Language in Business & Science: Employment

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Communicating for Outcome

Communicating for Outcome

Country:

USA

Source:
Good communication habits are fundamental to ensuring a productive workplace, satisfied customers and career
Jun 14, 2006 By Deborah Gilberg
Dated: June 14, 2006
© 1994 - 2006 CXO Media Inc.
An International Data Group (IDG) Company
>LINK HERE 1< >LINK HERE 2<

Story:
If a doctor gives a patient a lot of information using technical terminology, would the doctor be communicating with the patient? Gilberg writes a very interesting and informative article on how doctors, or professional people for that matter, can communicate with patients or non professionals.

Gilberg’s bottom line is that “communication is only as good as its outcome.” She also gives four possible action points on how to achieve this:
1) close the gap between intentions and behaviour
2) learn to listen
3) know your audience
4) measure success with outcomes.

(I give the general idea here)

------- If you are a professional, you MUST read this article ----------

Facts:
- Good communication habits help leaders get the outcomes they desire.

Language Issues:
- A serious issue in language is how reliable can we translate one language into another. I submit that a similar problem exists when “translating” a scientific language, in the form of terminology and concepts, into everyday language.

Comments:
- Why is it sometimes difficult for professional service providers to communicate with people outside their profession?
- What are the human and economic costs for bad communication in the professions?

Bottom-Line:
Read Gilberg’s article.

Poor Communication with prospective employees

Poor Communication with prospective employees

Country:
UK

Source:
Recruiters risk losing staff to rival because of poor communication
05/06/2006
onrec.com news
Copyright © 2006 Online Recruitment
>LINK HERE<

Story:
Companies are losing prospective employees who are suitable for their company because they don’t communicate the whole value of their benefits package. And prospective employees are reluctant to ask for details about the benefits.

Facts:
- average non-cash benefits for employees can be 15% of their salary and 30% for senior executives.

Language Issues:
- language can only communicate what we want to say.
- inhibitions, a sense of intimidation or social norms can determine what we say.

Comments:
- is this failure by companies to fully inform job candidates about the value of the benefits intentional or a lack of professionalism?
- is the failure by prospective employees to ask about benefits due to interview norms or a feeling of intimidation? Could it be that candidates do not feel they are negotiating as equals and therefore do not ask about this sensitive subject. (Head in the sand syndrome.)

Bottom-Line:
How much does it cost a company not to recruit the right employee?

Accent Issues for Scientist

Accent Issues for Scientist

Country:
USA

Source:
Good communication starts with "ARRR!"
Sunday, June 18, 2006
The Seattle Times
ERIC SEALS / KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company
LINK

Story:
A Chinese born scientist was asked by her US boss to improve her accent because her colleagues were having difficulties understanding her. The scientist is qualified as an MD and has a Masters degree from China, PhD from Britain and postdoctoral studies from Britain, Canada and the US.

Her boss was afraid that he might hurt her feelings. Her language coach wanted to help her produce American sounds.

Facts:
- The scientist could not pronounce the letters R and L
- The company paid $1,800 for a 10 week course for two employees to soften their accent.

Language Issues:
- Spoken language does reflect external factors such as the influence of our mother tongue or even culture.
- As the article points out there is a difference between an accent and an accent that interferes with our communication.
- Accents are an interesting example, in my opinion, of noise in a communication channel when the channel is being used to transmit messages from a different system. However, when speaking within our group do we make allowances for accent distortions or does the accent become part of the spoken message?

Comments:
- How much of the scientist’s problems were due to accent on the one hand and the inexperience of her colleagues in hearing a non American sounding English? How relevant is the fact that she also studies in Britain and Canada.
- Do we have some sort of duty to correct someone’s flawed pronunciation?
- Do we have a duty to make sure that those around us can understand us easily?
- Should accents be regarded as a racial issue or a communication issue?

Bottom-Line:
What is the cost of miscommunication in a company?

Communicating for money

Communicating for money

Country:
UK

Source:
Leadership and communication top City 'must have' skills poll
Author: Georgina Fuller
PersonnelToday.com
Monday 29 May 2006
© Reed Business Information 2006 ADVERTISEMENTS

Story:
A poll by recruiting company, Badenoch & Clark, found that “excellent communications” skills were the most important factor for a career in finance.

Facts:
+34% (n=300) financial services employees chose communication skills as the most important feature.

Language Issues:
- Language is a powerful tool and one of the best means we have to influence people. When used properly, it can benefit everyone.
- Misuse of language can easily create doubt and misunderstanding. Hence, a failure in communications.

Comments:
- How much does personality and character affect good communications?
- Using language properly is one thing, having communication skills is another, but what about having something to communicate and talk about? How important is content?
- How much is bad communication due to bad content?

Bottom-Line:
What is the difference to a company’s bottom-line between bad communication and good communication ?

Language is something you use

Language is something you use

Country:
Vietnam

Source:
Foreign language bachelors; "deaf mutes"
Copyright of VietNamNet Bridge
19/05/2006 (GMT+7)

Story:
University graduate in English discovers that she does not have the necessary language skills to apply for a job requiring English. Moreover, employers find it difficult to find people with the right language skills.

Facts:
- A diploma takes a student four years to complete without ever meeting a foreign lecturer.
- An experienced interpreter costs about $70 per hour.
- A new language graduate earns between $200 -$300 per month.

Language Issues:
- In my opinion it is a mistake to think that language is like any other academic subject. We usually need a language to communicate with and not to know about. Knowing about language is the domain of linguistics, psychology and even philosophy of language, but this has nothing to do with knowing a foreign language as job qualification.
- Knowing about something does not mean that one knows how to use it.
- There is more to language skills in business than just grammar, whatever grammar means.

Comments:
- From my experience, most employers, i.e. human resources personnel and business managers, have no idea how to judge language skills in prospective employees. Usually because they, themselves, do not speak the language they are selecting for.
- A lot of time and money is wasted by companies on language training and language use by employees. Language is not a high priority in companies despite the lip service they pay to the subject. At the very least, management intentions are not always reflected in the application of company policies.
- Certificates and exams do not reflect the real communication skills of someone when using a foreign language.
- I have had students with MBA degrees who couldn’t even prepare a six slide presentation in English. And their MBA had a high English language content!

Bottom-Line:
My advice to my executive language students is this: English (language) is not something you know about, but something you do. If you cannot use it, you don’t know anything.

Bank Goes from Pole to Polish

Bank Goes from Pole to Polish

Country:
UK

Source:
Opportunity Knocks
Peter Day
BBC-Radio 4
In Business (podcast) 11 May 2006
British Broadcasting Corporation © 2002-2005
Podcast Link
Web Page

Story:
Local Barclays Bank branch has had growth of 60 – 80% by attracting Polish clients living in London. It started when the branch recruited a Polish member of staff who attracted business though word of mouth. Polish clients found it convenient dealing in their own language.

The bank is now embarked on a recruitment drive for Polish employees. The bank expects to attract 2,000 Polish businesses from the catchment area.

Facts:
- local branch business growth of 60 – 80%.
- the bank has 10 Polish employees working in the area and recruiting more.
- estimated Polish settlers in the

in 2005 is 132,000.
- estimated Polish settlers since opening borders 350,000 – 750,000.

Language Issues:
- Polish employees can communicate in both English and Polish. So, in a way, the bank is recruiting language efficient employees with the necessary professional skills already in place.
- it seems that a certain critical mass is required in business to make any investment in languages worth while.

Comments:
- a seamless integration of language skills and professional skills is probably necessary to maintain any competitive edge. Presumably, the competition is watching and would want part of the action.

Bottom-Line:
Are there cultural requirements which clients expect from the bank?

Taxi drivers’ English

Taxi drivers’ English

Country:
USA

Source:
Dover delays English rule for cab drivers
BY MARIA ARMENTAL
DAILY RECORD
04/11/06
Copyright ©2006 dailyrecord.com

Story:
Taxi drivers in a town are required to speak sufficient English, but this provision is not being enforced yet. The authorities expect to introduce testing of drivers on practical English knowledge in emergencies and other situations.

Some argue that the English language provision might discriminate against otherwise suitably qualified drivers. And in a town where the majority of people speak Spanish, this would be an added discrimination.

Facts:
- Taxi companies need to have insurance coverage. ($500,000 liability cover)
- Taxi companies should pass the English knowledge requirement.
- a suitable English language test will be set.

Language Issue:
- why not have taxi drivers speak a second language? This makes sense if a city has international visitors. Who decides what qualifies as a second language?
- why is English still regarded as a political issue when it is clear that English is the de facto international language of communication?
- who decides what is a reasonable English language test? And would an English native speakers have to sit the language test as well?

Comments:
- can a customer demand a driver who can speak another language?
- would an English speaking customer be discriminating if they refused to ride in a cab if the driver did not speak English?

Bottom-Line:
At which point does a lack of a skill become a discrimination?

Native English speakers losing out to global spread of English

Native English speakers losing out to global spread of English

Country:
United Kingdom

Source:
Study says global spread of English threatens UK
I first saw the story on Reuters Website Feb 21, 2006 © Copyright Reuters 2006.
English Next (2006) By David Graddol available from the British Council website; PDF file
LINK
(http://www.britishcouncil.org/files/documents/learning-research-english-next.pdf)

Study says global spread of English threatens UK
Tue Feb 21, 2006 04:07 PM ET
LONDON (Reuters)
© Copyright Reuters 2006.

Report “English Next” commissioned by the British Council
written by David Graddol
http://www.britishcouncil.org/files/documents/learning-research-english-next.pdf
(all copyrights respected)

Story:
The language advantage of British and American native speakers is being undermined with the global spread of English. Countries and people who can speak English will become direct competitors to British and American companies.

UK and US companies are losing out because they lack skills in foreign languages. Countries that previously did not have English language skills are now conducting their business in English.

Facts:
- 2bn people are expected to speak English in the next decade.
- English teaching in the UK is worth about ₤1.3bn.
- Education related exports for Britain are worth ₤10bn.

Language Issues:
- English skills by non native speakers does not necessarily imply that they are proficient and efficient in business negotiating.
- English native speakers do not necessarily have the advantage since many speakers of English as a second language have problems understanding native speakers.
- English is only useful if foreign legal jurisdictions recognise legal documents and instruments in English. Documentation that has to be translated into other languages loses its importance as a primary source.

Comments:
- If it is true that 2bn people will be speaking English in a decade’s time, this must surely represent the larges market ever. Companies can communicate with this market in the same language.
- The global implications of two billion people being able to communicate with each other must be a benefit to the whole global economy. Exchange of information, better political communication, business opportunities cultural exchange.
- Monopolies have never been the best way to develop businesses and international commerce. Seeing language as the sole advantage in business, like cheap labour, is very short sighted.

Bottom-Line:
The main reason why British and American companies will lose in the global economy is because they have nothing to sell on global market. What will it take and how much will it take to keep Britain and the US competitive?

Exploitation of Immigrants for not speaking English

Exploitation of Immigrants for not speaking English

Country:
Ireland

Story:
A report by the Irish Vocational Education Association claims that immigrants who do not speak English face exploitation.

Unions and IVEA support English language classes for immigrants.

Language Issues:
- Offering free English classes would help immigrants to integrate into society.
- Free classes paid by the authorities might even prove positive. The immigrants might feel that the authorities actually care.
- Language skills will certainly help immigrates take up more main stream jobs.

Comments:
- language is probably not the main reason why immigrants get exploited, but lack of knowledge about local customs and general awareness of western employment culture.
- Does the government have a moral duty to help immigrants?

Bottom-Line:
How much does a western economy save by exploiting unsuspecting immigrants?