JournalTOCs

Global Advances in Business Communication
Number of Followers: 5

This is an Open Access Journal

Open Access journal
ISSN (Online) 2164-1692
Published by Eastern Michigan University

[2 journals]

Spanish for Business: Past, Present, and Future (Opinion)
- Authors: Carlos M. Coria-Sánchez
  Abstract: Spanish for Business has witnessed a lack of growth in academia for the last five years in colleges and universities that offer either a major, minor, or certificate in this area. This article follows those five years of development not only in the number of students taking Spanish for Business and Business Culture classes but also in the way administrators and other faculty members do not consider this to be an area worth research and publication. In the meantime, the number of positions advertised for faculty to teach these courses has gradually decreased during this time period.
  PubDate: Wed, 03 Jun 2020 13:21:17 PDT
LSP in Canadian Higher Education: What We Can Learn from Program Reviews
- Authors: Judith A. Ainsworth
  Abstract: Using university periodic program review documents, this study investigated the major stakes in offering programs in language study for field specific purposes, or languages for specific purposes (LSP), at Canadian institutions of higher education, and the most frequent recommendations found in the external reviewers’ reports. A conceptual framework of the LSP field was developed for thematic coding using QDA Miner, a mixed-method approach to data analysis. The qualitative and quantitative analyses revealed that the three most important stakes for the discipline are relevance for employment needs, correspondence to stakeholder needs and interdisciplinary cooperation. The external reviewers recommended 1) developing strategies for updating, revising and reorganising courses and programs in response to the changing needs of students and society; 2) encouraging units to develop initiatives that favour international opportunities and interdisciplinary collaboration; and 3) creating tenure-track faculty positions. These findings shed light on the value of the formative function of program evaluation for developing curricula that provide quality, pertinent professional language studies.
  PubDate: Wed, 03 Jun 2020 13:21:09 PDT
A Heuristic Model of Organizational Boundaries as Contesting Spaces of
Betweenness in International Management
- Authors: Diana J. Wong-MingJi
  Abstract: This paper examines organizational boundaries as contesting spaces of in betweenness that requires constant negotiations of multi-level cross-cultural differences. Traditionally, boundaries are viewed as relatively static imaginary lines that facilitate flow of information and resource exchanges between organizations and their environments. Membership and cultural identity employ power through separation to elevate the status and legitimacy of insiders over outsider. As dynamic and contested spaces, organizational boundaries are based on processes of construction, deconstruction, and reconstruction in cross cultural relationships. Four significant functions of boundary are demarcation, perimeters, interfaces, and frontiers. Three contestations illustrate different complex problematics in the betweenness of spaces – 1) rise of the modern nation-state with military and political powers; 2) intellectual capital based on accumulation of legitimizing institutional processes and designations with governance structures and regulatory property rights; and 3) e-commerce creating a digital divide that is transcending traditionally understood sovereign boundaries.
  PubDate: Wed, 03 Jun 2020 13:21:00 PDT
Magnitude Matters: The Impact of Pandemic Threat Perceptions on the
Effectiveness of Health Message Framing Across Countries
- Authors: Anthony K. Asare et al.
  Abstract: Pandemic diseases are characterized as being highly contagious, where there is limited control and a threat of spreading globally. During a pandemic outbreak, hysteria and media hype make it difficult for medical authorities to get accurate and useful information to individuals to minimize the spread of the epidemic. This research investigates the impact of message framing on intentions to interact with health messages, taking into account perceived magnitude of the pandemic threat. The authors conduct research in three countries – U.S., China, and Ghana. Study 1 was a between-subjects design to examine the impact of message frame (positive, negative) in a call-to-action disease message on intentions to click for more information in Ghana, the U.S., and China. Study 2 was a 2 (message frame: positive, negative) by 3 perceived threat magnitude (high, moderate, low) between-subjects design to examine the impact of each variable on intentions to click for more information in China and the U.S. Findings show that magnitude matters in health message framing. Specifically, message framing effects are evident when the perceived magnitude of a threat is moderate.
  PubDate: Wed, 03 Jun 2020 13:20:47 PDT
Betweenness: Global Business Communication in a Time of Change and
Questioning
- Authors: David A. Victor
  PubDate: Wed, 03 Jun 2020 13:20:42 PDT
Multilingual Franca: Workplace Language Use Within Multinational
Corporations In French West Africa
- Authors: Steven J. Sacco
  Abstract: The proposed paper features the results of a survey and follow-up interviews that assessed workplace language use within 20 multinational corporations (MNCs) operating in French West Africa. Participating corporations, headquartered in nine different countries, operate in over 100 countries and represent 13 major industries. Sixty-six managers and executives identified (1) their corporation’s official workplace language, (2) the percentage of time employees speak English versus French, (3) the weaknesses in nonnative employees’ English skills, and (4) recommendations for ESL instruction at French West African universities. The present study confirms that English is the official language of nearly every MNCs operating in French West Africa; however, employees in none of these MNCs work exclusively in English as both English and French are intertwined during daily operations. The results support Janssens & Steyaert (2014) call for a multilingual franca, where mixed language use is tolerated. The results also confirm Sacco’s (2017) findings that the exclusive use of English as the lingua franca of international business within multinational corporations is unrealistic.
  PubDate: Fri, 14 Dec 2018 06:51:30 PST
Displays of Status and Expressiveness in Professional Profile Pictures on
LinkedIn and Corporate Websites: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of China and
the United States
- Authors: Peter Cardon et al.
  Abstract: This research compares how Chinese and American professionals visually self-present with professional profile pictures. Three studies were conducted. In Study 1, we surveyed 310 professionals in China and 215 professionals in the United States about preferred profile picture backgrounds for professional sites, such as LinkedIn and corporate webpages. Generally, Americans opted first for grey backgrounds more so than Chinese, and Chinese opted for blue and white backgrounds more so than Americans. Chinese and Americans both preferred office pictures over outdoor settings, although Chinese were more likely to choose office settings without views. In Study 2, we evaluated CEO profile pictures on corporate webpages of 100 Chinese CEOs and 100 American CEOs. Generally, Chinese CEOs project more formal, status-driven signals whereas American CEOs are more likely to display expressiveness. In Study 3, we evaluated the LinkedIn profile pictures and banners of 900 early-career finance professionals, including 300 American finance professionals, 300 Chinese finance profiles with English-language LinkedIn profiles (also referred to as cosmopolitan Chinese professionals), and 300 Chinese finance profiles with Chinese-language LinkedIn profiles (also referred to as domestic Chinese professionals). American women and cosmopolitan Chinese women are significantly more expressiveness than nearly all other groups, closely followed by Chinese domestic women and American men. Cosmopolitan Chinese men and domestic Chinese men are the least expressive. As far as professional profile pictures, we found that Chinese and American professionals tend to cluster into the following types: friendly professionals, corporate leaders, expressive leaders, casual professionals, and independents. These typologies involve various combinations of expressiveness and status displays. Each of these typologies effectively serves as a visual rhetoric of professional identity.
  PubDate: Fri, 14 Dec 2018 06:51:22 PST
Infusing Infographics into the Business Curriculum: A Study of Infographic
Interpretations in China, New Zealand, and the United States
- Authors: Stephanie Kelly et al.
  Abstract: The present study sought to identify whether infographics should be infused into business curriculum as a tool for improving the efficiency of cross-cultural business communication. Students from the United States, New Zealand, and China were presented with a series of 10 infographics with all text in French, a language not spoken by any of the student participants. Of the infographics, eight were designed with traditional visual relationships, one was designed based upon metaphor, and one relied upon visual relationships and incorporated metaphor. The majority of students in both samples were able to successfully interpret the information in each infographic except for the infographic that relied upon a combination of visual relationships and metaphor. Additionally, the New Zealand students struggled with the Venn Diagram. As such, it is concluded that infographics should be taught as a business communication tool, but instructors should exercise caution in training students to use color metaphor or Venn Diagrams.
  PubDate: Fri, 14 Dec 2018 06:51:14 PST
Using Online Photography Portfolios to Enhance Cross-Cultural Awareness
- Authors: Orlando R. Kelm
  Abstract: There are two major challenges that we face when teaching and training about cross-cultural communication. The first is to develop the ability to observe and notice cross-cultural patterns that differ from our own. The second is that these observations become more significant when linked to some kind of context, model, theory or application. With this, the observations, if made at all, simply remain random thoughts and opinions.The object of this paper is to describe our experience in providing cross-cultural training that addresses these two challenges. Specifically, we share a methodology where learners build online electronic portfolios (using e.g., pathbrite.com) to display original photographs that demonstrate cultural differences. Participants learn David Victor’s LESCANT Approach for Inter-Cultural Communication to provide a context for these photographic examples. That is to say, participants take original photographs to show different aspects of cross-cultural perspectives that they have observed, and then they describe those instances within the context of the LESCANT Approach categories: Language, Environment, Social Organization, Context, Authority, Non-Verbal, Time.
  PubDate: Fri, 14 Dec 2018 06:51:06 PST
Cultural Nuances of Visual Rhetoric
- Authors: David A. Victor et al.
  PubDate: Fri, 14 Dec 2018 06:50:58 PST
Global Communication and Cross-Cultural Competence: Twenty-First Century
Micro-Case Studies
- Authors: Kimberley Barker et al.
  Abstract: Sensitivity to diversity now demands a strategic understanding of the importance of cross-cultural communication competence in every action in organizations, communities, and nations throughout the world. This article contains seven micro-cases, each of which highlights a discussion of communication and cultural impact. The cases range from issues related to handshakes, communication with powerful people, collaborating in a divergent culture, unintended impact in meetings, and regional pronunciation differences. The cases include discussion questions, references for additional reading, and one unique feature: a “bumper sticker” summary. The article features a section on Approaching the Challenges. This discusses major communication and cultural theories, which provides a basis for avoiding or reconciling differences. The concluding section, Extending Indirect Experiential Opportunities, advocates specific methods to evolve an individual’s global mind-set and communication capabilities.
  PubDate: Tue, 05 Dec 2017 12:38:18 PST
Crossing Disciplinary Lines to Engage Students in Cross-Cultural Learning
During Short-Term Study Abroad
- Authors: Margaret Gonglewski et al.
  Abstract: This article showcases an innovative cross-disciplinary course on green business that featured a short-term study abroad (STA) program in Germany. The course and STA component were jointly developed and taught by an International Business and a German language/culture faculty member, in an attempt to capitalize on the knowledge and skills from experts in both fields. This stands in contrast to most business-focused STAs, typically designed and implemented by one business faculty member without explicit attention to the development of students' cultural competence. After presenting our case for this cross-disciplinary approach, we describe the course with relevant information about the content focus of business and sustainability in Germany and about class meetings, assignments, and expected learning outcomes. We then provide details on the STA trip, featuring site visits to companies and organizations related to green banking, renewable energy, green automotive, and green building. We conclude with an analysis of the ways that students engaged each other across disciplinary lines, particularly within the context of the site visits in Germany and students' team research project work, where both business and culture played crucial roles.
  PubDate: Tue, 05 Dec 2017 12:38:14 PST
Challenging the Myth of English as a Lingua Franca in International
Business
- Authors: Steven J. Sacco
  Abstract: The proposed paper features a case study that monitored and assessed workplace language use within a U.S. multinational company where English is the official language of business. The case study examined language use by Hispanic immigrant workers employed at a rice mill in a rural northwestern U.S. community. In the week-long needs assessment, the author interviewed 26 nonnative English speaking coworkers, 2 native English speaking coworkers, and 10 mid- and senior-level managers. The author also observed daily operations in all departments of the rice mill, participated in the safety training and testing, and shared his findings with senior officials at the company’s world headquarters in the U.S. Although English is the lingua franca at this U.S. agribusiness giant, Hispanic mill workers (a majority in most mills in the U.S.) worked almost exclusively in Spanish. Hispanic mill workers used Spanish in everyday work situations from daily team meetings to report writing. Communication with senior mill managers required the use of a translator. Nearly all reports were written in Spanish, requiring an English translation as mandated by OSHA. Senior officials are keenly concerned about (1) addressing safety issues when two languages are intertwined during daily operations in their mills nationwide and (2) finding an effective solution to enforce the use of English as a lingua franca of business.
  PubDate: Tue, 05 Dec 2017 12:38:10 PST
A Hierarchical Perspective of Employees’ Knowledge Sharing
Behaviors: A Two-Phase Study
- Authors: Kuok Kei Law et al.
  Abstract: This paper examines whether and how mid-level employees differ in their communication behaviors when sharing knowledge with targets from different hierarchical positions in an organization via a two-phase study design. The first phase of study involves semi-structured interviews with fifteen mid-level employees working in small- and medium-sized enterprises to explore how they behaved in different scenarios of knowledge sharing. Results showed that there are significant differences in their behaviors among different situations. A second-phase study was then conducted to statistically verify the effect of the three identified factors - efficiency concerns, compliance with social norms, and consideration of relationship – on employees’ knowledge sharing behaviors. Theoretically, the paper adds a new determinant to explain employees’ knowledge sharing behaviors. In practice, it informs managers about the important considerations employees would take into account when invited to participate in knowledge sharing.
  PubDate: Tue, 05 Dec 2017 12:38:06 PST
Crossing Disciplines and Perspectives: Challenging Norms in Global
Business Communication
- Authors: David A. Victor
  PubDate: Tue, 05 Dec 2017 12:38:02 PST