Assessing writing for workplace purposes: Risks, conundrums and compromises

Abstract

Since the development of cuneiform script in Mesopotamia for keeping tallies of grain and sheep, written language has been used to document workplace transactions as a safeguard against the unreliability of human memory or deceit. Modern workplaces continue this reliance on written language as a means of mitigating the risk that some important aspect of work will be missed, misunderstood, misrepresented or contested. In most workplaces, a great deal of effort is expended on the documentation of actors, timelines and processes. The sale of livestock nowadays demands accreditation and form-filling which hold the vendor liable for any misinformation provided. In the business world, an email ser..