Effective communication in Management and Business: Seminar 9
John Morgan
Language and Learning Centre, University of Wales, Aberystwyth
Topic/theme:
Language review: the use of noun compounds in establishing
academic style.
Language/topic focus:
How, why and when to construct noun compounds in
academic writing.
1. Making use of noun compounds in text
“Does a market orientation approach focus too heavily on customers at the expense
of other stakeholders? Managers also need to address the interests of other
stakeholders when making marketing decisions (Donald and Preston, 1995; Greenley
and Foxall, 1998; Miller and Lewis, 1991; Ogden and Watson, 1999). In this article,
we address market orientation within the context of multiple stakeholder orientation.
Managers have orientations toward each of their stakeholder groups, which exist
simultaneously. We propose that this constitutes a multiple stakeholder orientation
profile (MSOP), which is the simultaneous ordering of attitudes towards each set of
stakeholder interests and allocated managerial behaviour to serve these interests.
However, there will be variation in MSOPs, such as a market focus MSOP that
emphasizes customers, and an internal focus MSOP that emphasizes employees. As
a market focus MSOP simultaneously addresses the interests of customers along
with those of other main stakeholders, it is a more comprehensive and realistic
approach than the restricted market orientation approach.
(Greenley et al. 2005: 1483)
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2. Why use noun compounds?
Noun compounds are created to formalise long descriptive phrases—also
known as noun phrases—that make up singular concepts when the words are
grouped together. When separated each of the words may have multiple
meanings in different contexts:
e.g.
International exchange rate = the value of one currency against the value of
another currency.
How many meanings or different situations can you find in which you
could use the words separately?
International
=
Exchange
=
Rate
=
Translate each word into your own language. Do they make sense as
the noun compound “international exchange rate”?
This may present significant problems in reading and writing academic text in
a foreign or second language and it is advisable to read complex passages
twice to look for overall meanings and larger structures.
1
“Does a (S) market orientation approach (V) focus too heavily on (O + noun
phrase) customers at the expense of other stakeholders?
2
(S) Managers also need (V) to address the (O + noun phrase) interests of
other stakeholders when making marketing decisions (Donald and Preston,
1995; Greenley and Foxall, 1998; Miller and Lewis, 1991; Ogden and
Watson, 1999).
3
In this article, (S) we (V) address (O + noun phrase) market orientation
within the context of multiple stakeholder orientation.
2
4
(S) Managers (V) have (O + noun phrase) orientations toward each of their
stakeholder groups, (defining relative clause) which exist simultaneously.
5
(S) We (V) propose that (O + noun phrase) this constitutes a multiple
stakeholder orientation profile (MSOP), (defining relative pronoun) which is
the (noun phrase) simultaneous ordering of attitudes towards each set of
stakeholder interests and allocated managerial behaviour to serve these
interests.
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However, (S + noun phrase) there will be variation in MSOPs, (subordinate
clause + noun phrase) such as a market focus MSOP (non-defining
relative clause) that (parallel V) emphasizes (parallel O) customers, and an
internal focus MSOP that (parallel V) emphasizes (parallel O) employees.
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As (S) a market focus MSOP simultaneously (V) addresses the (O + noun
phrase) interests of customers along with those of other main stakeholders,
(subordinate clause + noun phrase) it is a more comprehensive and
realistic approach than the restricted market orientation approach.
3. Noun compounds from noun phrases
Noun compounds are essentially created through the need to be concise and
precise. Once a compound is created and accepted into either a language or a
professional field, it serves as a permanent reference to a single concept. By
doing so it allows greater economy of language use as it removes a significant
amount of grammatical features that increase the length of sentences. As such,
if a noun phrase is likely to be repeated many times through your writing, it is
almost essential to create a noun compound if none exists already.
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Consider these examples:
Full form noun phrase
Noun compound
Groups of stakeholders
stakeholder groups
1
2
2
1
Here is a more complex example
A profile of the orientation of multiple stakeholders
1
2
3
multiple stakeholder orientation profile (MSOP)
3
2
1
The acronym is added here as it may become a part of other noun compounds that
would be too complex without the acronym.
Note that in each of the noun compounds above, the plural form of stakeholders from
the full form noun phrases has become singular.
Try to turn these full form phrase into noun compounds without looking at the
text
1. Interests of stakeholders
2. Behaviour allocated to managers
3. An MSOP that focuses on the market
4. An MSOP the focuses internally
5. An approach to market orientation that is restricted
Reference for text samples
Greenley, G.E., Hooley, G.J. & Rudd, J.M. (2005). “Market orientation in a multiple
stakeholder orientation context: implications for marketing capabilities and assets. Journal of
Business Research 58: 1483-1494.
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