Advantages and Disadvantages of English as the Primary Language

This essay examines the increasing trend of multinational companies mandating English as their common corporate language, particularly in the context of Pakistan. While acknowledging the benefits such as facilitating global communication, technological advancement, and increased opportunities for employees, the essay also highlights the drawbacks. These include potential misinterpretations, cultural insensitivity, challenges for non-native speakers, and threats to local organizational values. The analysis draws upon various academic sources to provide a balanced perspective on the impact of English as a corporate language, concluding that while advantageous, careful consideration must be given to address the potential negative consequences to ensure effective and inclusive communication within globalized organizations. Desklib provides access to similar essays and study resources for students.

Running head: LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION IN GLOBAL BUSINESS
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LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION IN GLOBAL BUSINESS CONTEXT
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1LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION IN GLOBAL BUSINESS CONTEXT
Introduction
English is the global language of business. Several multinational companies
have been mandating English as the common corporate language with an endeavour to
facilitate communication across geographical as well as socially diverse regions
(Neeley, 2012). Multinational corporations primarily comprises of multinational
communities where by the language of the parent organisation as well as the language
is used by its foreign subsidiaries have been concurrently used and recursively
associated through and intra-corporate communication web. The thesis statement of the
essay is “despite the use of English language have generated certain benefits to
multinational corporations, it triggers severe misinterpretations, uncertainty, lack of
reliability and increasing conflicting situations within the organization.
Discussion
The adaptation of English language as a common language in business
communication has been becoming a mandatory factor as it has been demonstrated in
several real corporate situations. For instance, In Pakistan, English has been
considered mainly as the language for development at individual and national levels.
Neeley (2012) has noted that certainly, the race for employee prosperity and economic
developments at the national level which have efficiently overtaken issues of cross
cultural relation and apprehension of cultural offensive from previous colonial language.
Advantages
Reports of Rogerson-Revell (2007) have stated that the Pakistan organisations’
acknowledged the idea that the innovative approach of using English as corporate
language will be competent to accomplish organization's objectives and goals and
further provide a base for global enterprises. The implementation of English language in
Pakistan industrial market has led several UK export corporations to double its
sustainability for the country rise up to £450 million. Such an additional capacity is to
primarily assist UK exporters win, accomplish and get paid for export contracts and

2LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION IN GLOBAL BUSINESS CONTEXT
further to aid Pakistan’s buyers access investment in order to source high-class and
renowned UK goods and services.
Furthermore, advancement in using English has been explicitly associated with
technological expansion, chiefly in the field of information and communication
technology. According to Meyer and Peng (2016), the era of globalization with rising
amounts of global trade Asian countries especially Pakistan requires to understand
strategies to communicate in English. Business organizations in Pakistan have been in
continuous contact with global traders and thus need to communicate in English as
corporate language. Muresan and Pérez-Llantada (2014) have noted the various
business softwares used in organizations such as multinational companies and financial
organizations and banking sector in Pakistan have been using English as the corporate
language and thus have been able to draw knowledge and expertise with the language
to proficiently operate them.
Meyer and Peng (2016) have noted that as globalization advances at a rapid
pace, it has been expected from various multinational companies across the world to
designate a specific language as their corporate language for executing their business.
As Pakistan has been gradually developing multi-cultural and multi-linguistic work power
in the companies, English has been the language which essentially associates
corporate employees. According to Brannen, Piekkari and Tietze (2017), English has
emerged as a vital and essential corporate language which is used for all corporate
communication purposes chiefly at meetings, conferences, presentations, and
principally in employee development programmes and training. Furthermore, it has
been noted that written communication skills which is the proficiency of documenting
efficiently have been highly supported as well as acknowledged by several multinational
organizations in Pakistan and thus has been implemented as a primary medium for
communication.
Furthermore, several global organizations have been equating language skills in
employees with other forms of proficiencies and expertise. Such a change has been
impacting promotions and incentives opportunities for employees. In globalized
businesses, it is highly imperative for companies to set expectations, investigate results

3LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION IN GLOBAL BUSINESS CONTEXT
and further make modifications. Drawing relevance to these factors, Steiner-Khamsi
(2016) has noted that several organizations have been considering the new trend of
explicitly associating English in order to develop career progression and performance
reviews. Muresan and Pérez-Llantada (2014) have noted that several companies have
been using translations in order to communicate with people who do not exhibit
adequate proficiency in English. However, reaching an international audience primarily
involves more than simply offering translations of texts in English. According to Meyer
and Peng (2016), successful global communication essentially seek the needs and
demands of international customers by taking into consideration the varied cultural
stereotypes or references which are not commonly been identified must be avoided.
Additionally, working with local experts in Pakistan tends to be crucial to successfully
develop native language keywords for instance, direct global customers to one website.
Reports of Brannen, Piekkari and Tietze (2017) have indicated that over 35% of jobs
primarily require employees to proficiently interact with individuals belonging to various
countries and ethnic backgrounds; English has developed as the default language for
businesses across the world.
At this juncture, Rogerson-Revell (2007) have shed light on one of the major
reasons for English being universal corporate language is because several native
Pakistanis are positioned at a distinct advantage which has led them to gather less
competence in global business context in comparison to the English proficiency
acquired by businesses operating in countries like the United States, United Kingdom
and Malaysia. However, the view of Kankaanranta, Louhiala-Salminen and Karhunen
(2015), establishing English not only depends on teaching employees the English
language. The proficiency in speaking English by all employees in countries like
Pakistan brings shock and further threatens the culture identity of few people while
others may lack the proficiency to master the new language. In addition to consider
issues and challenges related to corporate culture, company tactics and strategies in
addition to the level of English proficiency must be established which will take the costs
of using a specific language along with the authorities and rights of employees to use
English as a vital resource (Rogerson-Revell, 2007).

4LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION IN GLOBAL BUSINESS CONTEXT
Disadvantages
However, regardless of the fact that English produces considerable advantages
as the ideal corporate language for global business dealings, it tends to encounter
certain limitations (Chidlow, Plakoyiannaki & Welch, 2014). Use of English as a
corporate language in Pakistan has further been challenging a significant number of
disadvantaged and deprived segments of corporate domain in order to invest time,
energy and especially financial resources to initially comprehend and subsequently
consider as a vital part of the mainstream corporate sector to fully compete in the
market. However, on the other hand, Rogerson-Revell (2007) has noted that the
grammar has been simplified to such a degree that several terminologies and words
tend to show less semantic information ‘encoded’ into them in comparison to Pakistani
native language. Consequently it is imperative to express certain terms in English than
in many other Asian languages.
Kankaanranta, Louhiala-Salminen and Karhunen (2015) have noted that as a
result, several employees working in global business context has been receiving severe
level of confusion within business context thus creating cultural incompetence within
organizations. Thus, organizations in Pakistan require relying more on context in order
to obtain the exact implications. Additionally, another disadvantage related to the use of
English as corporate language tends to pose serious threat to organizational values of
and cultural patterns operating in Pakistan. This kind of threat to organizational values
has chiefly aroused because of organizational factors in relation to cultural diversity
which has been unnoticed or ignored (Brannen, Piekkari & Tietze, 2017).
Conclusion
Hence to conclude, organizational governance will more typically create
challenges as some of the non-native English speakers will most of the time feel
neglected. Furthermore, language interfaces in globalized corporations will tend to fuel
issues of severe misinterpretations, uncertainty, lack of reliability and increasing
conflicting situations within the organization. Moreover, unless these issues have not
been proficiently resolved, globalized organizations will generate detrimental outcomes

5LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION IN GLOBAL BUSINESS CONTEXT
for business and its relationships. It has been noted that linguistic fragmentation results
in weakened economic performance for the entire nation.

6LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION IN GLOBAL BUSINESS CONTEXT
References
Brannen, M. Y., Piekkari, R., & Tietze, S. (2017). The multifaceted role of language in
international business: Unpacking the forms, functions and features of a critical challenge
to MNC theory and performance. In Language in international business (pp. 139-162).
Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Chidlow, A., Plakoyiannaki, E., & Welch, C. (2014). Translation in cross-language international
business research: Beyond equivalence. Journal of International Business Studies, 45(5),
562-582.
Kankaanranta, A., Louhiala-Salminen, L., & Karhunen, P. (2015). English in multinational
companies: implications for teaching “English” at an international business
school. Journal of English as a Lingua Franca, 4(1), 125-148.
Meyer, K., & Peng, M. W. (2016). International business. Cengage Learning.
Muresan, L. M., & Pérez-Llantada, C. (2014). English for research publication and dissemination
in bi-/multiliterate environments: The case of Romanian academics. Journal of English
for Academic Purposes, 13, 53-64.
Neeley, T. (2012). Global Business Speaks English. Retrieved from
https://hbr.org/2012/05/global-business-speaks-english
Rogerson-Revell, P. (2007). Using English for international business: A European case
study. English for specific purposes, 26(1), 103-120.

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Steiner-Khamsi, G. (2016). Standards are good (for) business: Standardised comparison and the
private sector in education. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 14(2), 161-182.