Question

Please explain how language can be seen as a barrier to communication between various stakeholders. Please provide an example to support your arguments. Please also respond to the post made by another student.

Answer 1

In today's global, multicultural and multiethnic environment, it is very common to find the employees from all parts of the world in both physical and virtual work environments. In multinational companies working across the globe, the managers might have to deal with a number of stakeholders such as government officials, policy makers, customers and employees which might not understand or speak the language which is spoken in the home country of the company. Though, English is seen as a global language of communication, it is not understood well in the eastern world, particularly in countries like China, Korea and Japan, which are also very diffiernt in cultural aspects than America or a European country. In absence of a common language, the communication can take a hit and create unsurmountable barriers between the stakeholders and the business, if none of the parties is aware about the language of other party. In such scenario, the parties, who are otherwise willing to engage in communication, might find it difficult. Pesuasion and negotiations become even more difficult, and things might take an ugly turn, if something is misunderstood or misread through non verbal gestures.

The classic example of such issue is an American buiness unit head of an American company struggling to negotiate with government administrators in Korea due to lanugage related barriers..