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The purpose of this paper is to document the racist undertones of Donald Trump’s Presidential campaign rhetoric and draw implications regarding its impact on equality, diversity, and inclusion. Most contemporary individuals reject explicitly racist beliefs and strive to present themselves as having egalitarian attitudes toward other races and ethnicities. However, commonly held implicit biases toward historically marginalized racioethnic groups drive negative effect that is often unconscious and unacknowledged. Inconsistency between the conscious and unconscious aspects of contemporary racism generates a population of individuals who are uncomfortable with their attitudes, creating an opening for politicians willing to leverage racist rhetoric and gain support by resolving this inconsistency.

This paper applies social psychological theory and research to address the questions of what attracts otherwise non-racist individuals to racist-tinged rhetoric. The paper also provides theory-based interventions for reducing the attractiveness and impact of racist political campaigns.

Supporters of racist politicians resolve the conflict between their negative feelings toward racioethnic minorities and their espoused anti-racist views by distancing themselves from racist rhetorical content in three ways: by denying that racist statements or actions occurred, denying that the statements or actions are racist, and/or by denying responsibility for racism and its effects. These techniques provide supporters with validation from an authority that they can express their negative affect toward out-groups and still consider themselves to be good people and not racists.

Distancing from racism has allowed contemporary American extremists to reframe themselves as victims of closed-minded progressives seeking to elevate undeserving and/or dangerous out-groups at the in-group’s expense. Effective anti-racism techniques are needed to counter implicit biases in order to limit the attractiveness of extremist views. Implicit biases can be effectively reduced through training in counter-stereotypic imaging, stereotype replacement, and structured inter-group interaction. Effectively countering denial of the facts involves affirming the audience’s belief system while building skepticism toward the sources of misinformation.

While countering racist politicians requires commitment, these efforts are essential for protecting the identity of the USA as a society striving toward equality, diversity, and inclusion.

By articulating the social psychological principles underpinning racist-tinged populist rhetoric, this paper explains the attractiveness of racist statements by politicians, which tends to be under-estimated.

Although the gap between rhetoric and reality is not a specific human resource management (HRM) feature, the disconnection between discourse and action seems to have reached unusual stages in this case. Not much is known about HRM in Portugal, but it is clear that Portuguese academics and practitioners have extensively adopted the global HRM rhetoric. With an environment apparently unfavorable to the HRM normative model, this paper examines the ways in which global HRM rhetoric meets Portuguese reality.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how actors subjected to public performance evaluations may “contest commensuration,” i.e. may seek to influence how such ratings and rankings will be construed among important stakeholders.

A qualitative study of press releases, and interviews with department heads, is used as a basis for the analysis.

The empirically derived taxonomy of public responses to a state-initiated performance evaluation of educational programs shows that actors may mobilize an array of commensuration management tactics so as to maintain or improve one’s relative positional status. Such tactics may have at least three different foci, namely, on the comparison object (i.e. on the new grouping of actors), the comparison dimension (i.e. the standardized format for comparison) and the comparison rate (i.e. the rate received), respectively. The authors also find that not only are threats to positional status likely to spur commensuration management tactics, but also the opportunity to exploit a good rate.

The paper augments recent research that has problematized the so-called “reactive conformance thesis” by focusing on how evaluated organizations may directly try to influence external stakeholders through public responses. The study is also one of the first that analytically disentangles how they may skillfully exploit different forms of “plasticity” that are inherent in any type of commensuration.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of angry political rhetoric employed by George Wallace and Donald Trump. The authors start by discussing the civic thinking skills stressed within the C3 Framework, specifically the ability to analyze politicians’ arguments. Then, the focus shifts to look at angry political rhetoric within the US history. Next, the authors discuss the parallels of the angry political rhetoric employed by both Wallace and Trump. Finally, two activities are provided that enable students to grasp the convergences with the angry political rhetoric utilized by both Wallace and Trump.

In this paper, the authors explore angry rhetoric in American politics. The authors designed two classroom-ready activities by drawing on the best teaching practices advocated for in the C3 Framework. To elaborate, both activities allow students to research and analyze arguments made by George Wallace and Donald Trump. This enables students to engage in the four dimensions of the Inquiry Arc in the C3 Framework.

The authors provide two activities that can be utilized in the high school social studies classroom to enable students to dissect American politicians’ messages. These two activities can be adapted and utilized to enable students to examine a political candidate’s messages, especially those that draw on angry rhetoric. By completing the steps of these two activities, students are better prepared to be critical consumers of political media messages.

In this paper, the authors explore the role of angry political rhetoric in American politics. The authors examine the parallels of political style between George Wallace and Donald Trump. Two activities are provided to help students break down the angry political rhetoric employed by these two controversial figures.

Responses to diversity management have resulted in disappointment to many organizations (Cox, 2001). Previous work has situated rational for diversity in deontological ethics by equality scholars, while the business case for diversity has commonly rested on utilitarian ethics (van Dijk et al., 2012). The purpose of this paper is to examine a possible shift in rational for diversity – to explore if and how the ethic of care has been utilized in the diversity statements of companies earning recognition as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in 2012.

This study utilized visual rhetoric analysis and was designed to examine multiple elements of these diversity statements as published in the company web sites, including presence of the ethic of care, visual communication, and logistics.

Of note are the results of the presence of the ethic of care as a primary or secondary rationale in 70 percent of the statements studied. Statistically significant results were found in the number of images of people from diverse backgrounds, as well as levels pleasantness and activation of the tone of the ethics statements.

This study contributes to a better understanding of identifiable characteristics of these diversity statements at organizations which have been identified by their employees and the Great Place to Work Institute.

The purpose of this study is to discuss the advantages and challenges of using virtuous language in business.

This paper is a theoretical exploration based on a literature review and philosophical analysis that uses a quantitative study from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) as its starting point.

This study argues that neo-Aristotelian leadership and positive leadership explain why companies whose financial filings use value-laden language that stresses the higher purpose of the organisation to outperform companies whose reports use the language of profit maximisation. While neo-Aristotelian leadership is based on Aristotle’s Rhetoric, positive leadership is primarily influenced by research results from Positive Psychology and Positive Organizational Scholarship. The two approaches to leadership highlight something that conventional business research largely ignores, namely, the role of values as drivers of human behavior and the importance of character in leadership. Both research streams indicate that it is possible for organisations to do well and do good because they are seen as groups of value-driven individuals. Thus, using virtuous/positive communication is a possible means to do well financially and to (re-)humanize the business world of tomorrow.

The BHI study investigates the outcomes of written language only; thus, it does not consider oral communication. Moreover, there is no “perfect level” of virtuous language in corporate environments. We should not expect the same precision in ethics as in mathematics.

By way of explaining how to best use virtuous language in a business context, this study helps business practitioners to do good and well.

This study offers a pathway to (re-)humanize tomorrow’s world of business, which is once again subjugating humanity to imagined technological imperatives.

By deliberating the benefits and possible downsides of using virtuous language in a business environment, this paper advances a topic that has recently gained considerable attention but is still in need for more research.

el propósito de este estudio es discutir las ventajas y desafíos de usar el lenguaje de la virtud en los negocios.

este artículo es una exploración teórica basada en una revisión de la literatura y análisis filosófico que utiliza un estudio cuantitativo del Boston Consulting Group (BCG) como su punto de partida.

este estudio sostiene que el liderazgo neo-aristotélico y el liderazgo positivo explican por qué las empresas cuyas declaraciones financieras utilizan un lenguaje cargado de valor que enfatiza el propósito superior de la organización superan a las empresas cuyos informes utilizan el lenguaje de la maximización de beneficios. Mientras el liderazgo neo-aristotélico se basa en la retórica de Aristóteles. El liderazgo positivo es principalmente influenciado por los descubrimientos de la Psicología Positiva y la Teoria Organizacional Positiva. Los dos enfoques del liderazgo destacan algo que la investigación empresarial convencional ignora, a saber, el papel de los valores como impulsores del comportamiento humano y la importancia del carácter en liderazgo. Ambas corrientes de investigación indican que es posible que las organizaciones hagan el bien y que les vaya bien al mismo tiempo, justo porque son vistos como grupos de individuos impulsados por valores. Por lo tanto, usar la comunicación virtuosa / positiva es un medio que permite hacer el bien financieramente hablando y para (re) humanizar el mundo empresarial de mañana.

el estudio BHI investiga los resultados del lenguaje escrito solamente; por tanto, no considera la comunicación oral. Además, no existe un "nivel perfecto" de lenguaje virtuoso en entornos corporativos. No deberíamos esperar la misma precisión en ética que en matemáticas.

a modo de explicación de cómo utilizar mejor el lenguaje virtuoso en un contexto empresarial, este estudio ayuda a los empresarios a entender mejor la relación entre hacer el bien y que les vaya bien a sus organizaciones.

este estudio ofrece un camino para (re)humanizar el mundo empresarial del mañana, que una vez más está sometiendo a la humanidad a imperativos tecnológicos imaginados.

deliberando sobre los beneficios y las posibles desventajas de usar un lenguaje virtuoso en un entorno empresarial, este documento presenta un tema que recientemente ha recibido considerable atención pero que necesita de más investigación.

o objetivo deste estudo é discutir as vantagens e os desafios do uso da linguagem virtuosa nos negócios.

Este artigo é uma exploração teórica baseada em uma revisão da literatura e análise filosófica que usa um estudo quantitativo do Boston Consulting Group (BCG) como ponto de partida.

Este estudo argumenta que a liderança neo-aristotélica e a liderança positiva explicam por que as empresas cujas demonstrações financeiras usam uma linguagem carregada de valor que enfatiza o propósito superior da organização de superar as empresas cujos relatórios usam a linguagem da maximização de benefícios. Enquanto a liderança neo-aristotélica é baseada na retórica de Aristóteles. A liderança positiva é influenciada principalmente pelos resultados da pesquisa da Psicologia Positiva e do Estudo Organizacional Positivo. Ambas as abordagens da liderança destacam algo que a pesquisa convencional de negócios ignora, a saber, o papel dos valores como motores do comportamento humano e a importância do caráter na liderança. Ambos os fluxos de pesquisa indicam que é possível que as organizações façam bem e que façam bem porque são vistas como grupos de indivíduos movidos por valores. Portanto, usar a comunicação virtuosa / positiva é um meio de fazer o bem financeiramente e (re) humanizar o mundo dos negócios do amanhã.

O estudo BHI investiga apenas resultados de linguagem escrita; portanto, não considera a comunicação oral. Além disso, não existe um "nível perfeito" de linguagem virtuosa em ambientes corporativos. Não devemos esperar a mesma precisão na ética que na matemática.

Por meio da explicação de como usar da melhor forma a linguagem virtuosa em um contexto de negócios, este estudo ajuda os empreendedores a fazer o bem e melhor.

Este estudo oferece um caminho para (re) humanizar o mundo empresarial do amanhã, que mais uma vez está submetendo a humanidade a imperativos tecnológicos imaginários.

deliberando sobre os benefícios e as desvantagens potenciais do uso de linguagem virtuosa em um ambiente de negócios, este artigo apresenta um tópico que recentemente recebeu atenção considerável, mas precisa de mais pesquisas.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to clarify that narratives have a rhetorical dimension, whose study has to be considered an important part of rhetoric (this claim is not accepted by important scholars). The arguments are based on the properties that narratives are very persuasive and that they are implicitly involved in the three species of rhetoric (deliberative, judicial and celebrative) introduced by Aristotle in his Rhetoric. Second, narratives are strongly related to the concept of intentional action or human action that has a purpose, a mental project and the execution of the act, such it is defined in the classical paper by Alfred Schutz common-sense and scientific interpretation of human action (1953). This property relates narratives with phenomenology, epistemology of social sciences and management research and practice.

This research is a theoretical work based on the study of central concepts of rhetoric, narratives, historiography and epistemology of social sciences and it uncovers the narrative aspects involved in intentional action. As a theoretical study, it does not include empirical studies, but it points out some kinds of management activities, such as creating projects and case studies.

It uncovers the relationships between rhetoric and narratives, and between narratives and intentional action. If offers a new conceptual frame that can be very productive.

This conceptual approach is new. It clarifies important misunderstandings about narrativity, facts, meanings and interpretations.

This paper aims to investigate the effect of matching social distance and the concrete/abstract visual presentation of the threats of distracted driving in campaign design.

This study conducts a series of 2 (social distance frame: close vs distant) × 2 (visual rhetoric style: literal vs metaphorical) online experiments on the perspective of the construal level theory.

This study identified that a fit between social distance and visual rhetoric style of the threat enhances the effect of a social marketing campaign targeting young adults. A message framed in terms of socially proximal entities shows a favorable impact on young drivers’ threat perception and behavioral intention when the visual rhetoric depicts the threats of texting while driving more concrete. On the other hand, more distant social entities in the message show a better impact when the threats are visualized in metaphor.

This paper enhances the understanding of a threat appeal message design by adding empirical evidence of matching visual rhetoric style and social distance. The findings provide theoretical and practical implications for social marketing campaigns, regarding the strategic tailoring of messages, particularly in public service announcements that discourage texting while driving on young adults.

Proposes the concept of rhetorical closure to address the phenomenon of pervasive IT “fashions”. Suggests that prevailing discourses surrounding IT are dominated by the rhetoric of closure and that such closure, although mutually constructed by suppliers, consultants and managers, has had several adverse consequences in terms of organizational change and results. Stimulates a critical thinking regarding the persistence of successive waves of new IT fashions and the consequences of closure on practice.

Theoretical framework informed by political views within the social shaping school combined with Habermas' theory of communicative action. Illustration of the argument is based on 22 semi‐structured interviews (senior practitioners from client‐firms, software suppliers and consulting‐firms working on ERP projects).

Outlines the nature of the “chain reaction” produced by rhetorical closure from individual practices to the segment level. Identifies occasions for breaking down rhetorical closure at the three levels of analysis. At the individual level, opportunities are related to daily users' practices. At the organizational level, opportunities are related to ongoing organizational decisions and negotiations regarding IT adoption. At the segment level, opportunities are related to forming coalitions, networks and groups of users.

Adopts an original perspective, examining the concept of rhetorical closure from a combination of two approaches: social shaping of technology and communicative action theory. Connects different types of closure to different types of rationality, and recognizes the specific validity claims underlying them. Calls into question current decision‐making processes that sustain IT pervasiveness and taken‐for‐granted assumptions of inevitability associated with new IT fashions.

Although accounting and reporting visualisations (i.e. graphs, maps and grids) are often used to veil organisations’ untransparent actions, these practices perform irrespectively of their ability to represent facts. In this research, the authors explore accounting and reporting visualisations beyond their persuasive and representational purpose.

By building on previous research on the rhetoric of visualisations, the authors illustrate how the design of accounting visualisations within integrated reports engages managers in a recursive process of knowledge construction, interrogation, reflection and speculation on what sustainable value creation means. The authors articulate the theoretical framework by developing a longitudinal field study in International Fashion Company, a medium-sized company operating in the fashion industry.

This research shows that accounting and reporting visualisations do not only contribute to creating unclear and often contradicting representations of organisations’ sustainable performance but, at the same time, “open up” and support managers’ unfolding search for “sustainable value” by reducing its unknown meaning into known and understandable categories. The inconsistencies and imperfections that accounting and reporting visualisations leave constitute the conditions of possibility for the interrogation of the unknown to happen in practice, thus augmenting managers’ questioning, reflections and speculation on what sustainable value means.

This study shows that accounting and reporting visualisations can represent good practices (the authors are not saying a “solution”) through which managers can re-appreciate the complexities of measuring and defining something that is intrinsically unknown and unknowable, especially in contexts where best practices have not yet consolidated into a norm. Topics such as climate change and sustainable development are out there and cannot be ignored, cannot be reduced through persuasive accounts and, therefore, need to be embraced.