Euphemism For Downsizing Firing Employees

Lucas, K., & Fyke, J. P. (2014). Euphemisms and ethics: A language-centered analysis of Penn State's Sexual Abuse Scandal. Journal of Business Ethics, 122(4), 551-569. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1777-0

"After the Layoffs, What Next?" is a case study involving the aftermath of the downsizing of Delarks, a Midwestern clothing store chain. In this case Harry Denton, the architect of the downsizing, is able to orchestrate a considerable financial turnaround, but in so doing he alienates most of Delarks' remaining employees and most of Delarks' upper-management. Denton is an inexperienced CEO whose management experience rests solely in managing a national chain's flagship store in New York. Though Denton's restructuring of Delarks' business model will cause Wall Street to take notice and toast Denton's efforts, his inexperience may in the end eventuate in Delarks' collapse. Delark's downsizing was done in a rather abrupt way in which most laid-off employees were entirely unaware that they were about to lose their jobs. The problem Denton unknowingly faced was that the employee-pool at Delarks was very tight-knit where members felt as if they belonged to one big satisfied family, and the unexpected lay-offs caused great distress within the company.

In “Every Little Hurricane” by Sherman Alexie, the story takes you through a damaged, poverty suffering, Native American family through young Victor’s eyes. This story opens the reader’s eyes to those who may not have the luxury of money. Poverty can definitely take a toll on a family. The effect of poverty also brings alcohol. Victor’s family definitely has a major issue with addiction to alcohol. This has become the normal for Victor because his parents drink a lot. You can inference this from the story. The author of this story has used many pieces of figurative language to enhance the theme and also improve the story and keep the reader’s attention. One example of figurative language in the story was Alexie’s word choice and dialogue. One example of this from the text is, “Goddamn it, one Indian yelled at another as the argument began. “You ain’t got shit, you fucking apple” (pg. 2). This example from the text shows how Alexie uses specific words of the Native Americans and uses it to impact the reader. He also uses some harsh swear words to give the text a tone/mood. He makes a unique and ragged tone with his word choice. The swear words represent the harshness and how bad of a shape Victor’s family is in. The author also uses the insult “apple” in the example earlier. “Apple” is an insult used by Native Americans to call someone who is Native American on the outside but acts white on the inside. This is added to the story to give the dialogue more importance. These words strongly impact the characters of the story and you only get why if you know what it means. This makes the reader think deeper into the story. Another example of dialogue and word choice is, “They always fought. Had been fighting since the very beginning. “Well, tell them to get their asses out of my house,” Victor’s father yelled again, his decibel level rising to meet the tension in the house” (pg. 2). This shows a good example of Alexie using word choice and dialogue throughout his story. Because the words chosen give a vibe of how intense the scene is. When the author mentions that the father’s voice reached the amount of tension of the house, this made the reader almost hear how loud the

Euphemism are types of words that make things sound better than they are. Dyseuphemism are types of words that make things sound worse than they are.

In the essay “Doubts About Doublespeak”(1993), William Lutz depicts how utilizing doublespeak can damage a society. Lutz begins with providing examples of doublespeak that range from silly to serious, showing how doublespeak can be harmless, but also disguise a truth with a manipulation of words. There are many different types of doublespeak, Lutz breaks it down into four different categories euphemism, jargon, gobbledygook and inflated language. By breaking them down, Lutz shows the audience that they share similarities in which they make something negative sound better than it is. There are more types of doublespeak that can be seen all around us, moreover, as more doublespeak is being created everyday and everywhere it becomes difficult

A euphemism is used to express something in a neutral or positive manner in place of

Argue a case for either the usage of hyperbole or understatement. Which do you think is more effective? More humorous? Explain your opinions, citing examples from the texts.

may feel the need to use this term, when someone is mocking or being ironic

I believe Jack dodged his responsibility by ordering Bob to get rid of Kelsey. He is Bob’ director, and he has the authority to ask him to get rid of an employee who does not perform properly.

A good example of this is the words thoughtlessly and negligent. These words are very similar in meaning; not showing consideration for the needs of other people; and they convey a negative connotation, because the author is saying they don’t really care about their dogs and not really thinking of their dog. They’re connected to the tone because it’s what the author is accusing the “careless” dog owners of. They are relevant becuase in reality, it’s posing a question; “If these owners love their dogs so much,

Weasel words are modifying words that undermine, contradict or weaken a direct message contained in the word, phrase or clause they accompany. These commonly overused words are ambiguous, unnecessary and should be avoided.

Irony- Playing around with words that mean one thing but are used in a completely different way.

Euphemisms is using words to indirectly refer to a subject that is taboo or socially uncomfortable. Using words that are more pleasant sounding to make topics sound less harsh or rude. Deriving from printed literature, euphemisms gave people an opportunity to deliver unpleasant news without using taboo words or phrases. In the business world, euphemisms are used more often than not. Using “word magic” explains a situation lighter than it actually is. When delivering bad

Certain fiction writers do not consider the use of euphemisms in their works and at certain times cause intentional ambiguity that attracts diverse reactions from their readers. This phenomenon comes about from what is termed as the reception theory. The mind tends to develop in accordance with the exposure (Cossman 50). It is evident that these scenes tend to be more attractive to the unsuspecting persons, mostly teenagers; therefore, developing strategies to protect them is essential. The Canadian government believes that continuing to produce these materials can corrupt the minds of the readers and the wider population.

I did some digging as well and came up with some existing literature on the subject of employee sabotage. Although sabotage can inflict serious damage, Cole and Ring (2005) believe it can be easily prevented if one is cognizant of the warning signs. Employee termination is one of the main causes for retaliation against the corporation. In many of the cases, the retaliation is against one particular individual – the main motive being revenge. Key findings from a 2005 survey found that the majority of sabotage attacks were accomplished through use of the company computer equipment (Cole & Ring, 2005). In particular, the attacks were accomplished by working remotely, during outside working hours through backdoor hacks and compromised accounts.