Verizon Communications: An Examination of Organizational Discourse "Before" and "After" 9/11

Abstract

In this thesis, Verizon's discourse was analyzed as a case study for corporate rhetoric. This rhetorical analysis examined Verizon's discourse before, during and after the crisis of 9/11. Press releases, executive speeches, and other internal documents were analyzed while media reports provided a context for the discourse. Renewal discourse coupled with the theories of organizational identification and values advocacy provided the basic framework for this thesis. Verizon's crisis situation during the crisis of 9/11 provided a unique context in which to study organizational discourse. By placing the response within a larger frame of the organization's history, this study was able to provide insight into traditional crisis response scholarship that often only focuses on the immediate response to crisis.