Critical Discourse Analysis as a theoretical-methodological alternative for organizational studies: an example of representational meaning analysis

Abstract Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is a theoretical-methodological alternative for critical organizational studies because it contributes to the examination of social issues in the contemporary world and seeks to denaturalize beliefs that support the structures of domination. Although the adoption of the CDA in the Administration area is not new, its use is still restricted, and the analysis of the textual dimension has not always been explored in depth. Thus, in this article, we retrieve the theoretical and methodological bases of Norman Fairclough’s approach (1989, 2001, and 2003) and also provide subsidies to operationalize analytical categories of representational meaning, exemplifying its operationalization. With this, we seek to elucidate aspects related to the linguistic analysis of the texts in order to disseminate the approach among researchers in the area.