CEO-speak : the language of corporate leadership; [deconstructing the double-speak of CEOs from Bill Gates to Jack Welch

In a post-Enron world, corporate accountability and ethical behaviour have become increasingly important. Joel Amernic and Russell Craig consider the implications of the corporate language of leadership. Contents Acknowledgments Introduction 1 Why the Words of Business Leaders Matter 2 Hyperbole and Delusion at Enron 3 Framing Andersen 4 The Gates to Microsoft: Exploiting Web Sites 5 AOLTimeWarner: Claiming the Internet Kingdom 6 IBM and the Privileges of an Internet Soapbox 7 Constructing Jack Welch, GE’s Corporate Chieftain Incarnate 8 Disney’s Narrative as Personality Prism 9 Nortel’s “Remarkable” Letter 10 Three Tenors in Perfect Harmony 11 Creating “North America’s Railroad” 12 Towards Greater Accountability for CEO-Speak APPENDICES 1 Skilling and Lay’s Last Letter to Shareholders of Enron 2 Remarks of Joseph F. Berardino, Managing Partner/CEO of Andersen, to the us House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services, 12 December 2001 3 AOLTimeWarner’s Internet Policy Statement 4 General Electric’s 1991 CEO Letter to Shareholders 5 Letter to Stockholders, 1940 Walt Disney Productions’ Annual Report 6 Letter to Stockholders, 1941 Walt Disney Productions’ Annual Report Notes References Index A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P R S T U V W Y "Through a rhetorical analysis of the speeches and letters of chief executive officers from Bill Gates to Jack Welch, annual reports to shareholders, press releases, and company newsletters and Websites, Joel Amernic and Russell Craig show that CEOs are elitist exclusionary propagators of an often biased stream of discourse. They examine the Internet as a powerful new platform for CEO-speak and find that the language of CEOs evokes an ideology of neo-liberalism, extreme individualism, hyper-competition, and global capitalism. Raising alarm bells regarding the ethos of corporate leadership, the authors urge the business press, academia, and the accounting and auditing community to take a more critical approach toward corporations."--Jacket CEO-Speak explores the metaphors and persuasive strategies used by corporate leaders at Enron, Microsoft, AOL-TimeWarner, General Electric, IBM, Nortel, Canadian National Railways, Andersen, Disney, and Alcan-Pechiney-Alusuisse. Amernic and Craig show that CEOs are frequently presented as heroes engaged in "the war of business" who can effect astonishing miracles of financial performance and reinvention. Contesting the notion that accounting is objective, CEO-Speak serves as an introduction to the controversies and ambiguities in corporate accountability and provides rich examples of the excesses of corporate communication

ceo-speak Explores The Metaphors And Persuasive Strategies Used By Leaders At Enron, Microsoft, Aol-timewarner, General Electric, Ibm, Nortel, Canadian National Railways, Andersen, Disney, And Alcan-pechiney-alusuisse. Amernic And Craig Show That Ceos Are Frequently Presented As Heroes Engaged In The War Of Business Who Can Effect Astonishing Miracles Of Financial Performance And Reinvention. Contesting The Notion That Accounting Is Objective, Ceo-speak Serves As An Introduction To The Controversies And Ambiguities In Corporate Accountability And Provides Rich Examples Of The Excesses Of Corporate Communication.

Explores the metaphors and persuasive strategies used by leaders at Enron, Microsoft, AOL-TimeWarner, General Electric, IBM, Nortel, Canadian National Railways, Andersen, Disney, and Alcan-Pechiney-Alusuisse. This title serves as an introduction to the controversies and ambiguities in corporate accountability.