Chapter 1
Emotional Literacy
Section 1- Ch. 1
Strictly Business: A Brief History of Corporate Language
Business culture
1) The norms, values, and beliefs that pertain to all aspects of doing business in a
culture.
2) Language used while conducting business informs how we view tasks, accomplish
goals, and build relationships
o Risk limiting ourselves to outdated clichés that no longer apply to the ever-changing
landscape of corporate America
Emotional literacy
1) The capacity to perceive and to express feelings, especially as they surround
intimate relationships
o Business Language is void of emotion because decisions based on emotion are often
seen as naïve, illogical, and possibly unprofitable
Discourse
1) Written or spoken communication, personal interactions, debate
2) Business related discourse is learned behavior
Code switch
1) We use different vocab and ways of speaking/communicating in different situations
and with different people
o Ex: We laugh and cry with friends and family
, o Ex: At work, we often do put personal concerns aside to concentrate on whatever
important task is at hand
Workplace Alienation
1) Feeling disconnected from co-workers because business relationships lack intimacy
we're accustomed to outside of work
o Fast-paced work environments leave especially little room for coworkers to form close
bonds
o Slower-paced office environment can limit personal interactions
o Wharton study shows that this kind of loneliness has a negative affect on job
performance
Reciprocity
Mutual benefit (both parties can gain)
Section 2- Ch. 1
Metaphors and Idioms in Business
Metaphor
1) Figure of speech comparing two different things in regard to Competition (different
cultures use different metaphors)
2) We use them in order to make complex ideas easy to understand. They serve as a
kind of shorthand that simplifies our communications with people
o corporate ladder
o business as a kind of "game."
Zero-Sum Game
1) A situation in which one person's gain is another's loss
Idioms