International Management and Language Management in Multinational Company - Literature review Example

Running Head: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS: INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT AND LANGUAGE MANAGEMENT IN MULTINATIONAL COMPANY International Business: International Management and Language Management in Multinational Company [Writer’s name] [Institution’s name International Business: International Management and Language Management in Multinational Company Introduction Effective communication is an important part of any organization, an important medium for it is the language spoken in organization. In other words the corporate language. When multinational companies introduce themselves in a new market they need to concentrate on the language management. In order to provide the employees and management with a strong and effective communication process they need to pay attention to the language management so that both the employees and managers can enjoy an effective communication process. It may highlighted, communication something quite important for international management as it is attained by employees of both the host country as well as the countries from which the company has come and can flourish by their efforts, for instance, by means of high-involvement measures, like the international transferring of staff , multinational teams, corporate training, emigrant staffing, as well language training and hiring both bi- and multilingual employees. This all is only possible if the international management gives importance to the issues regarding language management. In order to gain success in international management, Multinational Corporations have to comprehend the socio-political, cultural, monetary and regulatory background of the country in which they want to introduce themselves. If it is the international management of foreign country operations, it needs to understand that without resolving the issues regarding language it cannot prosper. International management play an important role here as it has a key responsibility to ensure that all the employees may efficiently perform well even in anew environment , if employees don’t comprehend the language of the instructions then it may be difficult fro them . So to avoid all such issues international management had to be efficient enough to remove all language barriers. The following literature review highlights the importance issues which arise for multinational companies when they have to manage the language issue in order to improve the entire communication process. It shows how prefect international management needs to take full responsibility of such issues to ensure success .For this purpose various studies have been utilized. Analysis In the current time and age when multinational companies are at spreading far and wide, they have to set standards according to the culture of the host country. The most important part of adjustment to culture is language management. It should be noted that the suitable utilization of language in cross-cultural settings is an important element in a lot of different situations. Therefore, when they design the human resource policies and practices, it is essential to keep in mind the role of language in cross-cultural environments. For instance, setting new incentives regarding languages or translating a lot of important resource documentation in more then one language (i.e. especially the mother tongue of the host country). For instance Colgate-Palmolive Company has successfully communicated important human resource programs to its international workforce. Considering all the different languages which are utilized by their employees in the company. Two important Human resource’s most important core value initiatives. This means that they value and respect their employee’s culture. The important values were translated into ten different languages. The document was entitled “Valuing Colgate People”, this also consisted a part on the organization’s business ethics, rules of conduct and business practice guide lines. These programs made the company the most preferred employer in the job market. (Carter, 2005) Apart from spoken language even importance to body language has to be given especially in high-context cultures. Misinterpretation of body language may lead to wrong expectations. For instance a lot of Western companies are operating with in India, which has a common cross-cultural difference in head gestures. According to Craig Storti (2004), when an Indian shakes his head to say yes it may seem to the visiting company as no, and from this point the misunderstanding arises. If the bodily gestures are interpreted accurately then the result may be a positive one. However, if they are not properly interpreted it may lead to a negative result. (Carobolante, 2005). This is why every multinational should have accurate knowledge regarding the host country’s language and cross-cultural communication. Even though English is considered an international language in every field, people still have problems in speaking it. When non native English speakers try to communicate their point of views to native English speakers, the result usually is not a positive one. International English is considered as a new term. It describes a means of communication which is mostly utilized in international business where non-native English speakers speak English with native English speakers. It does not encourage the usage of culturally laden language, like cultural shortcuts, metaphors, terminology, colloquial speech and idioms. For instances Americans, frequently utilize metaphors in terms of sports, like "all the bases are covered". This is not at all a suitable way of communicating as most non native speakers may not comprehend the phrase. As matter of fact it take more time for native English speakers to become prefect in using International English and to not utilize terms which may be only restricted to their culture( Storti, 2004 ). In this paper multinational corporations may be used to the study the management language in different settings. According to Barner-Rasmussen and Björkman (2007) the fact that multinational corporations are multilingual is quite obvious by it’s definition. Usually in companies, communication is commonly done across linguistic boundaries by using more then one language. It maybe noted that the utilization of proper language ahs become the most important issue of international management processes, as all of the organizational realities revolve around the aspect of communication. According to Duranti (2004) languages not only help in reflecting different circumstances but, it also helps in the capability to interact with such events, and interpret them or get influenced by them. He further claimed that keeping in mind the nature of language; it is quite obvious that individuals usually use a particular language at a certain time or event. As per Duranti’s (2004) view, it may be highlighted that it is important to carefully evaluate language as a communication issue in Multinational corporations. It also important to note that such issues need to be controlled by the management of such organizations. The five articles authored by researchers from Australia, Finland, France, Sweden, and the United Kingdom span multiple levels and units of analysis.1 Although language skills are indeed individual skills, their implications are far broader. This range from macro level inter organizational to micro level intra-organizational interaction demonstrates that language and communication effects extend beyond the individual. The above mentioned studies highlighted language and communication in cross-cultural teams, the head office – subordinate, and communication within departments , in multinational corporations . A few of the studies highlight language per se, while many study the broader phenomenon of communication by means of which they also highlight the use of language . For then interpretation of the results of such studies regarding language and communication in multinational corporation’s pervious cases are utilized. Such studies serve as a useful means of analysis and also provide different point of views regarding language and communication. The most important theories regarding language an important tool of communication in multinational corporations was given by Janssens, Lambert, and Steyaert (2004). They put forth three different points of views which were mutually exclusive however they were based on completely different theories. The instrumental perspective highlighted the fact that language is something which hinders the communication processes in multinational corporations. It claims that giving importance to one language, and considering it as the corporate language, is the solution to language-based issues . The cultural perspective considers multinational corporations to be culturally rich and have different languages and prefers to solve issue regarding langue by means of pluralistic language solutions. As per the political perspective it related language with power and claims, that when the management has to select a langue for the multinational corporation it may involve politics, it is not considered as an impartial act as recommended by the earlier perspectives. Thus, all three perspectives tend to play an important role in the communication process within multinationals. All three perspectives may be clearly understood by Welch, Welch, and Piekkari , as they used he above mentioned perspectives in their researches regarding language . Interestingly, a lot of the current researches based on international mergers and acquisitions demonstrate how politics tends to play an important role when a language is being selected in Multinationals. If Janssens et al.’s (2004) political perspective, is kept in mind then parity in the utilization of languages can by no means be settled in multinational corporations, as there is always some exploitation, influence, conflict, and negotiation in that area. This can mostly be noted when mergers are carried between two equally powerful companies. When it comes to selecting common corporate language both parties seem to be sensitive about national dominance and might even affect the entire merger process . The problem of power is may be noted in the fact that there may be some social exclusion of local staff along with the isolation of entire groups of subordinates because they are not fluent in the languages which have been selected for the multinational corporations. But if the instrumental perspective is considered, language is normally considered as a method of transferring information and replying to the top administration ’s queries about the effectiveness of the company (Janssens et al. 2004). According to Barner- Rasmussen and Björkman’s (2005) “Surmounting Interunit Barriers” language skills may be considered as a method to solve all the problems regarding communication amongst the management, employees and departments . Amazingly a survey carried out on foreign-owned subsidiary in Finland and China demonstrated how the management’s fluency in a shared language can be utilized to archive significant communication process between the subsidiaries . Such studies play an important role in the communication in multinational corporations. It may be noted that factors which play an important role in improving inter department communication may also be helpful in improving internal knowledge transfer. Likewise, according to Buckley, Carter, Clegg, and Tan (2005) language may be regarded as a medium for communication. According to the instrumental view, multinational corporations may be able study how language improves the communication and foreign-knowledge transfer amongst two organizations which are undergoing merger. It may be noted that in throughout the above discussion, top management gave ample importance to the selection of corporate language. The discussion also showed that the more knowledge is shared the more easily the language is also shared and understood. However, it may also be noted that language must be used with corporate social knowledge so that the knowledge may be efficiently passed on. This helps employees and management both to understand each other’s language in the corporate context. Social knowledge transfer is always something good when it comes to language as a factor of communication. Companies which undergo mergers are not effective in communication and language skills as compared to wholly owned subsidiaries. As per the cultural perspective, according to Brannen (2004) language may be considered as the understanding of foreign cultures and an important part of the cultural context. Henderson’s (2005) and Zander’s (2005) consider language to be a factor of culture. Henderson (2005) studied the dynamics of interpersonal communication in organizations where employees are multicultural. She highlighted the fact that language is the tool of communication challenges. She also highlights the fact that language diversity always affects the communication process and causes a lot of misunderstandings. She found that even though the entire organization shared a common language which is English, there were till a lot of misunderstandings. This proved that they were still culturally distant. This produces miscommunication and affects socialization and trust building within the team. Zander (2005) carried out a study based on the relationship between managers and employees, which was based on the choice of leadership characteristics of the managers by the staff. It was found that employees and managers belonging to countries with similar language and cultural background had common preference regarding the leadership qualities. It may be noted that linguistic similarity does play an important role in organizations. This analysis gives a clear understanding of how employees’ preferences about interpersonal leadership practices like authority , coaching, and management are similar amongst employees and managers who have belong to countries with similar language and cultural background . Most of these qualities are based on communication style and thus it may be said that people from a common cultural background and similar language seem to understand and prefer each other. Such findings help in understanding the importance of language as a representation of employee’s culture in a multicultural organization. This may be helpful to organizations that have function on the trend of international management. In spite of the diversity of perspectives, vast analysis carried out in this paper regarding the importance of language and communication in multinational corporations may prove to be of great help to multinational corporations as language is something quite important for prefect communication channels. As per instrumental perspective, using English as a medium of communication and utilizing it as a standard language or corporate language in international management seems to be an effective solution to all the problems . According to Tietze, Cohen, and Musson (2003) , it may make communication a more simpler process. However from the studies in this paper it may be noted that this may not be a prime solution to the communication problem. The data collected in prior studies proves that multinational corporations cannot consider English to be a shared linguistic resource. A good example of this may be that if western multinational corporations operating in china want their employees to have a good communication process they cannot consider English as their corporate language as Chinese prefer their own lineage and not English . Even currently, international management processes are based on how well the employees and management know how to speak English as well as the diversity of national languages. Moreover, utilizing English as a shared language might result in misunderstandings of a common context or similar choice, which in turn may lead to miscommunication and ineffective communication process Henderson and Zander ‘s (2005) studies mentioned in the paper may serve as a good example here. As per the cultural perspective, people who take part in cross-cultural communication mostly utilize their own frames of reference. For instance, management responsible for the merger might give more importance to their own cultural and linguistic identities, even though English is the corporate language there. This may lead to ethnocentric behaviour. This may be due to the fact that everyone believes that their own culture is better then the rest. It might have a bad effect on the interpersonal collaboration of manager–employee relationships in organizations . If the background of employees, their language choice and use are not essentially a realistic decision aiming at competence but are related to the problems revolving around authority, control, and management. This was also noted in Welch et al study. As a result, the political perspective claims that the utilization of language common to the culture in which the multinational corporation is operating might strengthen the ongoing power relationships in multilingual situations. It may be noted that, while a shared company language is mostly supposed to play the role of an integrative measure, it might, in fact, result in disintegrative methods of communication. Conclusions To conclude it may be said that the utilization of a common language does not essentially improve communication in a manner in which multinational corporations will experience efficient and effectual international management activities. However, as per the dscussion what must be noted is that The above mentioned studies of Barner-Rasmussen and Björkman and Buckley et al (2007). These studies unmistakably highlight the fact that a shared language was a required but in reality it may be said adequate solution to enhance or improve communication process between the departments of multinational corporations. One more point which seems quite confusing in discussing regarding the how the multinational corporations demonstrates, the phenomenon is quite complicated and is based on subtle dynamics. One such point which may eb highlighted here is that If managers try to control or even manage communication process in multinational corporations it may result in a huge issue for them. Along with language, involvement in corporate training, international employee transfers, as well as utilization of multinational teams and emigrants played significant roles in improving the communication process needed for efficient international management, especially , considering the successful transfer of information from one department to the next. This may be noted in the above mentioned discussion study by Welch et al. is used this effects the credibility of the entire literature review as it highlighted the fact that a selected company language is at times considered only as an important step in managing the language challenges which the multinational corporation is facing. This is a weak assumption on the part of the researcher. After this literature review , the most I portent question which comes to mind is to ask is as follows: is there a way to enhance fruitful communication in multinational corporations?. Studying new methods regarding how awareness and knowledge of language diversity can be dealt with in Multinational Corporation is an important starting point. Separating language from communication issues in place of automatically assuming relationship across equally similar variables is also extremely essential. In conclusion, by the above given literature review it may be noted that this topic has had a lot of research done and has greatly progressed in helping multinational corporation in handling their communication issues. It provides significant potential for solving the issue of English as a corporate language . Thus, it may be pointed out that language is an important tool in the communication process when it comes to Multinational Corporations. References Barner-Rasmussen, W. & Björkman, I (2007); Language Matters! Language Fluency, Socialization Mechanisms and their Relationship to Interunit Trustworthiness and Shared Vision. Management and Organization Review. 3: 105-28. Barner-Rasmussen, W. and Björkman, I. (2005); ‘Surmounting interunit barriers’, International Studies of Management and Organization, 35 (1): 28 – 46 Brannen, M. Y (2004); When Mickey Loses Face: Recontextualization, Semantic Fit, and the Semiotics of Foreignness, Academy of Management Review, 29, 4, pp. 593-616. Buckley, P.J., Carter, M.J., Clegg, J. & Tan, H. (2005); Language and social knowledge in foreign-knowledge transfer to China. International Studies of Management and Organisation, 35(1), pp. 28-46. Carobolante, L. (2005);International English: A new global tool. Mobility, 64-80. Carter, L. (2005); Best practices in leading the global workforce: How the best global companies ensure success throughout their workforce. Burlington, MA: Linkage. Duranti (2004); A Companion to Linguistic Anthropology. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell. Henderson, J. K (2005)., Language Diversity in International Management Teams, International Studies of Management and Organization, 35, 1, pp. 66-82. Janssens, M., Lambert, J. and Steyaert, C. (2004) ; ‘Developing language strategies for international companies: the contribution of translation studies’, Journal of World Business, 39 (4): 414 – 430. Storti, C. (2007); Speaking of India: Bridging the communication gap when working with Indians. Boston: Intercultural Press. Tietze, S. Cohen, L. & Musson G. (2003); Understanding Organisations Through Language, London: Sage. Welch, D., Welch, L. and Piekkari, R. (2005); ‘Speaking in tongues. The importance of language in international management processes’, International Studies of Management and Organization, 35 (1): 10 – 27. Zander, L (2005)., Communication and Country Clusters: A Study of Language and Leadership Preferences, International Studies of Management and Organization, 35, 1, pp. 83-108. Read More