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Communicating in Multicultural Firms: Boundary Creation, Fragmentation and the Social Use of ICT
Abstract
Based on a qualitative study of 14 knowledge intensive companies, this chapter suggests that multicultural and multilingual firms are faced with certain challenges in the attempt to fruitfully utilize the diverse background of their workforce. Firstly, through informal settings, the employees to create social boundaries within the firm use native languages strategically. Secondly, even though the introduction of English as cooperate language might solve some communication issues, it tends to render the communication less nuanced, thereby reducing the use of human resources within the firm. Thirdly, ICT does not necessarily solve communication problems within a given company. It can even be used as a social ‘tool’ to uphold social boundaries or social fragmentation. It is suggested that in order to address these challenges, the management should seek to reward not only individual employees, but also expand the notion of performance to include the collectivity of the workplace.
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