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Hannah Cox
ENC1102 B001
July 7, 2014
Genre Analysis
Amy Devitt, Anis Bawarshi, and Mary Jo Reiff, professors of writing and co-authors of
Materiality and Genre in the Study of Discourse Communities suggest that Genres are
rhetorical maps that chart familiar or frequently traveled communicative paths and provide
guideposts as writers adapt to unfamiliar academic terrain and study parts of society beyond the
classroom (Devitt, Bawarshi and Reiff, pg 14) In other words, we use genre to communicate in
unfamiliar situations. Genres can also be used to describe actions that happen in certain
rhetorical situations. Within a discourse community, there are certain languages and a lexis that
only people in that community really understand. This can create conflict between the
community and people outside of it. Devitt used the example of politics and the voting process.
She explained that although the creators of the ballots try to put explanations of the amendments
and put words in a simpler from for the non-experts to understand, there still is a gap between the
two simply because it is almost always impossible to understand language inside of a discourse
community unless you become a part of it. (Devitt pg 4)
The purpose of this paper is to understand the context and genre of layoff notices that are
distributed via hand delivery from the discourse community of Human Resource Department of
companies. In each notice, I will be discussing a very different company/business than the other
two. Appendix A comes from a company called Ericsson. Appendix B comes from a company
called Interpath and Appendix C comes from the Hamburg Central School District. All three
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have many similarities but also many differences resulting from their genre and individual
discourse communities. To further the explanation of my discourse community and provide
some further insight to what types of companies and businesses are involved, I did some research
on the companies in which I got the layoff notices. Appendix A, Ericsson, is a global networking
company. The C.E.O, Hans Vestburg states, We envisage a Networked Society that is
sustainable, and where everything that can benefit from a connection will have one. Our mobile
and fixed networks, multimedia solutions, and telecom services make a real difference to
people's lives, and the world we live in. This company itself is its own discourse community as
it is more professional and straight forward with its employees and it also has its own lexis
specific to the company. (Ericsson) Appendix C, Hamburg School District, is out of New York
and was named to the newspapers newly-released 2014 honor roll of outstanding school
districts a distinction it has earned for 21out of 22 years. Additionally, its included on the
newspapers list of five-star districts that have something to brag about. As it was last year,
Hamburg is ranked 10
th
out of 97 public school districts in the eight counties of Western New
York, based on four years of test data. The district is also a 2014 mathematics subject award
winner for scoring in the top 10% of all districts, based on standardized test data. This is also its
own unique discourse community because it is a completely different environment than a
business or corporate environment. The higher-ups may be more personal and helpful to the
employees (teachers) because the common goal is to provide the best education possible for the
students, rather than make as much profit as possible. (Hamburg blog) Appendix B, Interpath, is
a full-service application service provider, and e-business consultant. Interpath Communications
designs, delivers, hosts, and supports a range of mission-critical eBusiness and enterprise
applications. Interpath is a full service ASP that provides services in in consulting,
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implementation, hosting and application. Interpath has infrastructure and application partnerships
with BroadVision, IBM, SAP, Sun Microsystems, and Vignette. Select customers include: Aerial
Images, MJI Broadcasting, Centura Bank, Hitachi, UPS, and Nortel Networks. (Interpath) This
companys discourse community can tie in with Ericsson, because it is more of a professional
atmosphere and has a common goal of producing as much revenue and profit as possible. These
various types of employers all have a discourse community of their own, although they are all
part of a larger discourse community known as the business world. The genre of layoff notices is
very exclusive to this discourse community and important to them as well, because it gives the
employer a way to let employees know that their job will be terminated in the future, and they
can do so early and in a mature, professional, and respectful manner. This type of
communication is very important to businesses in order for them to keep a good reputation and to
get people to want to work there and even for employees who are let go to continue to try to
work there.
Finding these articles proved to be difficult. Finding layoff notice templates and
examples was simple, but finding actual layoff notices brought trouble. This is reasonable
because layoff notices are personal and confidential so it would not be acceptable for a business
to post someones layoff notice online. That could bring lawsuits and other ordeals if the
employee did not grant permission. From an employee perspective, I also would not want to post
my layoff notice online because it is personal and not something most people are proud of.
I gathered my articles from google. Each article comes from a different company. As I
stated above, Ericsson, Interpath and Hamburg School District all have layoff notices that I am
analyzing in this paper. These articles were not posted online by the employers, but rather by
websites that leak these types of documents. For example, the layoff notice from Hamburg
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School District came from a blog that talks about school district ethics. It cannot be assumed that
the recipient of the notice did not post this to the blog because it is possible that the ex-employee
was angry and felt that the layoff was unethical of the school district. The other two documents
that I am analyzing also came from similar sources and the same can be assumed. Whether it was
an ex-employee posting the notice or an angered citizen that got ahold of the notice, it is notable
that they are being posted online in anger or discontent. This is assumed because of the websites
people can retrieve them from.
The topic of these articles is implied. They are used to inform an employee of an
upcoming layoff period and that they could possibly be included in the layoffs or just that the
employee is being let go. These layoff notices are a popular element of the business world and
discourse community today. Employers will issue these letters instead of holding a one-on-one
meeting in which they will inform the employee of a possible/definite layoff. In most layoff
situations, it is not only one employee being let go, therefore it has become easier for the
employer to issue notices via paper instead of holding multiple one-on-ones. This genre is most
certainly the result of the rhetorical repeated situation of letting go large numbers at one time. It
has become more of a convenience to do things this way and so it has evolved to this form of
letting people go. A common theme that I was able to identify among all three of my documents
(A, B, and C) was that they were all hand-delivered. This is because the company wants the
employees to feel like they are important and that they do care about them. It is less personal to
receive a fax, email, letter via mail, etc. than to receive something delivered right to your desk.
The employers might feel like they are softening the blow a little bit, although that is debatable.
Seeing this common trend among the documents, you can infer that events in the past resulted in
this form of delivery. Complaints, hard feelings, whatever the reasoning may be, it is certain that
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this technique is unique to its genre and results from a rhetorical situation. There are not many
people who are invited to participate in this document nor who have much authority. It is clear
that the document is for the employer and the employee that is receiving the document to see
only. It is a private document and cannot be shared without permission from the employee whose
name is on it. The ultimate authority rests in the hands of the employer, who is also establishing
credibility. When they type out these letters, they use very professional and mature conversation.
The writer signs his/her name and takes credit for what is happening. They also sound very blunt
and assertive, for example in appendix B it states, Accordingly, you should consider your layoff
permanent and you should not count on being recalled to employment with Ericsson. (Appendix
B) That statement is assertive and very clear. In order to get the point across, the person writing
the letter has to use this type of language. The letters do not involve complex words or phrases;
however, they do include language that might only be understood by members of the discourse
community. Words such as bumping rights, PTO, and transition pay (Appendix A, B, C) are
all words and phrases that people outside of this discourse community may not have ever heard
in their lifetime. Therefore, those who are invited to participate must have a basic understanding
of the language in their discourse community; otherwise the layoff notice might confuse them.
This is where the communication gap can be considered and where issues with non-members can
occur. Another common feature among all of my documents is a section at the very end
dedicated to making the employees feel more than welcome to talk with the H.R department to
discuss any issues, comments, or questions. It includes a phone number and an email address.
With this feature, employees can feel like they are able to communicate with higher-ups about
anything they feel is necessary in regards to this layoff. It is reasonable to assume that the head
of the H.R department more than likely receives quite a few questions, comments, or concerns
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from former employees, as this is a very difficult period in someones life. It is never easy to
cope with the loss of a job, and many questions and concerns certainly accompany that.
Although all three of my sources are from extremely different places and companies, they
all possess quite a few common characteristics. I touched on a few earlier in the analysis: letter
form, hand delivered, a section dedicated to contacting someone with any questions or concerns,
etc. But there are a few other aspects that link them all together under one genre. All three
documents address the employee by saying; Dear,. All three also include a signature and contact
information for the person who wrote the letter. The information in the body of each document
varies, though. In appendix, the explanation for termination involves the companies need to
establish fiscally appropriate management practices (Appendix B) It also includes the date of
termination and what the employee will be eligible for; including information on an attached
packet that further explains these benefits. This document also encourages employees to contact
a certain person with feedback.
Appendix C explains in the body that the reason for termination is budget issues. It also
includes the termination date and a section explaining what is next (i.e. benefits, opportunities,
etc.). Different from both appendix A and B, this document includes information on how the
school district will assist them in finding a new job by assisting with resume writing, writing
recommendations, and many other accommodations. They give the employee an opportunity to
opt out of this service by including a section at the bottom that they fill out and send back in,
either accepting or declining the help. I found this very interesting, as the other two documents
did not have this service. The employer does not want the employee to feel lost, or dissatisfied
with their employment in the school district or as a teacher. It is a difficult field to work in with
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the continually shrinking budgets and pay cuts, the employer wants them to continue their career
as a teacher and wants to offer them as much help as possible.
Appendix A explains the reason of termination to be the network rollout of a new
program that will eliminate jobs. This document also includes the termination date and explains
what to do next(benefits, etc.) and it also encourages employees to seek employment elsewhere,
as this company will be hard to get another position with for some reason or another. It also
states that seniority will not and has not been a factor in the layoff decision and gives the
employee a chance to contact the head of the H.R department with any questions or concerns, as
did the other letters.
All three documents looked the same, they included the company logo and were all
written and printed in black and white ink with only words, except the logo. None included
highlighted or bolded sections. More than likely because they wanted the employee to feel that
the whole document was of equal importance. No color or pictures to the document make it look
more professional, as this is a very professional situation that should be handled by both the
employee and employer with utmost respect and maturity. It might not be taken as seriously if
the writer included pretty text, color, and pictures in the letter. It is a serious situation as someone
is losing their job and source of income so to some, an unprofessional document might be
offending. There are many explanations to the reasoning of the layout of the letter, including
credibility and power, but I feel the one word that describes it best is credibility.
The genre of layoff notices in the community of business management and human
resource management involves a ton of language and paperwork specific to the community. This
genre of layoff notices is a specific document used specifically in the business world to inform
employees of their termination from the company. Rhetorical situations have led to the use of
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these forms of communication, as well as the information provided in it. Although all three
documents are very different information wise, they follow a specific pattern and share many
.similar features. However, each document comes from a different source, all with different
reasons for the terminations and different resources used to handle it. These things are specific to
a smaller community of the exact company that the letter is coming from. Analyzing and reading
these documents and some of the terminology used in them proves the gap between those in the
profession and those outside of it. Even within the company, there could be a gap, between the
higher-ups and the ones being let-go. The employees being let go may not understand some of
the terminology nor may they understand the reasoning listed. Genre and discourse communities
have clear qualities to them that are not achievable by those outside of it simply because of the
fact that they do not use those words or phrases. The repeated situations have led to this genre in
the discourse community and I think that has been made clear.









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Works Cited
Amy J. Devitt, Anis Bawarshi and Mary Jo Reiff.College English.Vol. 65, No. 5, Special Issue:
Materiality, Genre, and Language Use (May, 2003), pp. 541-558.
"Company Overview of Interpath Communications, Inc." Businessweek.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 07
July 2014.
"Hamburg Central School District / Overview." Hamburg Central School District / Overview.
N.p., n.d. Web. 07 July 2014.
National Council of Teachers of English. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3594252
N.p., n.d. Web. http://www.ericsson.com/us/thecompany\










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Appendix A:

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Appendix B:

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Appendix C: