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Newsgroups: bit.listserv.xcult-l
Date:         Mon, 27 Jul 1992 09:38:16 EST
From:         Ken Willing <kwilling@LAUREL.OCS.MQ.EDU.AU>
Subject:      Workplace communication: conference
X-To:         xcult-l@psuvm.psu.edu

Annonuncement:  International Conference

"COMMUNICATION IN THE WORKPLACE:
          CULTURE, LANGUAGE  AND ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE"

Organised by: *Centre for Workplace Communication and Culture,
                  University of Technology, Sydney
              *National Centre for English Language Teaching and Research,
                  Macquarie University

September 1-4, 1993, Sydney Hilton International, Sydney, Australia


-An understanding of the role of culture, communication and language is
central to the successful operation of any organisation.

-This conference is an opportunity to engage with the latest ideas
about organisational change.  It will be an opportunity to interact
with people presenting cases of best practice in the negotiation,
delivery and management of communication and culture in the workplace.

-The conference will be divided into six themes.  Plenary sessions
will cover all six themes over the three days.  Smaller workshop and
paper sessions will also be divided into the six themes.  This means
that it will be possible for participants to follow their specialist
area of interest over the whole conference.


CONFERENCE THEMES
=====================

THEME 1: THE CHANGING NATURE OF WORK
Changes in the nature of the production process involve new,
centrally important roles for culture and language. Issues to
be addressed include:
    -The extent to which teamwork and collaboration are now productive
tools; and the extent to which production is still dominated by a
division of labour according to the logic of the production line
    -The usefulness of the notions of 'Fordism' and 'Post-Fordism' to
describe the changing nature of the production process and work.
    -The way issues of language and culture fit with new approaches to
the production process, such as Total Quality Management.
    -The demands of new developments in computer-supported cooperative work
    -The way linguistic and cultural diversity presents new challenges
and new creative possibilities in this changing context.
    -The types of oracy and the types of literacy that are now required
in productive workplaces.
    -The linguistic demands of competency-based training and the
limitations in the concept.

THEME 2: WORKPLACE AND MANAGEMENT CULTURES
New ideas and practices of management raise questions as to
whether enterprise management can be seen to consist of a range
of cultural phenomena and metaphors rather than being
'scientific' or based on 'rationality' of the market. Issues to
be addressed under this conference theme include:
    -The degree to which the concept of 'workplace culture' accounts for
differences, such as gender and ethnic/linguistic diversity.
    -The extent to which worker participation and worker involvement
require new management approaches to diversity.
    -The elements of the management discourse and management talk that
are most effective in managing diversity in the production process
and in organisational structures.

THEME 3: INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS IN A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY
Given the existence of multilingual and multiethnic workforces
in industrial societies, effective industrial relations
strategies need to draw on and take advantage of this
linguistic and cultural diversity. Issues to be addressed
include:
    -The role of culture in historically evolved ways of negotiating
employer/employee claims.
    -The ways in which unions can service cultural and linguistic
diversity most effectively.
    -The role linguistic and cultural diversity plays in negotiating
issues such as occupational health and safety.
    -The ways in which the discourse of effective intercultural
negotiation can be most usefully described and evaluated.

THEME 4: MANAGING DIVERSE HUMAN RESOURCES
In the interests of both workers and management, culturally
diverse resources can be used to the advantage of the
enterprise, and can provide the basis for productive and
harmonious work. The following issues will be addressed:
    -The management of recruitment and promotion in the context of
cultural and linguistic diversity.
    -The extent to which merit is a culturally loaded concept.
    -The roles of Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action.
    -The ways in which discourse can be constructed and managed in a more
inclusive and useful manner in performance and potential appraisal
interviews.

THEME 5: FINANCE AND MARKETING FOR DIVERSITY
The traditional assumptions of cultural homogeneity that
underlie mass production and mass consumption are becoming less
relevant in contemporary multicultural societies and globally
oriented economies. Similarly, different cultural and religious
traditions regarding finance need to be negotiated both as a
result of local diversity and as a result of the increasing
importance of global financial interactions. Issues include:
    -The implications for inter-enterprise communication of different
cultural traditions in dealing with finance and marketing.
    -The ways in which the successful management of diversity in the
workplace can assist an organisation in managing diversity in the
marketplace.
    -The sorts of discourses that are needed to deal with diverse clients
effectively.
    -The ways in which advertisements work as spoken or written texts.
How racism and sexism in the language of advertising operates to
limit market scope.

THEME 6: COMMUNICATION IN THE WORKPLACE: TRAINING FOR CHANGE
The training implications of the issues raised in Themes 1-5
will be examined in terms of: effective courses of action; key
tasks for trainers; effective training that encompasses issues
of culture and language; and the expected returns for
enterprises and for the workforce. Issues to be addressed
include:
    -The ways in which traditions of training are themselves the product
of historical and cultural experience.
    -The changing roles of oral and written language in workplace
training.
    -The ways in which a pedagogy for adult learners can be fashioned to
interface with diverse learning styles and linguistic and cultural
differences.
    -The roles of trainers as change agents, given the issues of culture
and language that are emerging in the most productive, competitive
and effective workplaces.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

PROPOSAL FORM

International Conference: "Communication in the Workplace:
                           Culture, Language and Organisational Change"
Sydney, Australia, 1-4 September, 1993

Name:
Present Position:
Name of Institution:
Address: 				City:
State/Province:  			Country: 	Zip/Post Code:
Home Tel. No: 				Office Tel. No:
	Fax No:


Conference theme I wish to address (tick one)

[   ]	Theme 1:	The Changing Nature of Work
[   ]	Theme 2:	Workplace and Management Cultures
[   ]	Theme 3:	Industrial Relations in a Multicultural Society
[   ]	Theme 4:	Managing Diverse Human Resources
[   ]	Theme 5:	Finance and Marketing for Diversity
[   ]	Theme 6:	Communication in the Workplace:  Training for Change


Title of Proposal:


Type of Session  (Tick One)

[   ]	Paper  		(45 minutes - single presentation)
[   ]	Demonstration  	(45 minutes - audio/video)
[   ]	Colloquium 		(11/2 hours)
[   ]	Workshop 		(1 hour)
[   ]	Workshop  		(2 hours)

Abstract (150 words)



-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION

International Conference: "Communication in the Workplace:
                           Culture, Language and Organisational Change"
Sydney, Australia, 1-4 September, 1993

Title:	               	Name:
Address:___________________________________________________________
City:				State/Province:_________________________
Country:				Zip/Postal Code:_________________
Tel:
Institution/Organisation Represented:
Name:
	___________________________________________________________
Address:____________________________________________________________
City:					State/Province:___________________
Country:				Zip/Postal Code:__________________
Tel:				Fax:___________________________________

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION: A$350.00

Attached please find my cheque for: A $350.00
		or
Please charge my Bankcard/Visa/Mastercard: A$350.00

Card No:_____________________________________________________________

Exp. Date:____________________________________________________________

Signature:


OR
I am interested in this Conference - please send me more information
as it becomes available.

All correspondence concerning registration or the program should be
mailed to:

CONFERENCE ON COMMUNICATION IN THE WORKPLACE
P.O. Box 721
Leichhardt  NSW  2040
Australia
or by Fax to  (02)  330 3914
or email  to  kwilling@laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS

 	Ansett Airlines are the official carrier for this Conference.

 	Please make your bookings through Performax Travel
	008 801 730 or (02) 555 8577.  Fax  02 555 8566

 	The Conference will benefit from Ansett and from the Hilton Hotel
for all bookings made through Performax Travel.

	Performax Travel will make reservations on the best possible fare
available on the day of booking.  These cheap fares usually have
restrictions which apply so for those who need more flexibility, we
can offer a 30% discount on specified group flights subject to
availability.

	 Please bear in mind that the earlier you book the more likely you
are to get special fares.  These cheap seats get sold quite quickly
and there are only a few available on each flight.

INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPANTS

 	Performax Travel can also arrange your accommodation at discount rates.

HOTEL OPTIONS THROUGH PERFORMAX TRAVEL

	Hilton Hotel (Conference Venue)
	Pitt Street, Sydney
	5 star hotel in the city centre
	Cost:	A$145 per room per night

	All Seasons Park Plaza
	Oxford Street, Sydney
	3 star hotel, just to the east of the city centre
	Cost:	A$110 per room per night

	Manhattan Hotel
	Greenknowe Av enue, Potts Point
	2 star hotel, just outside Kings Cross
	Cost:	A$88 per room per night

	Waldorf Apartments
	Liverpool Street, Sydney
	Apartments located in the city
	Cost:  	A$160 per night for a one
			bedroomed apartment (can sleep 4)
			A$180 per night for a two
			bedroomed apartment (can sleep 6)
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