Ponce

Michelle Ponce
Ms. Murray
ENC 1102
December 8, 2014
Annotated Bibliography-Digging Deep in the Outback
This annotated bibliography is about research that has been conducted on written
communication within the Lake Nona Outback Steakhouse. In the restaurant business it is all
about customer service and hospitality. Being part of the community, Outbackers have many
forms of written discourse to ensure the Lake Nona patrons receive outstanding service. Written
communication is vital to customer service and satisfaction. Those interested in my research may
be individuals within my community or from communities similar to mine.
When beginning my research I thought it would be extremely easy to find all my sources
just by searching restaurant written communication. Research was not that easy and I realized I
would have to break down my topic to be able to find sources of relevance. What kind of
industry am I working with? What are other terms I could use for written communication?
What information do I need to continue my research in this community? Through the exploration
I led I was able to further my knowledge on written communication within the workplace and
extend my views on how nonverbal communication takes place.

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Jones, Deborah, and Maria Stubbe. "Communication And The Reflective Practitioner: A Shared
Perspective From Sociolinguistics And Organisational Communication." International
Journal Of Applied Linguistics 14.2 (2004): 185-211. Communication & Mass Media
Complete. Web. 8 Dec. 2014.
This article is about research that was conducted on the Language in the Workplace
Project at the Victoria University. This extensive article covers sociolinguistics and
organizational skills that assist communication in New Zealand workplaces. The
workplace provides the perfect relationship between language and society. This study
was clearly looking at areas such as language, power and politeness, cross-cultural
communication and gender issues. Some of the feedback that the researchers got was that
receiving written information over spoken was better to retain. This article relates to
learning about discourse communities and how to study the language in a workplace.
Within the article there is a step-by-step breakdown of how to identify contexts, key
terms and tools for observing a community.
Jung, Hyo Sun, and Hye Hyun Yoon. "The Effects Of Nonverbal Communication Of Employees
In The Family Restaurant Upon Customers Emotional Responses And Customer
Satisfaction." International Journal Of Hospitality Management 30.3 (2011): 542-550.
PsycINFO. Web. 8 Dec. 2014.
This was a study done on the relationship between customer emotions and nonverbal
communication. The study showed that employee body movements and gestures either
impacted customers positively or negatively. The customers reaction to an employees
body language and nonverbal communication directly impacted guests satisfaction
within the restaurant. The results of the study implied that management in restaurants
should pay close attention to how customers react to these methods of nonverbal
communication. The employees should also change their way of handling silent
communication to be more positive to better impact the customers. This information
relates to Outback and how the hosts and servers communicate nonverbally in front of
customers. Occasionally this can make a patron feel very uncomfortable and that is why
practicing nonverbal communication in the form of writing is important.

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Jurin, Suzana. "The Role Of Text Genres Offer And Authorisation/Approval In Management
Communication." Tourism & Hospitality Management 17.2 (2011): 251-265. Hospitality
& Tourism Complete. Web. 8 Dec. 2014.
Specialized texts and genres are used as tools within management to better improve
communication. Genres can compel the sender of a message to either perform or not
perform specific actions. Specialized text is organized according to text genre and is a
method of social practice. Offer is an example of text genre, which is classified as
obligative because the sender provides the recipient with services and an obligation to
commitment and collaboration. This plays a big role within my discourse community
because a manager can e-mail the linens guy with a certain offer and he will feel obliged
to offer his services as a response to the managers offer. This article also goes over slang
and abbreviations that are used within workplace communication and how only members
of that community will know what is being said.
Mirabelli, Tony. Learning to Serve: The Language and Literacy of Food Service Workers
What They Dont Learn in School (2004): 143-162. Print

This article is about the food industry and how genres are used in restaurants. It starts off
by explaining how people criticize servers and the rude comments customers make about
waiters and waitresses without even knowing them. The article then explains Literacy
and Contemporary Theory, but the most useful information from this article was the
Menu section. In this section of the article the author Tony Mirabelli explains how menus
at restaurants are texts that are reasons for interaction between staff and customers. He
talks about menus and how their meaning are firmly embedded in this personal
interaction. This process involves knowledge of food preparation, use discourse specific
terminology like company made words and different ways of describing food, the ability
to read individual customers' palates and favorites, the expectation to treat customers in a
friendly manner, and all during numerous events.
Outback Steakhouse. Seating Receipts. Lake Nona Outback Steakhouse: 2014. Print.
Hosts deal with high volumes of customers at one time and seating receipts help organize
and keep track of the workload for the night. These receipts are connected to the host
monitor and when we are on a wait each host has a specific job. One coordinates which
means they are the leader and decides where each party will be sat and who will be their
server. As a coordinator you click the name on the waitlist and then select the table on the
map in which they will sit, then the receipt prints out. Printed on the receipt is the name
in which the party is under, number of guests, amount of kids menus or high chairs
needed, occasion, and table number. This helps out the seater who picks up the receipt
and doesnt even have to speak with the coordinator to get the details on which party is
next and what supplies they will need.

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Ponce, Michelle. "Ethnographic Observation of Lake Nona Outback." Lake Nona Outback. 2014
I observed the Lake Nona Outback for a few hours during a dinner rush and was able to
see the different forms of written communication from an outsiders point of view. There
were three hosts on deck that night and they each had one task. One was standing at the
door taking names on an iPad, another was standing behind the host stand messing with
the monitor while the third host was picking up receipts and taking parties to their tables.
After observing the hosts for an hour I decided to stand in a corner of the kitchen and
watch how the cooks and servers interacted with the monitors. An order would pop up in
salads; the guy working salads would then put the bowl out on a shelf, and delete the
order off of his screen. Lastly the server would pick it up to be expedited and delete the
order off of their screen. There are different forms of written communication within this
discourse community that allow them to function properly in the service industry.
Robinson, Shirleene. "Inventing Australia For Americans: The Rise Of The Outback Steakhouse
Restaurant Chain In The USA." Journal Of Popular Culture 44.3 (2011): 545-562. MLA
International Bibliography. Web. 8 Dec. 2014.
This article was more about the background of Outback Steakhouse and how the theme
came about. It covers the items on the menu and how their names are playfully written
out to fit the theme like Mac A Roo N Cheese, how ads were written to draw
customers in with No Rules Just Right and the Australian legend that Americans
interpreted as an Australian place. The Australian legend is the idea that Australia as a
nation is culturally dominated by the bush. The legend supports the connection to the
bush has somehow made Australians more rugged, manly, and uncensored than any other
nation. Not only was the theme covered in this article but it also touched on the dcor of
the restaurant. The layout of each restaurant creates the feeling of Australian space
with the heavy wood booths and tables, Australian memorabilia, and oversized utensils.
Ultimately, Outback Steakhouse is a very American restaurant that highlights features of
Australian society that appeal to American people. This article doesnt cover written
communication in the sense of discourse analysis but it helped me better understand my
discourse communitys background.
Wallace, Derek. "Written Discourse In The Workplace." Te Reo 41.(1998): 196-198.
Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 8 Dec. 2014.
Derek Wallace talks about two different types of written communication with people
outside of the immediate workplace and people within the workplace. His main example
within the article was on textual exchanges between the government and the public
during policy formation. He talks about writing patterns and different argumentation
skills the government uses in their text exchanges. Wallace also covers a framework for
analyzing the difference between written and oral communications. He asks questions

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like What differences in practices and relationships appear to be emerging with the
introduction of new communications technologies such as e-mail and collaborative
writing software? and Do argumentational styles or discourses differ between particular
sets of interacting groupings? One of his main points is that different types of
communication technology are emerging and making written communication a powerful
medium.