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1 POLITENESS STRATEGY AND POWER IN AN ORGANIZATION: ORDERS/REQUESTS FROM THE SUPERIOR TO THE SUBORDINATE Titania Tabita Oktriana Abstract This study is about the use of politeness strategy in an organization in the context of giving orders and making requests from the superior to the subordinate. Different ages between the superior and the subordinate will be the focus case of this study, which is when the superior is younger than the subordinate. Because the superior has organizational power and the subordinates have social power. In Indonesia itself, age difference is important in the society, because social norms in Indonesia regulates the society to always respect the elder people. This study aims to analyze whether there is politeness strategy used by the superior or not and the type of politeness if there is any. The study had been done in a religious organization, PHMJ GPIB Tamansari Salatiga. By recording three weekly meetings, it is found out that the superior (head chief) used politeness strategies while giving orders or asking requests to the subordinates. The indicator is adapted from Brown and Levinson (1987) to indicate the politeness strategy used by the superior. The strategy used by the superior is positive politeness and it is assumed that the superior want to have a good interpersonal relationship with the subordinates. Then, the result proved that the superior tend to pay attention more to the society power rather than keep her organization power. Key words: Politeness strategy, Order/request, Superior, Subordinate, Power INTRODUCTION Anderson (2010) says that a community is a place where people share interests, networks, and relationships. People have their own community; one of them is workplace/organization community. To have a good relation in the community the key is by using a good language (Dannefer & Poushinsky, 2006).
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1

POLITENESS STRATEGY AND POWER IN AN

ORGANIZATION: ORDERS/REQUESTS FROM THE

SUPERIOR TO THE SUBORDINATE

Titania Tabita Oktriana

Abstract

This study is about the use of politeness strategy in an organization in the

context of giving orders and making requests from the superior to the subordinate.

Different ages between the superior and the subordinate will be the focus case of

this study, which is when the superior is younger than the subordinate. Because

the superior has organizational power and the subordinates have social power. In

Indonesia itself, age difference is important in the society, because social norms in

Indonesia regulates the society to always respect the elder people.

This study aims to analyze whether there is politeness strategy used by the

superior or not and the type of politeness if there is any. The study had been done

in a religious organization, PHMJ GPIB Tamansari Salatiga. By recording three

weekly meetings, it is found out that the superior (head chief) used politeness

strategies while giving orders or asking requests to the subordinates. The indicator

is adapted from Brown and Levinson (1987) to indicate the politeness strategy

used by the superior. The strategy used by the superior is positive politeness and it

is assumed that the superior want to have a good interpersonal relationship with

the subordinates. Then, the result proved that the superior tend to pay attention

more to the society power rather than keep her organization power.

Key words: Politeness strategy, Order/request, Superior, Subordinate, Power

INTRODUCTION

Anderson (2010) says that a community is a place where people share

interests, networks, and relationships. People have their own community; one of

them is workplace/organization community. To have a good relation in the

community the key is by using a good language (Dannefer & Poushinsky, 2006).

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On the other hand, Morand (1996) states there are also many differences among

them such as the gender, age, social, economic, and educational status, etc. To

cope with the problem of the power differences, people use politeness strategies to

communicate whether or not consciously (Morand, 1996). Morand (2000) also

states that those differences makes someone has higher power than the other

people from the society. According to Brown and Levinson (1987: 10), power is

„the ability of one person to impose their will on another‟ whereas according to

Holmes (1995), the power dimension refers to the ability of the participants to

influence one another‟s circumstances. Therefore, one person may be said to have

power over another to the degree that he or she is able to control the behavior of

the other (Kurniawan, 2009). Ide (1982) adds that there are three social rules of

politeness which are commonly applicable in Asian countries; (1) Be polite to a

person with a higher social status, (2) Be polite to a person with power, (3) Be

polite to an older person. Moreover, Salifu (2010), Sukarno (2010), and Mahmud

(2013) also state that in most of the Asian countries age has a strong role in the

communication between two people. Further, Mahmud (2013) adds that in

Indonesia itself, one of the factors influencing power differences is the age

differences, conversations between people of different ages frequently show

different level of politeness.

Mizutani and Mizutani (1987) affirm that differences in age will influence

the formality of speakers and hence the degree of politeness. Besides that, they

also say that in an organization there is a leadership hierarchy, which may be

different from the society. Morand (2000) says that leadership in an organization

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appears because of the selected positions are based on the organization rules,

different from the society where Salifu (2010) states that in Asian countries

leadership of and responsibility for any group goes naturally to the oldest person.

There are some studies on the relationship between politeness strategy and

power. Morand (2000) examines whether there is a relationship between power

and politeness strategy using forty males and forty four females in an MBA

program in USA. He found that power impacts the politeness strategies used by

superior and subordinates in an organization. Subordinates use politeness

strategies to communicate to the superior to avoid FTA (Face Threatening Act).

Morand (2000: 237) explains “an FTA occurs when one person has occasion to

threaten the face of another. Such conflictual events are common and often

unavoidable, including acts of contradicting, criticizing, disagreeing, interruption,

imposing, borrowing, asking a favour, requesting information, embarrassing,

bumping into, and so forth.”

Besides that, Kurniawan (2009) found that power, age differences and

imposition (establishment) determine the strategy of applying politeness within an

interaction with people. He says that the greater the distance and the imposition,

the lesser intimation between the participants are. Kurniawan (2009) also stated in

his study one thing that might make a difference between the application of theory

of politeness in Indonesia and in western societies is that Indonesian society has

been accustomed to be helpful and social to each other. So when one needs help

he/she will be normally willing to help without any feelings of being threatened.

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Mahmud‟s (2013) study in Bugis society found that the choice of being

polite for Bugis people is influenced by differences in social status, age, gender,

familiarity, and situation. There are two areas in Bugis society, rural and urban

areas. In both areas of the study, there is a different practice of being polite

influenced by those above factors. In rural areas, social status differences become

the most important factor whereas in urban areas, gender differences can become

a higher priority in encoding their politeness.

There are two sources of power, from society and from authority of

organizations. The problems might appear if there is one person who holds society

power and one person who hold organization power live in the same organization.

Kurniawan (2009) gives an illustration when a superior speaks to his subordinates.

Although he is still younger than his people he may speak to them who are older

than him with rather impolite way might be like someone talks to his close friend.

It means that he will use several ways of communication to make him and his

people have friendly relationship. Kurniawan (2009) concluded that Brown and

Levinson‟s theory of politeness tend to estimate face threatening act. In the sense

that Brown & Levinson are too afraid of being refused by someone else and their

theory could not be guaranteed to be applicable in other nations or other societies.

Because of that, this study will discuss if there is any politeness used in the

situation where the superior communicate to the subordinate who has power from

the society and if there is any, the type of politeness strategy used by the superior

in the context.

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This study aims to find the application of politeness theory in the situation

where a superior in organization has subordinates who hold society power by

being older. Mizutani and Mizutani (1987), Sukarno (2010), and Mahmud (2013)

had stated that that age has a strong role in the communication between two

people and influencing the power. The other aim is to find out about which

politeness strategy is used in that situation. The significance of this research is to

give a new dimension of the application of politeness theory in the situation which

is contradictory. This study also can give advice to the superior who experiences

the kind of situation, so that they will know which politeness strategy can be used

and how to use the politeness theory and strategy in the kind of situation.

The study conducted in one of organization in which there is a situation

where the superior who has a higher position in the organization, but the superior

is younger than the subordinates. In a typical Indonesian context, this means the

superior has power in the organization, but on the other hand, the other

subordinates also have power from the society. In this study, the kind of

communication which will be observed is making requests or giving orders. The

main reason why the topic is choosen is because, as Kurniawan (2009) says, in

requesting someone else to do something people most likely use a certain strategy

to request someone else to do something. They tend to use indirect language. So,

it will be easy to see the strategy used by the superior when communicating to the

subordinates, especally in Indonesian context.

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THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Power

Farhat (2013) in his study in Arab society states that it is not the social

differences of a person that makes one powerful or powerless, but those

differences make people impolite or polite. For example in a conversation

between the one who is powerless to the one who is powerful, the powerless will

speak more politely, otherwise when the powerful speak to the powerless person,

the will speak less politely. Moreover, in eastern Asia countries, there are the

norms of society and culture that decide, determine and govern the concept of

power and therefore that of politeness. There are the norms of society and culture

that make one either powerful or powerless. These are various factors in a

particular community, society and culture, the social status, honor, respect,

cultural, education, age, and religious norms etc which determine who is powerful

and who is powerless. Kurniawan (2009) says that the age differences make

someone powerful or powerless. Power which occurs because of that situation is

power from the society.

On the other hand, Morand (2000), also Holmes & Stubbe (2003) state that

organization has an organizational hierarchy. It shows the function of each

member in an organization from the subordinates to the superior. Superior

members have higher organizational status than subordinate members, so superior

members have organizational power.

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Politeness Strategy

The model of politeness strategies proposed by Brown and Levinson

(1987) revolves around the concept of face (Goffman, 1967), which the people try

to establish as their own public self-image. According to Brown and Levinson

(1987), politeness strategies are developed in order to save the hearer's "face".

Face refers to the respect that an individual has for him or herself, and the effort to

maintain that "self-esteem" in public or in private situations. Violation on the

hearer‟s self-esteem and respectability is called Face Threatening Acts (FTA).

One usually tries to avoid embarrassing another person, or making him/her feel

uncomfortable.

Politeness strategies are developed for the main purpose of dealing with

these FTA's. There are four types of politeness strategies, described by Brown and

Levinson (1987) that sum up human "politeness" behavior with the example: Bald

on Record, Negative Politeness, Positive Politeness, and Off-Record-indirect

strategy. As an example retrieved from www.mona.uwi.edu which tries to explain

about politeness strategy by Brown & Levinson (1987), when there is a situation

if you saw a cup of pens on your teacher's desk and you wanted to use one.

1. If you answered "Ooh, I want to use one of those!", you used what is called

the Bald On-Record strategy, Brown & Levinson (1987) explain that it

provides no effort to minimize threats to your teachers' "face".

2. If you answered "Is it O.K. if I use one of those pens?", you used the Positive

Politeness strategy. Base on Brown & Levinson‟s (1987) theory this strategy

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used to indicate that you recognize that your teacher has a desire to be

respected. It also confirms that the relationship is friendly.

3. If you answered "I'm sorry to bother you but, I just wanted to ask you if I

could use one of those pens?", you used the Negative Politeness strategy,

which similar to the Positive Politeness in that you recognize that they want

to be respected however; you also assume that you are in some way imposing

on them (Brown & Levinson, 1987). Some other examples would be to say, "I

don't want to bother you but." or "I was wondering if."

4. If you answered "Hmm, I sure could use a blue pen right now.” you used Off-

Record indirect strategies. Base on Brown & Levinson‟s (1987) theory the

main purpose is to take some of the presence off of you. You are trying not to

directly impose by asking for a pen. Instead you would rather it be offered to

you once the teacher realizes you need one, and you are looking to find one.

Diagram 1.1 Flowcharts of Politeness Strategies and Tactics Ordered Against

Estimated Threat to Face by Morand (1996). Adapted from Brown

and Levinson 1987

Do the FTA

5. Don‟t Do the FTA

On Record

4. Off Record

1. withouth redressive

action, baldly

With redressive action

2. Positive Politeness

3. Negative Politeness

Speaker‟s

estimation of threat

to face

Greater

Lesser

More

Less

Politeness

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The Diagram 1.1 explains how a speaker‟s estimation of threat to face in

choosing the politeness strategy. Morand (1996) explain the greater estimation of

threat of face, speaker will use more politeness strategy and if the lesser

estimation of threat of face, speaker will use less politeness strategy. There are

some strategies that relate to giving order based on Brown & Levinson (1987):

1. Bald on record

This strategy does nothing to minimize threats to the listener's “face”. Morand

(1996) gives an example: “I want you to replace me to go to the meeting”.

The superior just directly ask for the order or request without use any tactic.

2. Positive Politeness

Positive Politeness is the strategy that consider to the addressee positive face,

seems like the addressee have desire to be respected. The linguistic

realizations of Positive Politeness are showed of the normal linguistic

behavior between the superior and subordinates. The strategy (St.) use by

superior (Su.) to the subordinates (So.) will be:

St. 1 Assert or presuppose Su‟s knowledge of and concern for So‟s wants

Assert or imply knowledge of So‟s wants and willingness to fit one‟s own

wants in with them.

Example: “Okay, I know you want me to be good in my work, so shouldn‟t I

do my job now.” (instead of helping the So.)

St.2 Offer and promise

Example: “I‟ll try to get it next week!”

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St. 3 Be optimistic

Su. assume that So. will accept Su.‟s wants, opinions, or suggestions by Su‟s

statement.

Example: “You‟ll lend me your apartment-key for the weekend, won‟t you.”

St. 4 Include both Su. and So. in the activity

Example: “Let‟s meet at the office later”

St. 5 Give (or ask) reasons

Example: “Why don‟t we do this tomorrow or the next two days?”

St.6 Assume or assert reciprocity

Su. wants So. to do something that has been done by Su. before

(reciprocality), or to do something that should‟ve been done by So.

Example: “Yesterday I„ve presented the topc, so today it‟s your turn!”

St. 7 Give gifts to So. (goods, sympathy, understanding, cooperation)

Su. tries to satisfy So.‟s positive face by fulfilling some of the So‟s wants

which indicate that Su. want something from So.

Example: “You have done a very good job, so you have to do the next

project.”

3. Negative Politeness

Negative politeness is startegy that pays more attention to the hearer negative

face and tries to avoid the imposition of the hearer. This strategy is mostly

used to make a request seem less conflicting. The strategies that might occur

are:

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St. 1: Be conventionally indirect

Opposing tensions: desire to give So. an “out“ by being indirect, and the

desire to go on record.

Example: “You couldn´t possibly tell me the time, please?“

St. 2: Be pessimistic

Gives redress to So´s negative face by explicitly expressing doubt that the

conditions for the appropriateness of Su´s speech act is obtained.

Example: “I don´t imagine there´d be any chance of...“

St. 3: Minimize the imposition

“I just want to ask if I can borrow a single sheet of paper.”

St. 4: Give deference

Two different possibilities to realize the deference:

1.) Su. humbles and abases himself

2.) Su. raises So. (Su. treats So like a superior by having a different type of

named calling)

Example: “Yes, sir, I thought perhaps you wouldn´t mind and...“

St. 5: Apologize

By apologizing, Su. shows that Su. does not want to do FTA to the So.

Because the statement maybe make So. feels uncomfotable.

Example: “Please forgive me if...“

St. 6: Impersonalize Su. and So.

Phrase the FTA as if the agent were other than Su and the addressee were

other than So

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Example: “I was kind of interested in knowing if...”

St. 7: Normalize

The more you normalize an expression, the more you dissociate from it.

Example: “Your good performance on the presentation impressed us

favourably.“

4. Off-record (indirect)

Give hints : It's a bit cold in here.

Be vague : Perhaps someone should open the window.

Be sarcastic, or joking : Yeah, it‟s really hot here.

Power and Politeness Strategy

As Robin Lakoff (1989) argue that politeness and power are closely

related. Power is a significant component of Brown and Levinson‟s (1978, 1987)

theory of politeness. When proposing the model of politeness, Brown and

Levinston (1987) use three determinants which impact the level of politeness. One

of those three is power. They assume that every individual is rational agent. So, if

they meet and communicate with different kinds of power, they will adapt. They

will use different politeness strategy to avoid the FTA. Brown and Levinson

(1987) stated that “power as a crucial component predicts that the greater the

power hierarchy distance, the more strategies will be used by the less powerful

member, particularly with regard to „impositions‟ (which are often requests)”.

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The „request‟ as a speech act is particularly relevant to politeness, especially

power in institutional contexts. As Brown and Levinson (1987) maintain, requests

are likely to threaten the face of both speaker and hearer, and it is not merely

coincidental that they are the focus of much cross-cultural research on politeness

(Blum-Kulka et al, 1989 and Fukishima, 2000)

Morand‟s (2000) study focuses on the variable of power as it specifically

applies to superior - subordinate interaction in formal organizations. As described

above, in politeness theory power is included in one of the determinant, so it will

be well-suited for analyzing just how superiors' and subordinates' relative power is

embedded in speech acts.

“While superiors are not restricted from using politeness, it is suggested

that subordinates use greater amounts of politeness. The logic as to why low

power member of organization might take greater care in addressing the person

(and thus the face) of superiors is fairly self-evident. Subordinates are careful not

to offend or infringe on those upon whom they are dependent; power relations by

definition imply dependency” (Dahl, 1957).

Age Differences

Brown and Levinson (1987) states age differences become one of the

factors that affect politeness between a speaker and a hearer. Especially in Asian

countries, Salifu (2010), Farhat (2013), and Ide (1982) proved by their study that

age differences have an important role in deciding the politeness in society. Salifu

(2010) had done a study in Dagbanli, Ghana, Farhat (2013) in Arab society and

Ide (1982) in Japanese society. Moreover, there are some study in Indonesia that

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also found that age differences influence politeness, first is done by Mahmud

(2013) in Bugis society and Sukarno (2010) in Javanese context.

In Indonesia, which is an Asian country, politeness is one of the key

factors in the value system, so that it will create effective communication in the

society. Tran (2010) states politeness is expressed through respectful attitudes

depending on who the hearer is, and how close the relationship between the

speaker and the hearer is. In other words, a polite conversation is one that takes

into account such factors as age, social positions and social contexts. Sukarno

(2010) adds as eastern country, Indonesian norms teach to respect to another

people especially the elderly by calling them with certain address terms. For

example; for elder person Javanese use mas (brother), mbak (sister), pak (man), or

bu (woman). The address terms indicate that one is speaking to a person of the

same, higher or lower social status, and age.

THE STUDY

Context of the Study

The context of this study was in one of the organization in Salatiga which

is the organization sexton in Gereja Protestan Indonesia bagian Barat Tamansari

Salatiga (GPIB Tamansari Salatiga). In this organization there is a situation where

the superior has organization power and the subordinate has society power (there

are age differences that the superior who is younger than the subordinates). The

main focus is to determine whether politeness strategies are applied and if so,

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what is the politeness strategy used by the superior in the organization in giving

order or asking request to the subordinates who has power from the society

(older).

Method of Research

This study is a case study which aims to examine and describe the

politeness strategy used by a superior in giving orders to or making requests to the

subordinates who hold society power. This research is threfore a descriptive

research because it attempts to describe, explain and interpret conditions of the

present. The purpose of a descriptive research is to examine a phenomenon that is

occurring at a specific place(s) and time (Shields & Rangarajan, 2013). This study

is qualitative it based on descriptive data such as spoken or written and the

participant behavior (see Bogdan & Biklen, 1992).

Participants

The population is one of the religious organizations in Salatiga which is

the organization sexton in Gereja Protestan Indonesia bagian Barat Tamansari

Salatiga (GPIB Tamansari Salatiga). GPIB Tamansari is a church located at Jalan

Jendral Sudirman No. 1, Salatiga, Central Java - Indonesia. This church has

approximately five hundred people as the congregation. To manage the entire

activities done by the congregation of the church, there is an organization named

PHMJ (Pengurus Harian Majelis Jemaat). This organization, which is appointed

by congregration, has 11 members, but because there is one person (5th Chief)

who had never come to the meeting attended, so it was decided to include just 10

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members for this study. The superior (The head Chief) of PHMJ who hold the

organization power and the subordinates, nine persons (The member) who hold

the power from the society. Morand (2000) says that the superior is chosen

because he/she have power in the organization and Farhat (2013) adds that the

subordinates who has power from the society are the subordinates who are elder.

Table 1. List of the Administration of PHMJ GPIB Tamansari Salatiga

No. Initial Sex

Type Age

Education

Last

Reviewed

Position in

Organization

Organization's

Responsibility

1 Ms F 40 Bachelor General Chief

Led a Session and Meeting,

Supervise the program, Be

responsible of the internal

and external matter

2 No M 59 Bachelor 1st Chief

Supervise the decision of the

session and meeting related

to health services

3 Th M 43 Master 2nd Chief

Supervise the decision of the

session and meeting related

to the church, community,

and religion.

4 M M 60 Senior High 3rd Chief

Supervise the decision of the

session and meeting related

to human resources

development and categorical

service.

5 Mj M 58 Senior High 4th Chief

Supervise the decision of the

session and meeting related

to economical development

of the church and the church

enterprises/corporation

6 Mk M 58 Senior High General

Secretary

Responsible for the entire

internal and external

activities, church documents,

and church administration.

7 Mr F 50 Bachelor 1st Secretary

Make the minutes of the

meeting, accompany 1st &

2nd chief, archiving

document

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8 Er F 55 Bachelor 2nd Secretary

Accompany 3rd & 4th chief,

and take care of the business

trip things

9 E F 51 Bachelor General

Treasury

Responsible for the treasury

stuff, make and supervise the

budgeting, make the

financial reports.

10 Em F 59 Senior High 1st Treasury

Overseeing the budget

realization, oversee and

develop church

administration, oversee the

church inventory with the

4th chief.

As has been shown from the Table 1, this organization fulfills the requirement of

organization needed for this study. This organization has a superior (head chief)

who is younger than the subordinates.

Instrument & Data Collection

The data used in this research is primary data which come from the

recording of three staff meetings during February - March 2014. As it was said by

Shields and Rangarajan (2013), descriptive research uses to see a concept in a

phenomenon, so this research needs primary data which will be analyzed, so that

there will not be a bias on the data.

The data collecting method is recording of the staff meeting which

contains orders or requests by the superior to the subordinates. Before gathering

the data, the participant forms spread out to be filled in by the PHMJ members to

know the members‟ name, age, education last reviewed, sex type, potition in the

organization and their job description. Observation also had been done during the

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participant‟s profile collection. Then, the data are gathered on February 4th,

February 18th, and March 14th, 2014 and had been transcribed the recording as

the data obtained.

Data Analysis

To indicate which strategy is used by the superior to give orders or ask

requests to the subordinate, some indicators were adapted from Brown &

Levinson (1987). In this study, several strategies (St.) were chosen base on the

background theory on page 8.

1. Bald on record

2. Positive Politeness

St. 1 Assert or presuppose Su‟s knowledge of and concern for So‟s wants

St.2 Offer and promise

St. 3 Be optimistic

St. 4 Include both Su. and So. in the activity

St. 5 Give (or ask) reasons

St. 6 Assume or assert reciprocity

St. 7 Give gifts to So. (goods, sympathy, understanding, cooperation

3. Negative Politeness

St. 1: Be conventionally indirect

St. 2: Be pessimistic

St. 3: Minimize the imposition

St. 4: Give deference

St. 5: Apologize

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St. 6: Impersonalize Su. and So.

St. 7: Normalize

4. Off-record (indirect)

After indicating the politeness strategy used by the superior, then analizing the

strategy that occur the most and discuss it briefly.

FINDINGS & DISCUSSION

This study is aimed at finding and explaining the use of politeness strategy

in an organization, namely PHMJ GPIB (Pengurus Harian Majelis Jemaat Gereja

Protestan Indonesia bagian Barat). The situation is when the superior (Su) who

has an organizational power is younger than the subordinates (So), who hold

power in society. This study also discuss which politeness strategy is used by the

superior. In attempt to answer this research aim, the paper will discuss about first,

the politeness strategy used by the superior (head chief) of PHMJ GPIB

Tamansari Salatiga and the second is types of strategy the superior used and the

reason for using them.

Politeness Strategy Used by the Superior of PHMJ GPIB Tamansari Salatiga

Basically, the superior of PHMJ GPIB Tamansari used all of the politeness

strategy proposes by Brown & Levinson (1987) which are Bald On Record,

Positive Politeness, Negative Politeness and Off Record proposes, but the

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intensity of use for each strategy varies. The result shows that the superior used

positive politeness more than the other strategies.

Table 2. Politeness Strategy Used by the Superior of PHMJ GPIB Tamansari in

Giving Orders to the Subordinates

No Politeness Strategy Total Percentage

(%)

1 Bald On Record 15 28,3

2 Positive Politeness 30 56,6

3 Negative Politeness 6 11,3

4 Off Record 2 3,8

TOTAL 53 100

Table 2 shows that the superior (head chief) commonly uses Positive Politeness,

as much as 56.6 percents from all of the politeness strategies that occured in the

gained data. The next most found strategy is Bald On Record, as much as 28.3

percents followed by Negative Politeness, 11.3 percents. The strategy which is

rarely used is Off Record, only 3.8 percents. The next discussion will be about the

use of positive politeness, because based on the result, it is more dominant.

Related to the use of positive politeness, it also shows in Diagram 1.1

(flowchart of politeness strategies and tactics ordered against estimated threat to

face) which explain that positive politeness have higher level of politeness than

the other strategies. It means that the superior pays a lot attention to her estimation

of threat to face. This also shows that the superior is being considerate over the

power from the society possessed by the subordinates rather than keeping her

organization power. This corresponds with the findings from Ide (1982), Mahmud

(2013), Mizutani (1987), Salifu (2010), and Sukarno (2010), who state that age

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has an important role to influence politeness in an organization. Possitive

politeness used by the superior of PHMJ Tamansari will be discussed more in the

next sub topic to analyze the reason based on the previous studies and theories.

Positive Politeness by the Superior of PHMJ GPIB Tamansari Salatiga

As has been showed in the Table 2 that Positive Politeness is used more

than the other strategies (Bald on record, negative politeness, and off record), this

chapter will discuss about the possible reasons of positive politeness used by the

superior of PHMJ GPIB Tamansari. Yuka (2009) stated that when the superior

uses positive politeness, it means that the superior recognize that all of the

subordinates have a face to be respected. It also confirms that the superior is

trying to have a friendly relationship and expresses group reciprocity (Yuka,

2009). She also states that, if speaker uses positive politeness rather than the other

strategy, it shows that the speaker tries to form a good interpersonal relationship

with the hearer. This is corresponding with the situation of the organization where

this study is held, where the superior has occupied this position only for two

years. Based on the information from one of the congregation there, the former

superior before was much older than she is, and the subordinates at that time were

younger than she is. So, it would be easier for her to give orders or make requests

to the subordinate. The present situation is different, where the superior is younger

than the subordinates. By employing positive politeness, the superior wants to be

closer with the subordinates and, at the same time, maintains her authority

(power) as the head chief.

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Table 3. Positive Politeness Used by the Superior of PHMJ GPIB Tamansari in

Giving Order to the Subordinates

Positive Politeness Total Percentage

(%)

1 Assert or presuppose Su‟s knowledge

of and concern for So‟s wants

0 0

2 Offer and promise 2 6,7

3 Be optimistic 14 46,7

4 Include both Su. and So. in the

activity 6 20

5 Give (or ask) reasons 7 23,3

6 Assume or assert reciprocity 1 3,3

7 Give gifts to So. (goods, sympathy,

understanding, cooperation) 0 0

TOTAL 30 100

Table 3 shows that the superior of PHMJ GPIB Tamansari uses the Be Optimistic

strategy more than the other kinds of positive politeness, which is as much as 46.7

percents. Optimistic strategy mostly use to minimize the face threat (Brown and

Levinson, 1987). From the data gathered, Optimistic used to make an agreement

done by the speaker which the hearer expect to agree with it too.

Example:

In the meeting situation, Su. (Head Chief) had done reporting about the

congregration, then asked for the other information from So.

(1) Itu saja dari saya, informasi seputar jemaat. Selanjutnya, Pak Th,

mungkin? (That's all from me, the information about our congregation.

Next, Mr. Th, maybe?) (PHMJ meeting on February 18th, 2014)

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In the meeting, PHMJ discussed about a staff (Pak Yanto) who didn‟t do his job

well and planed to warn him. Then Su gave her opinion to So.

(2) kasi tau Pak Yanto, kalo ini sudah ada yang mau ganti, gitu kan (let Mr.

Yanto know that we have had people who want to fill his position, right?)

(PHMJ meeting on February 18th, 2014)

In the meeting, PHMJ discussed about an accident happened in front of the church

on Sunday. This case involved one of the congregation and there was a victim.

The victim had been taken to the hospital, but the family of the victim took the

victim home. PHMJ tried to make a letter of agreement.

(3) dan saya kira lebih cepat lebih baik, iya kan? Apa lagi ini dia sudah di

rumah... (and I think it will be better if we do it soon, right? Moreover she

has been taken home...) (PHMJ meeting on March 14th, 2014)

From the Example (1), the superior used the word “maybe” just to emphasize that

she ask Mr. Th to give his report. She did it implicitly by questioning and she

assumed that Mr. Th would accept her request and gave his report to her. In

Example (2) and (3), the head chief gave her order by questioning which aimed at

reconfirming her idea to the other members, and she was sure that the other

member would accept it. The main point in using optimistic strategy is by

questioning the hearer, but the questions is just for confirming the listener and ask

if they have the same idea and accept to do the order. This strategy is used in this

situation to have positive face of the hearer, so that they feel respected by the

speaker.

The next positive politeness strategy used by the superior in giving orders

to the subordinates is Give (Ask) Reason. This strategy is one of the strategies that

might appear in the situation of giving orders or making requests.

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Example:

Still about the accident on Sunday, So asked one represenative of PHMJ to take

over the case.

(4) “oh iya, kan yang mengurus ini dari awal pak Mardi.” (“Of course,

because Mr. Mardi have been in charge of this problem from the

beginning”) (PHMJ meeting on March 14th, 2014)

The Example (4) is an example of give (ask) reason strategy used by the superior

of PHMJ GPIB Tamansari. The Table 3 shows that this strategy is used as much

as 23.3 percent. In this situation, the superior used this strategy to explain the

reason of her order, so that it will save the member‟s positive face and to avoid

FTA.

In the meeting, PHMJ discussed about evaluation done by BPPJ (exchequer and

audit departement). Su gave her opinion about it.

(5) nah itu tadi, karena kita sudah bikin kan, BPPJ minta lagi yg lain gitu.

Nah harusnya kita tanya BPPJ itu maunya yang kaya apa. (That's what I

said, because we have made it, BPPJ asked for the other data, like this. We

should ask to the BPPJ about what they really want) (PHMJ meeting on

February 18th, 2014)

And the Example (5) is the example of Include both Su. And So in the activity

strategy which is used by the superior as much as 20 percent. This strategy is used

to make the superior‟s order is not only intended for the subordinate, but also for

the superior too. The order sounds like both superior and subordinate will do the

order together, although the subordinates have the responsibility to do it.

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Offer and Promise and also Assume or Assert Reciprocity are other kinds

of positive politeness used by the superior of PHMJ GPIB Tamansari in making

orders/requests to the subordinates.

Example:

Because there was more important thing to discussed, Su tried to delay the

discussion and talked about the important first.

(6) iya, MuPel (Musyawarah Pelayanan) itu. Itu nanti kita bicarakan lagi (So,

about MuPel (Delibration Ministry). That will be discussed again later.)

(PHMJ meeting on March 14th, 2014)

In the meeting, PHMJ discussed about the accident and the victim who had been

taken home by he family. PHMJ discussed about what to do next.

(7) .....Harusnya gini, kalo bapak bawa, urusan bapak dan keluarga. Kalo di

sini kita masih bisa ngobrol, harusnya gitu kemarin. (That should be like

this, if you take her home, it's your own responsibility. If she is here, we

still can talk about it, which should've been like that.) (PHMJ meeting on

March 14th, 2014)

Example (6) is for offer and promise strategy, and Example (7) is for assume or

assert reciprocity strategy. These two strategies were rarely used by the head chief

of PHMJ GPIB Tamansari. Example (6) showed that the superior made a promise

to the subordinates to discuss a certain topic “later”. And Example (7) showed that

the superior wanted her subordinates to do something like what she said, but the

fact the subordinate already done the opposite way. Offer and Promise also

Assume or Assert Reciprocity appeared rarely because of the situation which

rarely happened in the meeting. The offer and promise strategy appeared when the

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superior wanted to postpone the discussion because of there were more important

things needed to be discussed first. For assume or assert reciprocity strategy

appeared because of the situation when the superior wanted to give different way

as the thing that the subordinate supposed to do. Both strategies rarely appeared in

the situation observed because there was not much situation (let the superior

promising and doing something reciprocity to the subordinates) that support the

superior to use those strategies.

For the Give gifts to So. (goods, sympathy, understanding, cooperation)

and Assert or presuppose Su’s knowledge of and concern for So’s wants

strategies, both are not used by the superior of PHMJ GPIB Tamansari Salatiga. It

might be because those strategies have a little possibility to appear in an

organization situation. In giving orders or asking requests the superior never pay

attention to give gift and concern for her subordinate wants. Because those

strategies focus more on the hearer‟s face advantage, and as the superior, she has

the authority to give orders or asking requests, so she did not need to use those

strategies.

CONCLUSION

This study is aimed at exploring politeness strategies used by the superior

who has organization power in giving orders or making requests to the

subordinates who has power from society. In this case, the subordinates are older

than the superior. The result of this study finds that from the three staff meeting

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recordings, the head chief of the organization commonly used positive politeness

strategies to give order or ask request to her subordinate. This result shows that

there is an indication that the superior wants to have closer relationship with her

subordinate, but still keeps her authority as the superior.

It corresponds with Yuka (2009) who states that speaker use positive

politeness to have interpersonal relationship with the hearer. it also corresponds

with the Diagram 1.1 about the flowchart of politeness strategies and tactics

ordered against estimated threat to face by Morand (1996), which shows that bald

on record and positive politeness have higher level of politeness and the result of

this study shows that the speaker pay attention to speaker estimation of threat to

face. Then, it also proves that the superior who has older subordinates pay more

attention to the power from the society that the subordinates have rather than

his/her power from the organization. Moreover, this study proves that age

influences politeness. The study also found that from all of the positive politeness,

the superior used be optimistic strategy more than the other strategies. Be

optimistic strategy used to minimize the face threat of the hearer (Brown &

Levinson, 1987).

The implication of this study is when younger superior faces the situation

where their subordinates are older, he/she can use positive politeness to minimize

the FTA. Moreover, positive politeness can be use to build good interpersonal

relationship. By doing this strategy, it will be non face threatening to ask a request

or give an order to a subordinate.

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This study is limited to only looking at one way communication. It means

that the study only focuses on the communication from the superior to the

subordinate in one organization. Also this study is a case study, so it can not be

generalized. Therefore, for the further study it can be done to two way

communication, from the superior to the subordinate and inversely, and then look

for other organizations which has younger superior, older subordinate and same

age or younger subordinate as the comparator. It can be done in more than one

organization and longer period to have wider result.

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Acknowledgement

Praise the Lord because this thesis can be completed on time. Moreover,

this thesis can‟t be done without the support from many special people around me.

The first and foremost, I would like to thank to my savior, Jesus Christ, thank you

for Your bless so that I can finished my study and this thesis well. I would also

express my special thank to my beloved parents. My mom, Sri Endah Natalyati

and my dad, Sutriyarso (†) who always support me and accompany me.

The second absolutely goes to my supervisor Christian Rudianto, S.Pd.,M.

App. Ling. and my second reader, Dr. Elisabet Titik Murtisari, S.Pd.,

MTransStud. Thank you for your help, support, advice and criticism. I would also

like to thank other English Department lecturers, and staff. Thank you, especially

to the dean Victoria Usadya Palupi and my advisor Suzanna Maria L. A. F.

Another special thank, to my hunie, Dimas Pradipta. Thank you for your

patience, to help, understanding, and for always “listening” to my squawk,

fretfulness, and annoyance.

For my beloved friends, where I can laugh, cry, share problems with, just

for you, Dewok, Kentung, Sho, Adit, Nindy, Zale, Mba Iph, Kamil, Nana, Upil

Ronny. Thank you for TENNERS, great to have known you guys. GBU.

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APPENDIXES

Table A. Superior‟s Orders/Requests in PHMJ GPIB Tamansari meeting on February 4th, 2014

No Order/Request Statement Politeness

Strategy Reason

1 Ya, mari kita mulai rapat kita pada malam hari ini, silahkan ibu

Er untuk menyampaikan laporannya (Okay, Let's start our

meeting today. Mrs. Er, please deliver the report)

Bald on Record This strategy does nothing to minimize threats

to the listener's “face”

2

Eeemm tunggu sebentar... itu untuk mengurus masalah itu,

pegawai itu, minggu ini tidak bisa, soalnya Ima cuti, minggu

depan juga cuti. Jd di buat maret aja itu. (Eemm wait, to take

care of that problem, about the employee, I can't make it this

week, Ima is on leave right now and also next week. So, let's

make it on March.)

Positive politeness

- Be optimistic

Because, the leader here made a decision and

she assumed that all of the member would

accept it.

3

coba itu diingatkan, karena Sebenarnya kita kan sudah punya

kesepakatan kalau belum dirapatkan ga bisa cari-cari dana, jadi

mereka perlu kita kasi tau itu, kemarin banyak yang tanya itu.

(Please remind me, because actually we have had a deal that if it

haven't discussed yet on the meeting, they couldn't do funding, so

we have to let them know. I got a lot question about that.)

Positive politeness

- Include Su and So

in the activity

The leader use the word "we" to make order,

which mean she include herself in.

4 Itu nanti dikonfirmasi dulu aja, kita hanya menyediakan tempat

atau menyiapkan yang lainnya juga. (Just confirm it first, we

just provide the place or we have to prepare another too.)

Bald on Record This strategy does nothing to minimize threats

to the listener's “face”

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5

Ini kita diminta untuk mengiklankan? Ya sudah kalau begitu

nanti itu di copy saja, lalu ditempelkan di papan pengumuman,

keterangan lengkap bisa ditanyakan ke kantor gereja, begitu?

(Do they ask us to advertise it? Okay just make a copy of it then

stick it on the announcement board, you can get the complete

information in the office, am I right?

Negative politeness

- Be pessimistic

The leader gave order but kind of unsure with

it, so she ask for feedback.

6 Maaf, ini untuk kegiatan yang mana? (Sorry, this is for which

activity?)

Negative politeness

- Apologize

The leader use the word "sorry" before she ask

a request.

7 iya, dalam program itu ada ulang tahun Tamansari. Kita ga

pernah bikin ya. Itu tanggal 15. Itu kita mau buat acara apa ya?

(Yes, in the program there is Tamansari birthday. We never have

done this. It's on 15th. What kind of program will we make?)

Off Record - Be

vague

Actually the leader ask the member to make an

activity in that day, but the way she ask is by

asking for the member opinion about what kind

of activity they would make.

8

.......karena jemaat kan belum semua punya jd maksud saya ini

nanti bisa dibagi dan dicatat siapa-siapa yang untuk proses

pembayaran. (because not all of the congregation have had it,

so I mean that later it can be distributed and then listed who they

are due to the payment.)

Positive Politeness

- Give reason

What it's mean by the leader here is, she want

the member to spread out the book to the

congregation and list them for the payment

process. She gave the reason first before asked

the member to do it.

9 mungkin perlu diberitahukan bahwa kita mengundang jemaat,

begitu?...... (Maybe we need to inform them that we invite the

entire congregation, doesn't we?)

Negative politeness

- be pessimistic

The leader seems unsure about what she

wanted to ask.

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10

bagaimana jika kita mengundang Koor, dari pelkat2 itu ya..

semua pelkat.. mungkin nanti jadi bagus ya, soalnya ini kan

ulang tahun tamansari kan. (How about if we invite the choir,

from the categorial services.. Maybe it will be good, because it

is Tamansari Birthday, right?)

Positive Politeness

- Give reason

The leader give reason about why they have to

invite the choir

11

oh iya, kita juga bisa mngundang bu Nora dan pak Zhakaria, bu

Sri juga untuk menjelaskan buku sejarah GPIB ini ya untuk

tanggal 15 . dan surat untuk pelkat2 itu bsk sudah bisa mulai

di edarkan ya .. (Oh right, we can invite Mrs. Nora, Mr. Zakaria,

and Mrs. Sri to explain GPIB history book on 15th, and the

letter for categorial services can be spread out start from

tomorrow..)

Positive Politeness

- Be optimistic

Because, the leader here made a decision and

she assumed that all of the member would

accept it.

12 jam 5 aja ya, seperti biasa. Kita sidang tanggal brp? 13 ya?

Hari, rabu ? (how about at 5 p.m., as ussual. When we have the

session? Is it on 13th? What day, Wednesday?)

Bald on Record This strategy does nothing to minimize threats

to the listener's “face”

13 di buat prasmanan aja itu, buat 150 aja (We make the buffet, for

150 people.) Bald on Record

This strategy does nothing to minimize threats

to the listener's “face”

14

oh jadi maksudnya gini kalo pribadi gak papa lho ya, tapi kalo

gereja jangan. Karena kalo sebagai gereja kan harusnya

berkoordinasi juga gitu to? (So, what I mean is, it is okay if it is

personal, but if it is as a church, no. Because if it is as a church,

we should coorndinate first, am I right?)

Positive Politeness

- Give reason The leader gives reason to the member.

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Table B. Superior‟s Orders/Requests in PHMJ GPIB Tamansari meeting on February 18th, 2014

No Order/Request Statement Politeness

Strategy Reason

1 Ya, kita mulai saja rapat kita. Dimulai dari notulensi kemarin,

bagaimana tindak lanjutnya? (So, we just start the meeting now.

Let's begin with the last week's report, how's the follow up?)

Bald on record This strategy does nothing to minimize threats

to the listener's “face”

2 ngga usah aja. Kayanya juga ngga ada di program itu (We don't

need to, I think it's not in the program.) Bald on record

This strategy does nothing to minimize threats

to the listener's “face”

3 Tempel, maybe? Laporkan di warta (Stick it, maybe? Put it in the

announcement paper)

Positive Politeness

- be optimistic

The leader use the word "maybe" just to make

sure about her idea. But she seems sure that her

idea will be accept by the member

4 jauh sekali itu, ga usah lah (It's too far, we don't need it) Bald on record This strategy does nothing to minimize threats

to the listener's “face”

5 Itu saja dari saya, informasi seputar jemaat. Selanjutnya, pak Th,

mungkin? (That's all from me, the information about our

congregation. Next, Mr. Th, maybe?)

Positive Politeness

- be optimistic

The leader use the word "maybe" just to

emphasize that she ask Mr. Th to give his

report, but implisitly

6 ini kaya apa suratnya, coba di baca lagi? (What kind of letter is

it, please read it again?) Bald on record

This strategy does nothing to minimize threats

to the listener's “face”

7 Kalo gitu kayaknya ga usah pake nyanyi ya.. hehe (So, maybe we

don't need to sing.. Hehe)

Negative politeness

- be pessimistic

The leader use the word "maybe", which means

that she is unsure with what she want to ask.

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8 Er : .....Ini penanggung jawabnya siapa? (Who is responsible for

this?

Ms : pak Th? (Mr. Th?)

Positive Politeness

- be optimistic

The leader ask him by questioning, but seems

sure that it will bu accepted by him

9

....jd nanti selesai pulang dari sidang kita pikirkan kembali untuk

apa, rencana pertemuan berikut yang membahas tentang landas

nya dulu... ya kira2 itu saja. Te Er sempat ketemu pak Nick ngga?

(So, after we back from the session we will think again about

it, our next meeting plan which will discuss about the background

first.. that's all. Mrs. Er, have you ever met Mr. Nick?

Positive politeness

- Offer and promise

Actually the leader asks the member to think

about what will discuss later. So, she promises

to the member about when and what will be

discussed.

10 ya, mungkin ini tinggal pa Nick ya, kita memang harus tanya

beliau kelanjutannya bagaimana (okay, maybe this is only about

Mr. Nick, we should asked him about how it goes.)

Positive politeness

-Include both Su

and So in the

activity

The leader use the word "we", which means not

only the member but also herself are included

in that activity

11

Mungkin kalo dari pak Mk ga ada informasi ya? Kemarin PelKat

PT sudah acara di percik. (Maybe from Mr. Mk there isn't any

information? Youth categorial service have done their activity in

Percik yesterday)

Positive Politeness

- be optimistic

The leader want to ask Mr. Mk to give his

report, but she seems sure that he don't have

any report

12

.....Yang kedua pak Yanto itu, begitu ada orang dateng. Langsung

diingatkan, "helm nya jangan lupa di kunci ya". Gitu? (Second,

Mr. Yanto, if the people come, he have to remind them, "Please

lock your helm". right?)

Positive Politeness

- be optimistic

The leader assumes that the member will

accept her idea. Actually she asks the member

to tell Mr. Yanto to do what she had said.

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13 mungkin kita harus panggil lagi ya. (maybe we have to call him

again)

Positive politeness

-Include both Su

and So in the

activity

The leader use the word "we", which means not

only the member but also herself are included

in that activity

14 kasi tau pak yanto, kalo ini sudah ada yang mau ganti, gitu kan

(let Mr. Yanto know that we have had people who want to change

his position, right?)

Positive Politeness

- be optimistic

The leader assumes that the member will

accept her idea. Actually she asks the member

to tell Mr. Yanto to do what she had said.

15

Cuma mungkin kita juga perlu untuk memikirkan tentang security.

Nda bisa ini terus-terus kaya gini. Dan kalo kita perhatikan

lembur2 itu kan sama aja kita bayar orang. (Maybe we just need

to think about the security. We can't let the situation going like

this anymore. And if we see again, the overtime cost is same with

we pay someone.)

Positive Politeness

- give reason

The leader gives some reason when she ask the

member to start recruiting the security.

16

Bisakah pak, saya berfikir gini, eee, BPPJ itu mereka datang di

sini hari apa, terus masing2 pelkat itu kita undang juga untuk

memberikan laporan hari itu. (Sir, Can we? I mean this, eeee,

when the BPPJ came here, we also invited every categorial

services to give their report on that day too.)

Negative politeness

- be pessimistic

The leader requests the member opinion about

her idea but she seems not sure about it.

17

nah itu tadi, karena kita sudah bikin kan, BPPJ minta lagi yang

lain gitu. Nah harusnya kita tanya BPPJ itu maunya yang kaya

apa. (That's what I said, because we have made it, BPPJ ask the

other form, like this. We should ask to the BPPJ about what they

really want.)

Positive Politeness

- include both Su

and So in the

activity

The leader use the word "we", which means not

only the member but also herself are included

in that activity

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38

Table C. Superior‟s Orders/Requests in PHMJ GPIB Tamansari meeting on March 14th, 2014

No Orders/Requests Statement Politeness

Strategy Reason

1

mari kita mulai saja rapatnya, karena nanti jam 8 saya harus

menemui pak kapolri bersama dengan pak Th. (Let's start our

meeting, because I still have to meet with the marshal at 8 with

Mr. Th.)

Positive Politeness

- Give reason

The leader give reason about why the have to

start the meeting immediately

2 oh iya pak, silahkan disuruh naik aja buk Mardi (Oh yes sir,

please let Mrs. Mardi up here.) Bald on record

This strategy does nothing to minimize threats

to the listener's “face”

3 Jadi bu Indy punya etikat baik, begitu? (So, Mrs. Indy still has a

good faith, right?)

Positive Politeness

- be optimistic

The leader request for confirmation about

someone statement, she just want to make sure

that her idea is true

4

oh iya, kan yang mengurs ini dari awal pak M. (Of course,

because Mr. M have been in charge of this problem for the

beginning)

Positive Politeness

- Give reason

The leader give reason when she ask him to

take care of the problem

5 Kronologisnya aja (Just the chronology) Bald on record This strategy does nothing to minimize threats

to the listener's “face”

6

dan saya kira lebih cepat lebih baik, iya kan? Apa lagi ini dia

sudah di rumah....... (and I think it will be better if we do it soon,

right? Moreover she has been taken home.........)

Positive Politeness

- be optimistic

The leader gives her order by questioning to the

member, but it seems she assumes that the other

member will accept it. Moreover she also gives

a reason to the member.

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39

7

Jadi memang perlu adanya laporan perkembangan, jadi apa yang

harus di lakukan, mungkin nanti kita minta konsultasi sama pak

Th. Besok ke sana itu ngomongnya yang gimana, gitu kan?

Supaya nantinya keluarga juga tidak jadi jengkel, terlalu lama

begitu?. (So, of course we need any development report, what we

should do, maybe later we can consult with Mr. Th. What will we

say later, right? So, the family will not feel irritated, because it's

too long, right?)

Positive Politeness

- Include both Su

and So in the

activity

The leader uses the word "we", which means

not only the member but also herself are

included in that activity

8

Kalau mau pakai polisi, betul. Kalo mau pakai pengacara juga

betul. Supaya nanti arah pembicaraannya juga jd jelas.

Karena.......... (It is right, If we want to include the police. If we

want to use lawyer, it's also true. So, the discussion themes also

clear. Because.........)

Negative Politeness

-Normalize

The leader seems want to normalize her

expression by saying that what they have done

was right and ask them to continue the process

9

......Harusnya gini, kalo bapak bawa urusan bapak dan keluarga.

Kalo disini kita masih bisa ngobrol, harusnya gitu kemarin.

(That's should be like this, If you take her home, it's your own

responsibility. If she is here, we still can talk about it, that

should've liked that.)

Positive Politeness

- Assume or assert

reciprocity

Actually what the leader want is like that, but

the fact is that the member didn't do like that.

10 iya, mungkin kita lanjut aja, ada surat ya? (Okay, maybe we can

continue, there are some letter, right?)

Off record - give

hint

The leader asks about letter, actually to ask the

secretary to start her report about the letter

11

udah itu tulis aja, kalo dia minta cuti ya dia harus cari orang

untuk ganti, gitu aja. (just write it, if he ask to leave, he has to

look for another person who can change his position, just like

that.)

Bald on record This strategy does nothing to minimize threats

to the listener's “face”

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40

12

kemarin itu ada jemaat kembangsari yang mau daftar, namanya

Ruben. Ya mungkin kita bisa minta bantuan dia dulu sebelum

nanti kita angkat sebagai satpam. (there was a Kembangsari

congregation who wanted to apply, his name is Ruben. So maybe

we can ask him for a help before we hire him as the security.)

Positive Politeness

- Include both Su

and So in the

activity

The leader use the word "we" to make order,

which mean she include herself in.

13

itu hari rabu atau kamis itu bisa coba di ajak bicara dulu aja pak

Th. Masalah gaji dan sebaginya. (Mr. Th, Maybe we can talk

about it on Wednesday or Thursday. About the salary, etc.)

Bald on record This strategy does nothing to minimize threats

to the listener's “face”

14

jadi gini, tadi sudah ada percakapan, supaya kita juga bisa

langsung ke pak kapolres jam 8. Jadi gini tadi itu keluarga minta

kehadiran kita, bu Indy juga gereja, Cuma saya berfikir, karena

ini sudah pakai nama lembaga, gitu kan? jadi tetap harus ada

hitam di atas putih pak, seperti itu pak. (So, we have talked about

it, so we can go to the marshal at 8. So, the family asked us to

attend, Mrs. Indy and us. But I think, because it have been used

the organization name, right? so we need letter of agreement, sir. )

Positive Politeness

- Give reason

Actually the leader wants to ask Mr. Th to

make the letter but she gave him some

explanation to give reason why he has to make

an agreement letter.

15

yang soal ke kapolres aja, mungkin yang bisa pak Th ngobrol ke

kita. (about we want to go to the Marshal, maybe Mr. Th can

explain more to us.)

Positive Politeness

- be optimistic

The leader uses the word "maybe" just to

emphasize that she ask Mr. Th to give his

report, but implicitly

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41

16

jadi bapak ibu, surat-syaratnya kita pending dulu, karena kita

janjian jam 8 dengan beliau. Kesepakatan kita-kita mungkin

selesai dulu. Mungkin ada beberapa hal yang kita fokuskan,

begitu? (Everybody, let's postpone the letter first, because we

make a promise to meet the marshal at 8. we should finish our

agreement here. Maybe there is any problem that we should focus

on, right?)

Positive Politeness

- be optimistic

The leader gives her order by questioning to the

member, but it seems she assumes that the other

member will accept it.

17

iya, MuPel (Musyawarah Pelayanan) itu. Itu nanti kita bicarakan

lagi (So, about MuPel (Delibration Ministry). That will be discuss

again later.)

Positive Politeness

- promise

The leader requests to discuss about the

problem and promise that it will be done later.

18 terus persyaratan sudah? (how about the requirement?) Bald on record This strategy does nothing to minimize threats

to the listener's “face”

19 memang harus di masukan (It have to be included) Bald on record This strategy does nothing to minimize threats

to the listener's “face”

20 minimal pendidikan? (The minimum education?) Bald on record This strategy does nothing to minimize threats

to the listener's “face”

21

ya jadi nanti kita bisa bicarakan masalah bayaran itu kan supaya

enak, gitu kan? (So, we can talk about the salary later, so it will

clear, right?)

Positive Politeness

- be optimistic

The leader gives her order by questioning to the

member, but it seems she assumes that the other

member will accept it.

22

atau undang aja besok to, supaya bisa dibicarakan lebih lanjut

soal ini. Gimana2nya to? (Or just invite them tomorrow, so this

problem can be discussed more. How it will be, right?)

Positive Politeness

- be optimistic

The leader gives her order by questioning to the

member, but it seems she assumes that the other

member will accept it.


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