The role of language skills in corporate communication (original) (raw)
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Foreign Language Skills a Must in Multinational Companies-An Intercultural Perspective
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No matter in which language we communicate, we have to communicate, whether we like it or not. It is very important to make oneself understood, therefore we have often to communicate in the company's language. The larger meaning of communication is by looking at the communication from an intercultural perspective in a multinational company. The concept of corporate communication is in business administration and communication studies identified by the totality of all communicati on tools and communication activities of a company that will be used to represent the company and its services in all relevant target groups. For a company it is not only important to have a positive corporate culture and to voice it, but also, to check it regularly out. In this context it should be noted that a corporate culture is subject of changes, whether they are social changes or other kind of changes, like learning a foreign language.
This paper intends to contribute to trans-disciplinary research on language management in international business (IB) and most of all help breaking old paradoxes related to the (i) wrongly assumed self-sufficiency of language in professional and business communication situations and (ii) costs of investment in language. We will present results of two empirical studies that describe language management and business translation practices in companies operating in foreign markets. Finally, despite being still an ongoing research, we will give some insights on how language management and translation mediated communication can be more cost-effective in this kind of companies.
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Despite their dual impact on intercultural communication, scholarly discussions on languages and cultural values have evolved separately in international management literature. Building on the three communication zones theory (Du-Babcock & Babcock, 1996), which describes intercultural communication through three different language proficiency zones, the present study explores the influence of expatriates’ host country language and cultural competencies on intercultural communication in foreign subsidiaries. In contrast to international management literature in which cultural values and languages have been treated independently, interviews in 58 Nordic subsidiaries in Japan show that expatriates’ host country language and cultural competencies are accompanied by different challenges and opportunities.
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This paper examines the role of Foreign Language Competence (FLC) in International business, at a time when business activity, in general, is becoming increasingly international, and when the focus of business relationships is changing from that of a short-term, task-orientated approach, to one of a longer-term relationship orientation. As a consequence of these changes, the authors suggest that FLC should become increasingly focused on the development/maintenance of long-term business relationships, rather than the traditional short-term 'sales-orientation' which has been the case so far. The paper is a conceptual contribution, which will be empirically tested at a later date.
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European Journal of Applied Linguistics Studies
The English language is considered the global business language and a mutual language to provide communication and understanding in business. Learning foreign languages and implementing language management strategies enable cross-cultural communication, business growth and career enhancement. Drawing on this theory of business communication, this study explores the effects of language proficiency in business operations of Kosovan small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which intend to become integrated globally, by using mixed methods and the interpretation of business managers (Sample 1, N = 5), two pilot tests (Sample 2, N = 7 and N = 29) and an online questionnaire (Sample 3, N = 139). The role of English in business communication was interrelated with an analysis of other foreign languages, along with the implementation of language strategies and the effect of language skills on career development. This squares well with the proposition that these three aspects are consistent...
Communicative Strategies in Cross-Cultural Business Environment
Mìžnarodnij fìlologìčnij časopis, 2019
The present paper looks at a set of communicative strategies employed in the international business by English-speaking business people in general, and auditors and accountants, in particular. The work aims at the relevance of cross-cultural communication and the generally accepted classification of communicative strategies in English. Thus, to meet the objectives, a concept of intercultural communication comes to description to be followed by the stages of the message delivery. These relate to (i) encoding of the message, (ii) choice of a medium / media to transmit a relevant message, and (iii) decoding of the message. As respects intercultural communication, the article speaks of relevance in understanding the particular backgrounds, which the communicants in the international business environment may not ignore. English-speaking business people may make great experts in their professional domain of activities, however, that may not guarantee they would never face a wide range of challenges, which would arise in the course of communication between the business peoplecolleagues, peers, business partners or just business contacts from different countries. One of the reasons for some difficulty in interaction can link to their belonging to different cultural backgrounds, for example, religious, social, ethnic, educational, etc. It is important to note that the contemporary progress with digitization and globalization influences ways of thinking, beliefs and values. The ethnic identity borders dissolve in the global processes of integration. Open borders and more opportunities to travel and discover the world may not, but impact the personality, their perception and interpretation of the world within and between cultural environments. Therefore, the topicality of the work highlights the need in the unified approach to simplified interaction despite the borders and time zones and moves the needle with the classification of seven communicative strategies business people may employ for work when travelling and speaking English. To help better understand each strategy, the explanations are furnished with the English examples for a certain communicative context.