The Film in Hand Modes of Coordination and Assisted Virtuosity in the Bombay Film Studios

Less has been said about the hand movements of the film makers, their cultural dimension and the place of this "corporate language" in the film making process, probably because this object is difficult to capture even with a diary. Gestures go too fast to be sketched on the spot and often faster than the perception of the ethnographer. Some of these gestures are made to stabilize the frame or simulate the camera movement but lots of them are difficult to classify and don't fall into this category, like the ones which are produced to accompany the actors' action or to invite him to perform a certain action and which have more to do with a mode of demonstration involving the entire body. This article, mostly based on videos of Bombay film makers at work, tries to identify the specificity of these gestures in terms of communication or interaction and their potential of coordination in the film set dynamics.

Analyzing cultural expatriates' attitudes toward “Englishnization” using dynamic topic modeling

Several Japanese multinational corporations (MNCs) have recently adopted an English-only policy known as “Englishnization”. This study examines the impact of this policy using computer-assisted text analysis to investigate changes in cultural expatriates’ perceptions of Japanese work practices and values over time. Cultural expatriates are a significant but underexplored outcome of globalization. Despite the recent proliferation of studies on the internationalization of Japanese MNCs, few studies have focused on cultural expatriates' perceptions of corporate language policy in social media texts. This study analyzes a corpus of 208 posts from Rakuten, a Japanese MNC, on Glassdoor from 2009 to 2020. The findings suggest that these posts can be divided into three content groups: the threat of a foreign corporate culture, embracing the Rakuten way, and perceptions of leadership and marginalized status. Further, the posts reveal how Rakuten’s corporate language policy, as an instrument of internal internationalization, impacts external internationalization. The dynamics of “Englishnization’’ reveal a pressing issue facing Rakuten: namely, how to balance multinational cohesion with monolingualism and multiculturalism. This paper aims to demonstrate that dynamic topic modeling could enhance our understanding of the manner in which cultural expatriates and the English-only policy affect the internationalization of Japanese MNCs. It contributes to the literature by examining cultural expatriates’ perceptions of Japanese work practices and values from a diachronic perspective.

Content Analysis of Language-Sensitive Recruitment Influenced by Corporate Language Policy Using Topic Modeling

Language-sensitive recruitment is a language management tool frequently used by corporate organizations. However, its relationship with corporate policy is lacking; hence, this study aims to consider language-sensitive job advertisements from a computational text analysis perspective and explore the match (or mismatch) between language-sensitive recruitment (English, Japanese, or bilingual) and corporate language policy. This study uses corpus methods combined with topic modeling and text analysis to investigate the influence of corporate language policy on the textual practice of language-sensitive recruitment in a Japanese multinational corporation (MNC). This study finds a considerable discrepancy between recruitment needs and corporate language policy. It also finds that bilinguals still play a key role in crossing language boundaries 10 years post-mandate of the English language policy in this Japanese MNC. The study contributes to business language by exploring an additional scenario for linking language competency with actual recruitment needs. Thus, this study sheds light on the implementation of language-sensitive recruitment in a multilingual corporate context, affecting the communication patterns and recruitment tactics.

Developing Language Operative Capacity in a Subsidiary of a German MNC in China

One of the key challenges of language management in multinational companies is developing corporate language capacities to fulfil business goals. Yet the notion of corporate language capacity remains to be explored and developed in research. To address this gap, this study aims to conceptualise corporate language operative capacity and investigate how it is developed at a German multinational corporation that specialises in providing business software. Participants in this study were six staff members at different levels, namely two vice presidents and four senior managers from different departments. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and document analysis. Qualitative analyses indicated senior management’s conceptualisation of languages as a sophisticated, dynamic and multi-functioning system in support of the company’s global strategy. Developing corporate language operative capacity requires the acquisition, deployment and development of language resources derived from interactions among human capital, social-cultural capital and technological capital. Analyses of the data also identified middle-level management’s role in designing and implementing language-related activities to support the corporate goal of developing corporate language operative capacity

Reversal of language hierarchy and the politics of translation in a multinational corporation

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explain the reversal of language hierarchy in a Finnish multinational corporation (MNC) from a political perspective. This paper situated the language hierarchy in the historical context of the colonial-style relationship between Finland and Russia. From a post-colonial perspective, the colonial legacy of Russia has had an influence on language strategy and everyday translation work in the Finnish multinational until the present day. Design/methodology/approach This paper undertook a case study based on qualitative secondary analysis of existing data sets. These data sets originated from two previously conducted studies of the same Finnish MNC. Findings The findings revealed a reversal of the traditional corporate language hierarchy. Russian, as the host country language of powerful local subsidiaries, rose to the top of the hierarchy at the expense of English, the common corporate language, and other languages. The colonial-style relationship was enacted by professional and paraprofessional translators who collaborated by using “the master’s language and imitating the master’s voice” to reap the strategic benefits of local responsiveness. Originality/value In contrast to previous work drawing on post-colonial theory in the study of MNCs, this paper represents the headquarters in Finland as the “colonised” party and the Russian subsidiaries as the “coloniser.” Owing to its colonial legacy, Russian, the host country language, became very powerful and influenced the language strategy of the entire MNC. This paper conceptualized translation as a multilevel phenomenon and offers a holistic explanation of why the language hierarchy in the Finnish MNC was reversed.

Principles of designing bespoke corporate foreign language courses

We define methodic principles of designing corporate language learning programmes thoroughly considering needs and possibilities of corporate language learners. These principles are based on the analysis of psychological and pedagogical fundamentals of teaching corporate students and foreign language teaching and aimed at increasing efficiency of corporate language courses. They are defined as follows: 1) basing teaching aims on learners’ needs and language teaching standards; 2) applying interdisciplinary approach to selection of language, content and methods; 3) adapting discourse to learners’ professional needs; 4) selecting and arranging language in a logical sequence; 5) applying skills-based approach to selection of learning content and technologies; 6) arranging learning content and materials into modules; 7) integrating various knowledge, skills and learning methods; 8) considering psychological and pedagogical fundamen-tals of teaching corporate students; 9) considering possible difficulties of corporate language learning context. These principles reflect needs and features of corporate students and can be used by developers of corporate language courses.

Framework for designing bespoke corporate foreign language courses

In order to implement individualized corporate language teaching we define and develop a framework for designing bespoke corporate language learning programmes which consists of the following sequential stages: 1) defining methodic principles of designing corporate language learning programmes; 2) analysis of the learning context and needs of corporate students; 3) con-ceptualizing the learning content; 4) formulating learning goals and objectives of corporate stu-dents; 5) selecting and arranging the learning content of the corporate language course; 6) select-ing and developing learning materials; 7) planning and developing the assessment content, types and materials, evaluating the course, as well as comprising instructions and strategies for working at each of the aforementioned stages. The framework is based on the analysis of the existing frameworks for designing language learning programmes for specific purposes, results of observ-ing language learning of corporate students and such ways of language teaching as learner-centered, system, skills-based, action-oriented, cognitive, cognitive communicative and interdis-ciplinary approaches. It has a clear structure and can be used by language teachers for developing bespoke language courses for corporate students, as well as other categories of students, and creating frameworks for developing language learning programmes.

Impacts and implications of English as the corporate official language policy: A case in Japan

Increasing numbers of corporations are now operating across national borders as a result of globalization. The “language barrier” is the first and foremost challenge they encounter when starting a business in a foreign market, and many companies are trying to solve the problem by adopting a common corporate language. Using English as an official corporate language is the most common solution for those corporations. The present study explored the impacts of English as a corporate official language policy implemented at a company, a rapidly developed high profile IT Company with 20,000 employees, in Japan, a country often perceived to be relatively monolingual and monocultural. When I started studying the company, I first found that the company’s motive to use English as the official corporate language was different from other instances of corporate language policy making I had come across. In previous studies (e.g., Feely & Harzing 2003; Marschan-Piekkari, Welch, & Welch 1999), the companies implemented common corporate language to solve problems caused by language barriers between employees with diverse linguistic backgrounds. However, the company in this study implemented the corporate language policy to prepare for globalization and recruit talents globally. When the company introduced the English-only language policy, most of the employees of the company were Japanese. Therefore, at the time of implementing the language policy, there was no compelling reason for them to use English. The language policy did not work effectively except for a few departments with non-Japanese employees who spoke different first languages. English functioned as a lingua franca in those departments with multinational employees. The findings indicate that for NNESs (non-native English speakers) to communicate with each other in English, the environment has to be more multilingual, less dominated by a single first language. Although almost all Japanese citizens are required to take intensive English courses in compulsory schoolings, the average level of English proficiency is considered to be relatively low in the advanced economies. The present study indicates that it is not for linguistic competence but a lack of interaction with other ELF speakers. Therefore, for learners of ELF in an intensely monolingual society such as Japan to become competent communicators in ELF, providing multilingual learning environments would be more effective than the prevailing teaching practices of classroom learning in L1 Japanese speaker only environments.