"the general orientation" is a correct and usable phrase in written English.
It can be used to refer to the overall direction or focus of something. Example: The general orientation of the company's new marketing strategy is towards a younger demographic.
A woman watching, who did not know either of the candidate's positions going in, might have guessed the general orientation, but would not have known that Romney — at the moment — supports a ban on abortion unless a woman has been the victim of rape or incest, or will die without it.
The general orientation of the crack lines was then summarized.
The general orientation of the house is towards the east.
The shift towards a next activity constitutes the general orientation of call-takers' handling of complaints.
Further Reading: For the general orientation of proof-theoretic semantics the special issue of Synthese (Kahle and Schroeder-Heister, 2006), Schroeder-Heister (2008b), and Wansing (2000).
Having identified the general orientation, the next step is to determine if the weighted or unweighted version of the pick matrix should be applied.
The implications of this general orientation for immunology hardly can be over-emphasized.
Having provided this general orientation to the analysis, we will now describe the procedures in more detail.
This effect would create the impression of linear structures in the image that are far less numerous but have the same general orientation as the actual microtubules.
Participants are therefore provided with the following general orientation to the project: Complete health involves not only physical well-being, but also mental well-being.
Attitudes were strongly influenced by the clinicians' general orientation to the importance of preventive care, as well as how they measured a successful outcome.
