In today’s society, social media offers one of the persuasive platforms for communication. Historically, the most common means of communication were newspapers. Recently, cell phones and other electronic devices have taken over. Some research has shown that most individuals spend over two hours on social media. Majority of the teenagers spend their entire night on social media hence having little sleep which encourages some effects like mood swings during the day (Cohen, 2017). Social media has both positive and negative impacts on our personal lives. Moreover, research shows that social media has helped in the spreading of information. Through social media, information may be passed to a large geographical area in a short time. Also, social media can also be used in the marketing of businesses or organizations (Cohen, 2017). Some social media platforms include Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Introduction
This paper aims at developing a rhetorical analysis of Dennis Muilenberg's twitter page. Two sources will be used to analyse and enhance the rhetorical analysis. The first source is an article by airline industry information that was published by the Gale Business Insights. The article named enhances my project by highlighting the involvement of Dennis Muilenburg and his company has with women empowerment. However, Muilenburg has some posts supporting leadership and empowerment of females being involved in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics field.
The second source is the article is by the Gale Business Insight: Global highlighting Boeing which Dennis Muilenburg as the CEO being awarded for the position of the best employers for healthy lifestyles. It is compared to an interview which would be used as a secondary source where Mr Muilenburg was interviewed by Mr David Rubenstein who is a CEO and Co-founder of the Carle Group, a major investment management company. The interview which was aired on Bloomberg tv (a cable and satellite business news channel), Mr Rubenstein asks Mr Muilenberg about cycling and how its incorporated with work. Mr Muilenburg explains his strategies and cycling activities which he promotes and encourages himself as well as his employees. His lifestyle helps promote healthy lifestyles for employees at Boeing. An analysis of the documents and interviews indicates that, Dennis Muilenburg has a very effective page as he incorporates the different rhetorical appeals pathos, logos, ethos and Kairos.
Rhetorical Appeals
Rhetorical appeals discussed in this paper are pathos, logos, ethos and Kairos in reference to Dennis Muilenburg’s Twitter page and interview.
Ethos
Dennis Muilenburg is the chairman, president and chief executive officer of the prominent aerospace company Boeing (Executive Biography of Dennis Muilenburg, n.d.). Through his twitter page, Muilenburg’s status in relation to the company is indicated. However, the article by the Gale Business Insight indicated that Muilenburg as the CEO received an award for the position as the best employers for healthy lifestyles. Moreover, Muilenburg started out as an intern at the Boeing Company in the year 1985 and grew his career greatly implementing dynamic and innovative designs and strategies to foster the company’s growth.
Pathos
This refers to the emotional messages Mr Muilenburg may portray.
Post 2 Post 3
In post 2, Muilenberg creates an emotional dictation through the use of gratitude and happiness throughout his posts. In this post, Muilenberg expresses his emotions of happiness due to the Boeing California teams for pedalling fast. In post 3, Muilenburg shows his excitement when he helps and encourages more women to take part on leadership roles. He utilizes the hashtag of women makes us better. This hashtag is a way to get message to the audience or followers who support women leadership.
Post 4 Post 5
In post 4, Muilenburg uses hashtags like #STEM which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and #WomenMakeUsBettter to reach a larger volume audience. He uses an emotional tone to associate his personal life with the world by stating “I encourage my daughter to explore a #STEM education”. In post 5, the picture expresses happiness and appreciation. He reflects on his time being at Iowa State University and associates his success started with the education he received at the university.
Logos
Logos refers to the use of a reason or making an argument with some evidence. When interviewed on employee wellness, Muilenburg stated “One of the things we're doing right now is investing in our people, what we call a people first, people fit program”. Further, Muilenburg says, “Part of that is investing in employee well-being, so quite frequently I travel to a site and do a 20 or 30-mile ride with the team. And then occasionally I do a long-distance ride that's in the 100 to 200-mile range” (Zakaria, 2010). In this article, he appeals to the audience's to adopt a healthy lifestyle by showcasing how he incorporates and implements health and wellness programs for his employees. With this implementation, The Boeing Company won the award of Best Employers for healthy lifestyles from the National Business Group on Health (Saal, 2018).
Post 6
In the post above, Muilenburg states that at that time spent at Iowa State University propelled him to success. Thus, his success is success in employment and service to the people is anchored to the education he received at Ottawa University.
Kairos
Kairos as depicted in Muilenburg’s twitter account, shows how pictures or photos taken Muilenburg are shared or posted the same day or sometimes at different but immediate dates.
The first photo was taken on the 14 September 2018 and he posted in his twitter page the same day. However, the second photo was taken on 3 July and Muilenburg posted on his page the same day without delay.
Conclusion
All the rhetorical appeals of pathos, logos, ethos and Kairos are supported in Muilenberg’s twitter’s page. Pathos is expressed in his page when he shows his emotions of happiness after the California teams pedalled fast. Moreover, he also feels excited to inspire and encourage more women to take leadership roles. One of the evidence that shows the logos appeal is on his twitter’s page is when he stated that his success is due to the education he received at the University. Ethos is expressed when the Twitter profile provides information on the status that he holds in his company. Lastly, Muilenberg takes photos and posts them the same day or at immediate subsequent dates, expressing the use of Kairos in his Twitter page. From these examples, Dennis Muilenburg has a very effective page as he incorporates the different rhetorical appeals pathos, logos, ethos and Kairos.
References
Airline Industry Information (n.d.). Boeing donates USD 3m to Bush Institute’s global leadership impact center to support women’s empowerment. Retrieved from Arizona State University website. http://bi.galegroup.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/global/article/GALE%7CA554496457/24562dd50f6f28e0c5ca26aecda98bb2?u=asuniv
Cohen, D. (2017, March 22). How Much Time Will the Average Person Spend on Social Media During Their Life? Adweek. Retrieved March 7, 2018, from http://www.adweek.com/digital/mediakix-time-spent-social-media-infographic/
Journal of Technology " Science (n.d). Boeing Wins Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles Award from National Business Group on Health. Retrieved from Arizona State University website. http://bi.galegroup.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/global/article/GALE%7CA467467900/812b5196f8eb0b8e46d0a1b56677fe52?u=asuniv
Saal, Matthew. “Why Boeing's CEO Rides 140 Miles per Week on His Bike.” The David Rubenstein Show: Peer to Peer Conversations. Host by David Rubenstein, Bloomberg Television, 9 May 2018. Retrieved from: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2018-08-08/why-boeing-s-ceo-rides-140-miles-per-week-on-his-bike-video
Zakaria, T. September 7, 2010. Boeing Defense President Muilenburg on mixing business with cycling. Reuters. Retrieved from http://blogs.reuters.com/summits/2010/09/07/boeing-defense-president-muilenburg-on-mixing-business-with-cycling/
