essential-guide-to-qualitative-in-organizational-research

––––––––––––––––––––––– TALK-IN-INTERACTION/CONVERSATION ANALYSIS–––––––––– 219allocating activities’ (Boden, 1994: 66). Taking a turn at talk is so taken-for-granted that itsclose study may at first appear trivial and mundane. The turn-taking system initially forwardedby Sacks et al. (1974) was one where: one speaker speaks at a time; number and order ofspeakers vary freely; turn size varies; turn transition is frequent and quick; and there are fewgaps and few overlaps in turn transition (see Boden, 1994: 67; Boden and Zimmerman, 1991:9; Heritage, 1997: 163–73). Subsequent research in institutional settings has noted variantsto this system – for example, in courtrooms, doctor/patient and teacher/pupil interactions(Atkinson and Drew, 1979; Atkinson, 1982; Greatbatch, 1992; Heritage, 1989; Mehan, 1979)where through taking specific types of turns, institutional identities are instantiated.In terms of the elites’ talk, Boden (1994) notes a variation in turn-taking for ‘pacing topics’and ‘spacing speakers’ which the formal setting of the boardroom/TMT meetings alsoconfirmed. It was where the ability to mitigate an interruption and/or to be able to suspendthe ‘normal’ features of the turn-taking system through securing an extended turn (forexample, by prefacing one’s utterance through ‘just three things/concerns/issues . . . ’ andso on) were crucial ‘methods’ for ‘pacing and spacing speakers’ and more significantly, forframing others’ attention. The three brief extracts reproduced here will simply illustrate thebroad parameters of the turn-taking ‘system’ which characterized aspects of the formalboardroom/TMT meetings. The speakers are: managing director (MD), finance director(FD), sales and marketing director (SMD), quality manager (QM), purchasing manager (PM)and operations director (OD). Our focus will remain with the MD for analytical purposeswhilst remembering that others are vital for instantiating roles and identities and‘organization’.Extract 1Extract 2Extract 3MD: OK [name of FD] do you want to take us through=FD: =yes ok well the April results urm (.) UK operations . . .. . . [cont.]MD: right [name of Qual Mgr]SMD: ok =MD: =you are on (.)QM: right=MD: =BS5750MD: so (.) bit of a culture shock that I think [quietly spoken] err are wemissing somebody?[brief pause]SMD: =[ no [name of QM]PM: =[ no er [name of QM] was [ erL5 MD: [ oh OK yeah fine ‘Attendu’FD: yeah=MD: =you all got itFD: um=OD: =yep[pause as they locate their copy amongst their papers and findappropriate pages]L10 MD: err what we tried to do in that document is really to say . . . .. . . [cont.]