Name: Phạm Lưu Minh Uyên

ID: 14572
Class: D5

Globalization and Cross-cultural Turbulence

In 2014, there were approximately 890,000 multinational corporations around the world
(UNCTAD) and this figure is increasing day by day. Therefore, working with a wide range of
people from diverse cultures is common, but how to communicate with them effectively is
essential to build a successful business. Thanks to globalization and development of
technologies, it has not been difficult to contact people on the other side of the world in recent
years. Undoubtedly, it has brought huge advantages to business communication; however, it
does contain inevitable setbacks that have long been underestimated. This essay intends to
focus on challenges globalization creates to company communication because of differences
in language and culture and some suggested solutions.
The term “globalization” has been widely used since the latter half of the 1990s,
especially in economy. It is defined as “the integration of the markets, the nation-states, and
the technologies as an unseen level” (Thomas Friedman). Globalization, however, is not
merely an economic phenomenon, theoreticians in various fields state that it is a complicated
cultural process. According to Anthony Giddens, the communications revolution has a great
influence on the new globalization.
The language, a tool of thinking and a system of communication, plays a vital role in a
nation because most spheres of human activities are ensured by language. Moreover, it is not
only the characteristic to distinguish between the communities but also one of the greatest
barriers (Argyle, M.:1981). Utilizing national dialects for business communication might
represent a considerable impediment which may appear in a company or outside. In fact, there
are differences between the monolingual and multilingual corporate communication.
In a monolingual company, the difficulty perhaps is not among employees but from
outside. National language brings a huge advantage for communication inside the company
because it represents a homogenizing impact on the corporation of culture. It is easier for
employees in such a company to communicate with their colleagues due to mutual knowledge,
which decreases occurences of misunderstanding. Besides, a shared language helps to diminish

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the potential distortion in putting action into language or vice versa (Allen, T.: 1977).
Nevertheless, external communication with companies or clients from other countries may be
a tremendous challenge if employees are not accustomed to using the needed language.
It also holds true that multilingualism in a company can lead to negative impacts. Vern
Terpstra gives a fact that 80 per cent of linguistically heterogeneous nations are
underdeveloped. In a corporation, however, language of business is more important than that
of nation and it contributes to economic success. As a result of this, employees have to use the
same language, not their mother tounge to avoid misinterpretation.
Futhermore, it may have an inevitable misunderstanding in body language between
different countries and cultures. In face-to-face communication, humans express the ideas
through their face and body (Sebastian Balley). Despite the importance of eye contact in the
United States, it can be overwhelming for people from other countries. Asians tend to avert
this to show their politeness and respect whereas Middle Eastern cultures make more direct eye
contact, which may make American uncomfortable.
In addition, to find a potential talent dealing with professional fields as well as using a
foreign language proficiently may be a challenge for companies. New American Economy
published a report on the increasing demand for bilingual workers in major industries. Over
the past five years, this figure has been more than doubled for both low- and high-skilled
position.
In globalized economy, to build a flourishing business, the attempt to minimise
communication challenges is a necessity. To express ideas effectively with no confusion, the
purpose should be to reduce the frequency of barriers occur in all stages of that process (Fowler
& Mankelow, 2005). In fact, there are several ways to eliminate those drawbacks, such as
formation and use of business pidgin, translation and foreign language and culture tuition
(Czieniawska, F.:1997).
The first solution to the problems is the introduction of official business language and
popular use of that, a kind of a lingua franca and a form of English. Terpstra mentions Catepillar
Fundamental English (CFE), a company pidgin English introduced by Caterpillar tractor
Company. The CFE manual consists of 8000 expressions which are indispensable for the
corporate communication. It offers the assistance for overcoming such barriers at various
subsidiaries of the company, especially for non-native speakers. (Terpstra, V.: 1978). It is
admitted that business pidgin imposes a limitation on closed communication community and
very specialised fields of communication.

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 The second approach is interpretation to or from other languages and it is more popular
in official communication. A translator has to work under pressure to produce the most possible
version at a given time. There are requirements of ability to complete their task effectively,
adjustability to the demand of customers or readers as well as sensitivity to cultural differences
(Robinson, D.: 1997). Therefore, it leads to some disadvantages, namely time-consuming, high
costs, misunderstanding and mistranslation.
The last solution to that communication difficulty is language training in business.
According to Fayerweather, this is the most effective approach because only when business
people communicate with others in their language could they have efficient communication.
Moreover, in recent years, there has been more and more qualified language courses and
training programs which are tailored to the needs of specific groups.
Besides, awareness of cultural differences is important to build a strong communication
channels. Training programs are required in companies in order to contact with people from
other cultures. Futhermore, generation Y should understand the importance of mastering a
foreign language and culture diversity to become a global citizen and go further in their career.
In a nutshell, although globalization has offered ample opportunities for communication
in business, it also remains linguistic and cultural difficulties. This is why there must be
solutions to minimise negative impacts. As mentioned above, the introduction and wide use of
business language, the translation and the training in companies are effective to deal with those
problems, yet they have limitations that need to be overcome.

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 REFERENCES

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