![]() Imagine that a group of salespeople from a company’s Paris headquarters get together for a meeting. ![]() Using Japanese internet services firm Rakuten as a case example, this article outlines guidelines for proper implementation.Īdopting a common mode of speech isn’t just a good idea it’s a must, even for an American company with operations overseas, for instance, or a French company focused on domestic customers. English-only policies can create job insecurity and dissatisfaction and generate strife between native and nonnative English speakers in cross-national teams.Ĭompanies can anticipate and plan for inevitable challenges and resistance when adopting an English-only policy. And any company with a global presence or global aspirations would be wise to do the same, says HBS professor Tsedal Neeley, to ensure good communication and collaboration with customers, suppliers, business partners, and other stakeholders.īut while moving toward a single language at work is necessary and inevitable, Neeley’s research shows that implementing such a policy is fraught with complications. Multinational companies such as Airbus, Daimler-Chrysler, SAP, Nokia, Alcatel-Lucent, and Microsoft in Beijing have mandated English as the corporate language. ![]() ![]() Today 1.75 billion people speak English at a useful level-that’s one in four of us. Like it or not, English is the global language of business.
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