W. Barnett Pearce reminds us that through the act of communicating, certain words imply a set of actions that must be coordinated with others to carry out the goal of that speech act.
Speech Act
The word accessibility is a “speech act”. This means that when the word is spoken, it implies that an action or a set of actions will occur. Barnett Pearce, and a variety of scholars (Searle, 1990; Pearce, 2007; Wittgenstein, 1953/2001; Kreckel, 1981), determined the term speech act denotes that we use language (verbal as well as non verbal) to accomplish various actions (Pearce et. al., 2007, p. 109). In part, speaking is an activity in and of itself. However, in addition to the act of speaking, a ‘speech act’ refers to the part of speech that is seeking to accomplish an action. When the word ‘accessibility’ is spoken it implies a set of actions coordinated by a variety of individuals to create the act of ‘accessibility’.
“If those worldviews have different meanings of the speech act ‘accessibility’, there will be no coordination without negotiation."
Coordination
Since the speech act ‘accessibility’ implies a set of actions by a variety of individuals, this speech act must be made in coordination. Coordination is created when two or more differing sets of world views come together to accomplish an action. Differing worldviews coming together takes various acts of negotiation and clarification (strategic communication) in and of itself. Furthermore, if those worldviews have different meanings of the speech act ‘accessibility’, there will be no coordination without negotiation. Therefore, to accomplish the speech act with coordination each person must have awareness of their own worldview and the ability to learn about the others’ view.
Perceptions
What is accessibility? When the word is spoken by a supervisor, does it imply the same set of coordinated actions as it does when spoken by an employee with a disability? The supervisor and/or Human Resources may believe they have satisfied the speech act ‘accessibility’ by following the ADA policy for formal accommodations. Yet the person with the embodied experience of disability may have a very different set of actions in mind to perform the speech act ‘accessibility’.
Personal Experience
In my experience, Human Resources is concerned with satisfying legal requirements. They aren’t able to intervene any more than ensuring that the Doctor’s recommendations are upheld to the best of the organization’s ability. Their role could be expanded to include much more such as sharing supplementary resources, educational workshops and opportunities to meet with employees and supervisors. For example, when I began a new job, my supervisor didn’t know information about the disability services shuttle van, where to find that information, or how we could modify my tasks until my assistive furniture arrived. These are gaps that Human Resources could step in to fill. However, since they have satisfied their legal requirements their role ends. Therefore, there are missed understandings and missed opportunities to perform accessibility in other ways as the coordination of the speech act ‘accessibility’ is static.
References
Pearce, B. (2007). Making Social Worlds: A Communication Perspective. Blackwell Publishing.
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