THE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND WRITINGS OF THE 1

GEOLOGICAL COMMUNITY
Dear Class,
I have enclosed an analytical report detailing the different components and styles of the writing
that is most commonly used among the geological community. Included in this report is some
background information about the organizational culture in the geological community, as well as
a description about the private and governmental sectors of the geological field. I hope that this
report will give you a greater knowledge of the geological sector.
Please review this report carefully and inform me of any questions or comments that you may
have.
I appreciate your time and consideration of this report.
Sincerely,

Miles Adair

2
The Organization Culture and Writings of the Geological Community
An exploration on the factors that contribute to the culture and preferred style of writing among
the geological field
Miles Adair
English 2100
Salt Lake Community College
June 28th, 2016

THE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND WRITINGS OF THE 3

GEOLOGICAL COMMUNITY
Table of Contents
Letter of
announcement..1
Title
page..2
Table of Contents..
3
Abstract....4
Introduction..4
Background Information about the Geological
Community..4
Organizational Structure of the Geological Community.4
Organizational Culture of the Geological Community5
Writing in the Geological Community5
Genres, Content, Design, Format and Style.6
How Writing is Influenced by Cultural Climate..7
Power Relationship Between Writers and Readers.7
Conclusion...8
Sources9

4
Abstract
This report explores both the organizational culture and the organizational structure of the
geological community, including the different sectors that it encompasses and the various causes
that are valued. This report also examines what is favored in terms of writing, including the
different genres, styles, and forms, as well as preferred content. The information was obtained by
exploring a variety of sources, including a personal acquaintance in the geological field and by
researching a variety of websites and articles, including government publications.
Introduction
I chose to research the geological community and the types of writing commonly
produced by members of it because it is the field I am currently pursuing a career in. The
information in this report was compiled from a variety of sources from the geological community
including scientific reports, research papers and government information, as well an interview
from a personal acquaintance. My report explores the organizational culture and organizational
structure of the geological community, as well as the preferred subject matter, design, format and
style commonly used in the writings they publish. My report will be in two main sections:
Background Information about the Geological Community and Writing in the Geological
Community with several subsections, followed by a conclusion.
Background Information about the Geological Community
To better understand the writing produced by the geological community, I feel that it is
important to first have some background information about the geological field. In this section, I
will give a brief explanation about the organizational structure within the geological field, as well
as a discussion about the organizational culture in the geological community. Some of the
knowledge in these following sections I gained from speaking with an associate of mine who has
worked in the geological field for the past few decades, and some of the information I got from
researching the internet and reading different scholarly articles produced by members of different
associations within the geological community.
Organizational Structure of the Geological Community
From the research that I have performed so far, I have come to the conclusion that there
are basically two sectors within the geological field: the private sector and the governmental
sector. In order to better understand the private sector, I spoke with a friends father, Alan
Longson, who has worked for a private geological and engineering consulting firm for the last
thirty years. He did not want me to mention the company by name, but it is a prominently known
company both in the Salt Lake Valley and across the United States. According to Alan, the
geological work in the private sector is organized very similarly to any other type of consulting
firm in the business community. Individuals or companies contract the firm to do research and
consulting for various projects that they are working on. These projects include land, business
and construction developments, mining ventures, and possible oil developments. The consulting
firm has teams of geologists, engineers and other professionals who go to the sites in question,

THE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND WRITINGS OF THE 5

GEOLOGICAL COMMUNITY
survey the land quality and note any problems, and perform other tests to ensure that the land is
appropriate and safe for the upcoming project. These teams are then present to preform different
tests to ensure safety and correct building measures with regard to the land and natural resources
during the construction process.
After reading through different government websites and job postings for geological
work, it seems to me that the governmental sector is similarly organized to the private sector.
However, instead of working on private interest projects, the geologists in the governmental
sector mainly work on state or federal government projects and expansion efforts. They are also
heavily responsible for researching different natural disasters, both before and after they occur, to
better understand why these events happen and to lessen the damaging effects of them, and to
prevent others from occurring.
Organizational Culture of the Geological Community
During my research for this report, I read many articles written by members of the
geological community. What I found most interesting was the common thread in all of the
articles I read. Although all of the pieces were research and analytical reports, scientific in
nature, the overwhelming majority of them expressed concern for the greater good of humanity. I
think that oftentimes we think of the humanities and the sciences as two different and oftenconflicting points on the spectrum. Typically the sciences are most concerned with facts,
research, and data and the humanities deal more with art, human feelings and connections, and
different forms of expressing such. After conducting my research for this report, I am now of the
opinion that at least this branch of the sciences is not only concerned with facts, data and charts,
but also with the needs of humanity.
Many of the reports that I read detailed studies surrounding different natural disasters,
such as earthquakes, volcano eruptions, and tectonic activity, discoveries that have impact on the
human race, and geological issues relating to public safety. There is an underlying message in all
of these articles about the safety and greater good of man. Often included in these reports are
discussions of preventing disasters and various measures to do so, decreasing damage from
possible events, earlier warnings for evacuation, and helping people to be more prepared in the
event that a disaster does occur. These findings have helped me better understand the
organizational culture of the geological community, and the importance they place on public
safety and wellness, as well as natural conservation, the management of natural resources, and
the importance of continuous scientific research and discoveries within their field.
Writing in the Geological Community
In this section I will briefly explain the different types of writing produced and favored
by the geological community, as well as how the writing is influenced by the cultural climate and
the power relationship between the writers and the readers. Here you will also find textual and
graphical examples of the different elements often found in writing from this community.

6
Genres, content, design, format and style
As briefly mentioned earlier, all of the articles that I read while doing research for this
paper were scholarly articles, which is the most common type of writing produced by the
geological community. The articles, which I found in online journals (most of which are also
available for print subscription), were mainly analytical reports detailing the results of different
studies performed by geologists. As far as I can tell, the articles all used APA formatting and used
a structure similar to the one used here for this report.
The articles were all very scientific in nature, and used language specific to the
geological field that the average reader may not completely understand, such as this example
from an article detailing the 2015 Nepal Gorkha earthquake: Interseismic strain could proceed
to the sub-Himalaya via post-seismic creep along the unruptured portions of the MHT, or a large
earthquake could occur along the shallower portion of the MHT, feeding slip to the surface
Rupture of a shallower, highly strained portion of the MHT may involve higher stress drop
failure and possibly stronger ground shaking as a result (Catlos et al., 2016, p.42-43). Because
this type of scientific language is used throughout all of these articles, it is safe to say that they
are written for other professionals and prospective professionals of their community, and that
they are specifically written to communicate researched information. The authors are not terribly
interested in the popularity or widespread delivery of their message, but rather that they report on
the facts and that the people interested in them will seek them out.
Another important element found in these articles is the use of graphic evidence, such as
charts, tables, maps and even pictures. For example, here I have included a graph displaying the
different trace length distributions found along fault lines, a map with the location of the fault
lines, and a photo of the cataclastic shear bands discussed and used in an article about three
dimensional fracture trace maps (Seers and Hodgetts, 2016, p. 15, 12, and 13).

The inclusion of such visuals is extremely

important in these articles because it helps
provides the reader with a visual representation
of the information that they are reading about,
such as the photo of the cataclastic shear bands;
it presents statistics and figures in a clean way,

THE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND WRITINGS OF THE 7

GEOLOGICAL COMMUNITY
such as the graph does; and it provides a visual context for the reader to better understand the
geographical location, such as the map does. It also appeals to optical learners and it adds
more visual interest to the article overall.
How Writing is Influenced by Cultural Climate
Geology is a field very much influenced by whatever the cultural climate of the nation or
the world may be. As mentioned before, geologists are regularly called in to research a variety of
natural disasters both in order to prevent them and to learn from them. A large natural disaster in
one or more parts of the world can greatly change or influence the writing that takes place within
the professionally community. Similarly, a political change or change in government or
government leadership can have a great impact upon the geological community. As new projects
are placed forth or new emphasis is placed on different matters concerning the country, such as a
push for oil exploration, or perhaps less invasive mining techniques, or maybe greater need for a
certain type of mineral due to its use in world wide industries, the writing changes since it is
based on the research being done on current projects.
Matters of public interest or importance can also influence the writing of the geological
community as well. For example, global warming is currently a hotly debated issue worldwide.
Many people may think that the most obvious solution to global warming would be finding ways
to decrease greenhouse gases on an international level, but there are also lots of scientists
(including geologists) who are currently studying different effects of glaciers, underground water
reserves, and polar ice caps on global warming. Their findings are written in scientific reports
and articles that are currently flooding the geological community.
Power Relationships Between Writers and Readers
Written pieces within the geological community are, as mentioned before, very factual
and informative. Those who are publishing articles are offering up their findings and theories
because they believe that the information they have complied must be recorded and made
available to further the scientific knowledge of their professional community and to contribute to
the discovery of more knowledge. They are not researching and publishing articles because they
are looking to win some kind of popularity contest or to gain some level of fame, but because
they believe the information is important. As discussed previously, the writing of the geological
community is not for the casual reader. Reports are often filled with jargon and technical terms
common to the geological field that may not be easily understood (or understood at all, for that
matter) by anyone other than the intended audience.
Based on these observations, we understand that in this situation the writers hold the
power in their relationship to the reader. They hold the power because they are the ones who
choose what to study and what to write about, and their writings are well received by their
intended audience. The reader has to actively seek out the information that they are providing
and it is the responsibility of the reader to educate him or herself enough to follow and
understand the information being provided. If the writer held the power, the scenario would be
reversed and the writers would be desperately pandering to their chosen demographic, trying any

8
tactics necessary to gain popularity and to ensure the readers understanding. This is not the case
for the writers and audience in the geological community.
Conclusion
After researching the geological community, I have found it to be both highly educated
and focused on scientific research, and also concerned with the greater good of humanity. They
study natural resources and natural disasters and work to find solutions to problems associated
with such.
The writing favored in this organizational culture is highly specific and written to explain
scientific findings based on various types of research in the geological field. While the writers do
hold the power, they are well received by an eager audience of professional and educational
peers and their writings contribute to the overall and continuing conversation among the
geological community.
After performing the research for this report, I am even more eagerly anticipating the day
when I can call myself a member of the geological community and hope to be able to contribute
new and helpful information to the ongoing geological conversation that will one day benefit
mankind.

THE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND WRITINGS OF THE 9

GEOLOGICAL COMMUNITY
Sources
Catlos, E. J. (2016). Nepal at Risk: Interdisciplinary Lessons Learned from the
April 2015 Nepal (Gorkha) Earthquake and Future Concerns. GSA Today
GSAT, 26(06), 42-43. doi:10.1130/gsatg278gw.1
Siegert, M. J. (2016). RESEARCH FOCUS: A wide variety of unique
environments beneath the Antarctic ice sheet. Geology, 44(5), 399-400.
doi:10.1130/focus052016.1
Seers, T. D., & Hodgetts, D. (2016). Extraction of three-dimensional fracture
trace maps from calibrated image sequences. Geosphere.
doi:10.1130/ges01276.1
U.S. Geological Survey. (n.d.). Retrieved June 29, 2016, from
http://www.usgs.gov/