?
b) What kind of source is it?
c) Has the author conducted their own research?
d) Does the author refer to secondary research?
e) What are the main points/arguments the author(s) make? Choose two or three.
f) Can you relate to the arguments/points made in the article to what you have studied/read, or from your own experience? How? Give specific examples from parts of the text.
ii) Read the model answer below and place the question (a-f) next to the part of the paragraph where it is answered.
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Questions
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Paragraph
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The text ‘Gender Differences in Managerial Communication..’ by Smeltzer and Werbel (1986) documents primary research carried out into how men and women may differ in managerial styles.
The authors have carried out primary research into this topic and have referred to secondary sources in the literature review and discussion sections of the article. For example, they mention other studies by Bradley (1981, cited in Smeltzer and Werbel, 1986) which corroborates the analysis of their findings.
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One of the author’s findings was that there were few notable differences in effective communication styles between men and women. They noted that the use of memos and letters to be persuasive were used effectively by both men and women, without any noticeable difference between the genders. Moreover, they state that by claiming stereotypes like this exist, it can lead to ‘self perception […] deficiency’ (Smeltzer and Werbel, 1986: 4) in women and the creation of ineffective management training courses, which can have negative implications for women’s career development.
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I can relate the point about ‘self-perception deficiency’ as I have witnessed this and heard others talking about this concept in their workplace. When I did an internship at a company in Beijing, I noticed that women often spoke about themselves being unable to do certain jobs such as negotiating in sales deals because they were women. They said they lacked the persuasive skills and necessary language men naturally possessed to carry out this role. I found this attitude difficult to understand and can see how it would lead to people perpetuating a myth based on stereotyping.
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Another finding from the research was that….
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I can relate to this point because/ in that….
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In summary, this article indicates that gender has little or no effect on managerial communicative effectiveness. Through extensive and meticulous research, the authors convincingly debunk certain myths surrounding gender roles and stereotypes in the workplace. This article has corroborated some of my own anecdotal opinions on this matter and made me question other stereotypes that are often related to gender and personality.
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iii) Can you complete the empty paragraphs in this model essay? You need to summarise another point from the article and relate to it in some way.
When summarising the main points of the article make sure that you paraphrase and cite properly.