When the word strategic is added to the notion of Language Management, it implies making the language management scheme an integrated part of long-term business planning (Cf.
Talking Sense, 2005). The discussion in this section treats the topic of how language management should be approached strategically to yield optimal results, as well as the effects of such an approach.
4.1 Strategic language management
Language policies are not new in the business world. The ability to speak the language of a target economic market has always been a plus, although not a requirement in many organizations. But now, more than ever, businesses have to deal with the issues of language policies within the context of international economies (Dhir and Goke-Pariola, 2002).
The linguists study the use of language for the creation of community value, for example, through reduced crime, violence, poverty and improved trade, education, health, nutrition, sanitation, etc. In contrast, according to Dhir and Goke-Pariola (2002), the corporate planner seeks to use language to create economic value, by the efficient and effective knowledge management for gaining competitive advantage through intellectual capital. This is done by creating situations in which language would facilitate efficiency and result in synergistic interactions among individuals.
Some scholars argue that the organization generally chooses, from among alternative languages, the particular working language which offers the most efficient economic means of knowledge creation and management within the context of the strategic environment in which they exist and operate (Marschan-Piekkari et al, 1999, Dhir and Goke-Pariola, 2002). I believe, however, that the companies in lack of awareness of the value of language management often end up with the ‘easy’ solution of one dominate language –most often English.
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Language problems arise from the increasing number of cross-border mergers and acquisitions. This trend is likely to continue, particularly in the area of human resource management. Dhir and Goke-Pariola (2002) analyse multinational language planning in large corporations and the development of language policies. They identify how managing cultural diversity and linguistic complexity can be turned into a critical asset for large companies in the global knowledge-based economy.
Andersen & Rasmussen (2004), in their case study on how Danish firms with subsidiaries in France solve their language problems, show that horizontal communication depends almost always on a network of personal relationships, which are language-dependent (ELAN, 2005).
This informal information flow is the basis for an effective horizontal communication, but the issue of language skills is ignored in almost all literature on informal communication, as Marschan et al. (1997) point out. The authors identify how large firms which have no language strategy tend to ‘muddle through’ and fail to deal with day-to-day problems of how to communicate.
There is no doubt that global corporations will benefit from a healthy investment in English language training. Chief learning officers should ask themselves these key questions: 1) how frequently, for what purpose and in what language will the employees communicate with one another, suppliers and customers? and 2) if employees cannot communicate effectively with global customers, suppliers, partners or other employees, how will that impact operational effectiveness? A global workforce-development plan that builds upon the answers to these questions will produce tangible, bottom-line benefits to company performance and position the organization for success in the global economy. In other words, strategic language management can contribute positively to a company’s competitive advantages (Marschan et al., 1997).
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4.2 Effects of Language Management
4.2.1 Language skills and competitive advantage
Figure 4: Competitive advantages through Language Management
To the degree that management in a foreign subsidiary can use the primary language of its workforce, its effectiveness in training and motivating that workforce may enhance competitive advantage. According to Victor (1992), the use of the host country’s language establishes respect and a degree of trust never fully available to the businessperson unable to speak the language. The adoption of a language policy that would specify what language would be used in what context within a corporation may provide greater strategic advantage (Dhir and Goke-Pariola, 2002), in that it implies an increased level of efficiency in communication and greater response to business partners’ language needs.
Language facility and how free people feel to speak up or interrupt greatly affect people’s participation (Scheider and Barsoux, 2003). This has effects on individual performance and consequently on the company’s performance. A Korn/Ferry International survey of international recruiters found that nine out of ten executive recruiters believe that the ability to speak another language is ‘critical to success’ in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. They believe that executives who are multilingual (who speak more than two languages fluently) have ‘significant competitive advantage’ (ELAN, 2006:14).
The British Chambers of Commerce language survey (BCC, 2004) explicitly looked at the impact of language skills on export performance. The survey found there was a direct correlation between the value an individual export manager placed on language skills within their business and the annual turnover of the company. Bilinguals have been found to have higher levels of divergent thinking and cognitive flexibility (Cox and Blake, 1991). Learning
Competitive Advantage Language
Management
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across cultures implies learning to be open to self-awareness and to be willing to analyze one’s own cultural baggage through continuous learning (Scheider and Barsoux, 2003).
The use of language may represent the most visible yet the least understood influence on our world-view (Schneider and Barsoux, 2003). It is through language that we formulate thoughts and that we experience the world and others. It therefore influences both our relationship with the environment and our relationship with other people. Language is a reflection of our experience, but it also shapes what we experience.
Victor (1992) mentions four major problems affecting business occurring when crossing linguistic lines. First, language shapes the reality of its speaker. Certain phrases and turns of thought depend on the many associations linked to a specific language and to the culture intertwined with it. As a result, the subtle nuances of a language are often lost in translation, even when the speaker of the second language is fluent. Second, the use of a language may carry social implications of belonging to a common group that for many cultures establishes the trust necessary for long-term business relationships. This trust is often delayed or never available to businesspeople who do not speak the language and who are viewed with suspicion as outsiders. Third, the degree of fluency among speakers of any foreign language varies, even among the best of translators and interpreters. But unless the speaker of the second language makes frequent grammatical errors, any lack of comprehension on his or her part may go unrecognized. It is easy, therefore, for native speakers to assume erroneously that anyone speaking their language fully understands the conversation. Finally, cultural attachment to variants or dialects of a language often communicates messages of which the person who learns the language as a second tongue is unaware. Even though the words exchanged are understandable to the two parties, the underlying socio-linguistic implications conveyed by the accent used or the choice of words may communicate unintended messages.
Summary section 4
One of the reasons why business managers until recently have been reluctant to acknowledge language to the extent that they introduce a language management strategy,
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is probably partially because of the costs related to such an investment. By creating situations in which language would facilitate efficiency and result in synergistic interactions among individuals, the business manager may use language to create economic value, by the efficient and effective knowledge management for gaining competitive advantage through intellectual capital. I have argued in this paper that language management is important both for internal and external communication. In the discussion, it has been shown that horizontal communication depends almost always on a network of personal relationships, which are language-dependent. It has also been shown that large firms which have no structured approach to language issues tend to ‘muddle through’ and fail to deal with day-to-day problems of how to communicate.
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