Importance of Language and Culture in Multinational Companies

This paper discusses the impact of linguistic and cultural diversity on the development and success of multinational companies. It explores the importance of language and culture in communication and organizational performance.

IMPORTANCE OF LANGUAGE AND CULTURE IN THE SUCCESS OF
MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
The following paper discusses the impact of the linguistic and cultural diversity on
the development of the performance of the given business organization in the international
markets. The paper opens with the discussion on the linguistic diversity that is maintained
within the organization and then discusses the cultural diversity within the given
organization. The paper thereafter proceeds to discuss the impact that is felt by the
organization through the implementation of the linguistic diversity within the business
organization as well as the maintenance of the cultural diversity within the organization.
Linguistic diversity
The linguistic diversity within a given business organization refer to the diversity
that arises within the given organization on the basis of the use of the languages and other
linguistic features that are useful for the development of the issues that are presented to the
organizations. The linguistic diversity that is faced by the organizations refer to the
diversity in the linguistic prowess of the employees of the company. The linguistic prowess
of the concerned employees tends to help the company to achieve better success in terms of
the dealings with the various stakeholders of the organization who belong to different
linguistic backgrounds1. The multitude of business organizations that are active within the
international markets are advised to deal with the development of the issues that are
highlighted in the matters that are related to the communication with the clientele of the
organization as well as the expansion of the company in the selected international markets
as well. The implementation of the linguistic diversity within the organization further helps
in the development of the communicational factors within the given company thereby
leading to the creation of a harmonious workforce within the country. The implementation
of the linguistic diversity within the organization might also help in dealing with the
various cultural issues that are raised by the members of the organization in discussion2.
The employment of people from diverse linguistic backgrounds within the given
1 Dow, Douglas, Ilya RP Cuypers, and Gokhan Ertug. "The effects of within-country linguistic and
religious diversity on foreign acquisitions." Journal of International Business Studies47.3 (2016): 319-346.
2 Francis, Neville, Michael T. Owyang, and Ozge Savascin. "An endogenously clustered factor
approach to international business cycles." Journal of Applied Econometrics 32.7 (2017): 1261-1276.

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organization also helps in the increase in the talent pool that the company refers to for the
recruitment of the employees.
Cultural diversity
The cultural diversity as maintained within the given organization refers to the
issues that are faced by the organization in lieu of the diversity in the cultural backgrounds
of the given workforce. The majority of multinational organizations that have been active
all over the world tend to employ the workforce that includes people from diverse cultural
backgrounds. The incorporation of the diverse workforce within the given organization
helps in the development of the issues that are presented due to the changes in the cultural
practices that are practiced by the people who belong to the diversified cultural
backgrounds3. The cultural diversity within the given organization tends to deal with the
development of the conditions wherein the organization is capable of taking care of the
demands of the diverse clientele and the other stakeholders of the company who have been
belonging to the diversified cultural backgrounds. The implementation of the cultural
diversity within the given organization helps in the resolution of the issues that stem from
the cross-cultural factors that have been existent within the organization4. The
implementation of the cultural aspects within the given organization helps in the resolution
of the issues that might hinder the organizational performance thereby leading to the
conditions wherein the competitive advantage of the company is lowered. The
implementation of the diversity within the organization might lead to the resolution of the
conflicts that are faced by the organization in the several international markets wherein the
company has been planning an expansion.
Impact of linguistic diversity in business
The multinational companies that have been active all over the world tend to
employ the workforce members from along the highly diversified talent pools that are
present at locations all over the world. This in turn leads to the employment of people who
3 Rice, Mitchell F. Diversity and public administration. ME Sharpe, 2015.
4 Stahl, Günter K., et al. "Widening the lens: Rethinking distance, diversity, and foreignness in
international business research through positive organizational scholarship." (2016): 621-630.

3
belong to the diversified cultural and linguistic backgrounds. The linguistic prowess of the
concerned employees tends to help the company to achieve better success in terms of the
dealings with the various stakeholders of the organization who belong to different linguistic
backgrounds5. The multitude of business organizations that are active within the
international markets are advised to deal with the development of the issues that are
highlighted in the matters that are related to the communication with the clientele of the
organization as well as the expansion of the company in the selected international markets
as well. The implementation of the linguistic diversity within the organization might also
help in dealing with the various cultural issues that are raised by the members of the
organization in discussion6. The employment of people from diverse linguistic backgrounds
within the given organization also helps in the increase in the talent pool that the company
refers to for the recruitment of the employees. The majority of the organizations that have
been active all over the world tend to follow a rule of implementing English as the major
official language that is to be used in the given workplace7. The majority of the companies
that have been active within the given international markets tend to consider the linguistic
diversity within the organization to be dealing with the various issue that are presented to
the company.
Impact of cultural diversity in business
The cultural diversity that is maintained within the given organization helps in the
development of the organizational performance in the given market. The improvement of
the organizational performance in turn leads to the improvement in the overall competitive
advantage of the company in the given markets as well. The incorporation of the diverse
workforce within the given organization helps in the development of the issues that are
presented due to the changes in the cultural practices that are practiced by the people who
5 Lauring, Jakob, and Anders Klitmøller. "Inclusive language use in multicultural business
organizations: The effect on creativity and performance." International Journal of Business
Communication 54.3 (2017): 306-324.
6 Tenzer, Helene, Siri Terjesen, and Anne-Wil Harzing. "Language in international business: A
review and agenda for future research." Management International Review 57.6 (2017): 815-854.
7 Sanden, Guro Refsum. "Language: the sharpest tool in the business strategy toolbox." Corporate
Communications: An International Journal 21.3 (2016): 274-288.

4
belong to the diversified cultural backgrounds8. The cultural diversity within the given
organization tends to deal with the development of the conditions wherein the organization
is capable of taking care of the demands of the diverse clientele and the other stakeholders
of the company who have been belonging to the diversified cultural backgrounds. The
implementation of the cultural diversity within the given organization helps in the
resolution of the issues that stem from the cross-cultural factors that have been existent
within the organization9. The cross-cultural management within the given organization
helps in the development of the multinational companies in the given market. The
implementation of the cultural diversity within the given organization helps in the
resolution of the issues that stem from the cross-cultural factors that have been existent
within the organization10. The implementation of the cultural aspects within the given
organization helps in the resolution of the issues that might hinder the organizational
performance thereby leading to the conditions wherein the competitive advantage of the
company is lowered.
Conclusion
Thus, from the above discussion, it might be stated various multinational companies
that are active within the global markets tend to be affected through the diversification of
the linguistic and the cultural diversity within the given organization. The implementation
of the cultural diversity within the given organization helps in the resolution of the issues
that stem from the cross-cultural factors that have been existent within the organization.
The implementation of the cultural aspects within the given organization helps in the
resolution of the issues that might hinder the organizational performance thereby leading to
the conditions wherein the competitive advantage of the company is lowered. The
implementation of the cultural diversity within the given organization helps in the
8 Stahl, Günter K., and Rosalie L. Tung. "Towards a more balanced treatment of culture in
international business studies: The need for positive cross-cultural scholarship." Journal of International
Business Studies 46.4 (2015): 391-414.
9 Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés, and Daniel Hardy. "Cultural diversity and entrepreneurship in England
and Wales." Environment and Planning A 47.2 (2015): 392-411.
10 Trax, Michaela, Stephan Brunow, and Jens Suedekum. "Cultural diversity and plant-level
productivity." Regional Science and Urban Economics 53 (2015): 85-96.

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resolution of the issues that stem from the cross-cultural factors that have been existent
within the organization.

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References
Dow, Douglas, Ilya RP Cuypers, and Gokhan Ertug. "The effects of within-country
linguistic and religious diversity on foreign acquisitions." Journal of International Business
Studies47.3 (2016): 319-346.
Francis, Neville, Michael T. Owyang, and Ozge Savascin. "An endogenously clustered
factor approach to international business cycles." Journal of Applied Econometrics 32.7
(2017): 1261-1276.
Lauring, Jakob, and Anders Klitmøller. "Inclusive language use in multicultural business
organizations: The effect on creativity and performance." International Journal of Business
Communication 54.3 (2017): 306-324.
Rice, Mitchell F. Diversity and public administration. ME Sharpe, 2015.
Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés, and Daniel Hardy. "Cultural diversity and entrepreneurship in
England and Wales." Environment and Planning A 47.2 (2015): 392-411.
Sanden, Guro Refsum. "Language: the sharpest tool in the business strategy
toolbox." Corporate Communications: An International Journal 21.3 (2016): 274-288.
Stahl, Günter K., and Rosalie L. Tung. "Towards a more balanced treatment of culture in
international business studies: The need for positive cross-cultural scholarship." Journal of
International Business Studies 46.4 (2015): 391-414.
Stahl, Günter K., et al. "Widening the lens: Rethinking distance, diversity, and foreignness
in international business research through positive organizational scholarship." (2016): 621-
630.
Tenzer, Helene, Siri Terjesen, and Anne-Wil Harzing. "Language in international business:
A review and agenda for future research." Management International Review 57.6 (2017):
815-854.
Trax, Michaela, Stephan Brunow, and Jens Suedekum. "Cultural diversity and plant-level
productivity." Regional Science and Urban Economics 53 (2015): 85-96.

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