A In today's increasingly globalized world, the importance of language management to multinational companies has never been greater. These companies are becoming ever more aware of the importance of global co-operation as a source of competitive advantage, and language remains the ultimate barrier to aspirations of international harmonization. Before attempting to consider language management strategies, companies will have to evaluate the magnitude of the language barrier confronting them and in doing so, they will need to examine it in three dimensions: the Language Diversity, the Language Penetration and the Language Sophistication. Companies next need to turn their attention to how they should best manage language. There is a range of options from which multinational companies can formulate their language strategy.
B Lingua Franca: The simplest answer is to rely on one's native tongue, though this is realistic only for English speaking companies. As recently as 1991, a survey of British exporting companies found that over a third used English exclusively in dealing with foreign customers. The expectation that one language has been adopted into the internet age. A survey on the websites of top American companies found that over fifty percent of them made no provision for foreign language use of the site, and another found that less than 10% of leading companies were able to answer emails in languages other than the main language of the company. It makes no allowance for the growing trend in Linguistic Nationalism whereby buyers in Asia, South America and the Middle East in particular are asserting their right to 'work in the language of the customer'. When contracts, regulations and legislation are in the local language, a company which is not equipped to operate language is at a disadvantage in negotiations.
C Another improvised approach to language is to rely on what has been termed 'Functional Multilingualism'. Essentially what this means is to muddle through, replying on a mix of languages, pidgins and gestures to communicate by whatever means the parties have at their disposal. In social situations, a combined effort to be understood by one another might be considered to assist in the bonding process, with frustrations in communication being lightened by moments of humor and shared laughter. As a basis for business negotiations, however, it is less than ideal. And yet Marc Hagen's recent study suggests that 16% of international business transactions are carried out in a variety of languages. Functional Multilingual shares the same defects as reliance on a lingua franca and increases the probability of cognitive divergence between the parties engaged in the communication.
D Employing external resources such as translators and interpreters can be very expensive with a top simultaneous interpreter commanding daily rates as high as a partner in an international consulting company. Before giving time to these translation workers to fully understand the context of the subject matter, the management team has to overcome the reluctance of explaining the wider context to an 'outsider'. Moreover, unless there has been considerable pre-explaining between the interpreter and his clients, it is likely that there will be ambiguity and cultural overtones in the source messages the interpreter has to work with. This clearly causes a potential source of misunderstanding into the proceedings.
E The immediate and understandable reaction to any skills shortage in a business is to consider personnel development and certainly the language training industry is well developed, with programs designed for every level and numerous languages offered. However, without casting doubt upon the value of language training, no company should feel that training is a 'golden' ticket to success. In most companies, the training is closely linked to the economic cycle of the companies. When the financial situation is good, companies invest in training. However, when money is tighter, training is often one of the first to be axed. There appears to be disparity between good intentions and actual delivery, which highlights the problem of relying on training to solve this problem. In one study across four European countries, the number of countries that looked forward to language training doubled those claiming experiences of language training in previous years.
F Among the notable and committed leaders in the field of language training, the Volkswagen Group has set a good example. They have spent years developing a language strategy and in many respects can be regarded as a model of how to manage language professionally. However, the Volkswagen approach underlines that language training has to be considered a strategic rather than a tactical solution. In their system, to progress from 'basics' to 'communication competence' in a language requires the completion of 6 language stages and each one demands approximately 90 hours of refresher course, supported by many more hours of self-study, spreading over a period of 6 to 9 months. A post-stage achievement test will be conducted at the completion of each stage, which is a pre-requisite for continued training. So even this professionally managed program expects a minimum of three years of fairly intensive study to produce an accountant, an engineer, a buyer or a salesperson capable of working effectively in a foreign language. Clearly companies intending to pursue this route need realistic expectations and the intention of sustaining the program over many years.