Mirjaliisa Charles

Language Matters in Global Communication: Article Based on ORA Lecture, October 2006

In the past few decades, it has become widely accepted that the lingua franca of international business is English; witness the way companies increasingly choose English as their official corporate language. Although this would seem to facilitate communication, this article argues that the choice of language(s) used is a delicate issue, highlighting the complexities of any split into native/nonnative speakers, and thus requiring considerable people management skills. This article discusses research from the Helsinki School of Economics on language and communication in multinational corporations based in non-English speaking countries. It suggests a reconceptualization of English lingua franca as business English lingua franca (BELF), and argues that BELF is a mostly oral language through which power is wielded in multinationals, and perceptions of self and others created. Moreover, it is not a “cultureless” language, but rather creates new operational cultures. Language choice thus has implications for management, HR, and employee satisfaction.

Language Training for Enhanced Horizontal Communication: A Challenge for MNCs:

Horizontal communication between subsidiaries of the same multinational corpo ration (MNC) is a Problem faced by staff as the demands for communicating across borders are pushed downwards in the organizational hierarchy. Although the choice of English as the common corporate language alleviates some of the hor izontal communication problems, it does not solve them all-particularly not when many subsidiaries are located in non-English speaking countries. In that situation, horizontal communication between subsidiaries can be a significant casualty. In a study of communication within a Finland-based MNC, Kone Elevators, interviews with staff globally revealed problems not only for non-native speakers, but also for native speakers of English. Illustrative interview data suggests that cor porate training schemes should focus on the broad spectrum of international com munication rather than on increasing a systematic knowledge of any one language.

Business Negotiations: Interdependence Between Discourse and the Business Relationship.

Abstract This study investigates the organisation and rhetoric of sales negotiations using a methodology that draws on both discourse analysis and business studies of negotiation. The main research question is “What are the rhetorical and organisational effects that changes in the non-linguistic business relationship context have on negotiation discourse?” The data — six authentic, audio-recorded British negotiations — is divided into two categories, New Relationship Negotiations (NRNs) and Old Relationship Negotiations (ORNs). Differences in the status-bound behaviour of the NRNs and the role enactment of the ORNs are noted and various strategies for saving professional face are analysed.

Europe: oral business communication

Ahmad, U. K. (1997). Scientific Research Articles in Malay: A Situated Discourse Analysis. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan. Andrews, D. C. (1988). Technical Communication in the Global Community. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Graves, R. (1997). ’Dear Friend’ (?): Culture and genre in American and Canadian direct marketing letters. The Journal of Business Communication, 34 (3), 235-252. Hagen, P. (1998). Teaching American business writing in Russia: Crosscultures/cross-purposes. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 12 (1), 109-126. Locker, K. O. (1998). The role of The Association for Business Communication in shaping business communication as an academic discipline. The Journal of Business Communication, 35 (1),14-49. Louhiala-Salminen, L. (July 1997). Investigating the genre of a business fax: A Finnish case study. The Journal of Business Communication 34 (3),316-333.

Developing the Conference Theme and Tracks.

ence approached the discipline of business communication, what issues it raised for research and teaching, and how it may have affected the participants. As former chair of the ABC Research Committee and current ()irector-at-Largc of ABC, she views the issues introduced in this conference from a wide perspective. Third, Anna Trosborg provides a personal perspective on her experience as a scholar new to ABC who found both inspiration and intellectual stimulation at the meeting.

Book Reviews : Handbook of International and Intercultural Communication. Second Edition. Edited by William B. Gudykunst and Bella Mody. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2002. 606 pages

f you are looking for a book that will give your graduate students a clear overall idea of international and intercultural communication research and theory, get them to read this volume. Likewise, new researchers in the field will benefit greatly from it. Established scholarsthe third audience category identified by the editors in their Foreword (p. ix)-will find the collection of articles a highly useful resource, particularly, in any teaching they do. In short, it is extremely useful to have such extensive coverage at hand in one volume. The book contains 29 articles in all. It is divided into 4 Parts: Cross-

Outstanding Article in Business Communication Quarterly

This research is also a strong reminder that documentation, like other social practices, does not remain static. Currently, we are in the midst of change, with two delivery systems-online and print-and, in any time of change, users will likely maintain some attachment to the legacy system (in this case print). During such change and overlap, the authors point out, documentation and computer technologies themselves must be flexible enough to accommodate the needs of users undergoing change in their deliv-

Book Review : The Cultural Context in Business Communication. Edited by Susanne Niemeier, Charles P. Campbell, and Rene Dirven. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1998. 269 pages

1996. No wonder, therefore, that while the book is likely to make interesting and useful reading to many trainers and teachers operating in the field, there is little that would greatly fascinate us for its innovativeness or surprise us with a fresh approach to culture and business communication. In her introduction, editor Susanne Niemeier says that the aim of the volume is to &dquo;enable business negotiators or future business negotiators, or their trainers, to become aware of the different kinds of intercultural traps they may encounter when dealing with representatives of foreign cultures&dquo; (p. 2). This the volume hopes to do by shedding light particularly

Book Reviews : Negotiating and Influencing Skills: The Art of Creating and Claiming Value. Brad McRae. London: Sage, 1998. 195 pages

clearly states that the bibliography is a work in progress and solicits reader suggestions. I hope the editors at St. Martin’s will reconsider their decision on length when they prepare a second edition of this text (xi). Although they may be right that 1000 entries would be too many, certainly the current 376 entries is far fewer than 1000, and even in the current edition more entries would be useful.