Mapping Best Multilingual Business Practices in the EU

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ASWOTanalysisofmultilingualisminEuropeanbusinessesA SWOT analysis shows the positive and negative effects of multilingualism on Europeancompanies:SWOTAnalysisInternalExternalHelpfulStrengthsManylanguagesused(especiallyEnglish,French,GermanandSpanish)Internationalpractices:manycompaniestakemeasurestopenetratethemarket(websites)CooperationwithforeignworkersMultilingualcandidatesarepreferredwhenhiring(languagetest,EnglishisrequiredinmanycompaniesinFranceandBelgium)Developmentanduseoflanguagetechnologytools(fornonspecialisedtranslationwhichcanbemanagedbycompanies)OpportunitiesIncreaseindigitalandmultilingualinformationGrowingnumberofforeigncustomersGrowingnumberofcontractsandbusinessopportunitiesSettingupoftrainingaids(“chèquelangue”inBelgiumandFrance)Newopportunities(forspecialisedtranslationwhichimpliestheassistanceofthelanguageindustry)HarmfulWeaknessesLackoflanguageskills(quotedfromastudycarriedoutinFrance)Communicationproblemswithsomecustomers(culturaldifferences,especiallywithChineseandIndiancustomers)Extracosts(translation,interpretation)ThreatsGrowingneedsinlanguageskills(quotedfromastudycarriedoutinFrance)Troublefindingmultilingualcandidates(quotedfromstudiescarriedoutinFranceandBelgium)GrowingnumberofunskilledworkersLossofcontractsLossofcontrolofthemanagementofmultilingualinformationanddiversity12
4.CASESTUDIESMultilingualisminthebusinessenvironmentisavast,crosscuttingissue.Totackleit,theinitialapproachwastofocusonafulllistofhomogeneousthemesandquestionsinordertocollectamaximumamountofcomparableanswersfrompeoplewithdifferentprofilesandcompaniesdealingindifferenttypesofbusiness.FromaselectionofEuropeancompaniesidentifiedduringthefirstphaseofthestudy,theEuropean Commission chose 5 companies to be interviewed on the strength of theirrelevancetothestudy.Fororganisationalreasons,anumberofothercompaniesfromtheinitialselectionwerealsocontacted.The selected companies were contacted directly in order to arrange interviews with themost suitable people in each company. The targeted profiles provide a general overviewofmultilingualbusinesspracticesinwebandcommunication,informationmanagementandtranslation,humanresourcesandmultilingualstrategies,customerrelationsmanagement,andmarketingandsalesactivities.Suchprofilesarefrequentlytobefoundinthefollowingcorporate departments: General Directorate, Directorate of Communication/Information,DirectorateofMarketingandSales,DirectorateofHumanResources,andR&D.Multilingualismisasensitiveissueinthebusinessenvironment.Itcanbeconsideredtobeastrategicissue,andmayevenbeconfidential.Somecompaniesdidnotwanttomakeofficialstatementsabouttheirmultilingualbusinesspractices.Thisappliestoalltypeofcompanies(globalcompanies,panEuropeancompaniesandSMEs).Theremaybeanumberofreasonsforthis:- Disclosingmultilingualbusinesspracticescanbeseentobeanegativeactiontotheextentthatitcanlead,indirectly,toleakingconfidentialinformationabouttheorganisationofacompanyanditscompetitiveadvantages.Multilingualismistoostrategicanissueforsomeoftheselectedcompanies,whodidnotwanttoanswerwithouttheapprovaloftheirGeneralDirectorate.- Multilingualism and related business practices can also be insufficientlydisseminatedinthecompany.Atcompanylevel,theycanalsobelesswellknownorevenlesswellsupervised,withtheresultthattheirexecutivesprefernottomakeofficialcommunicationsaboutthem.- Moreover, it was difficult to find somebody in the right place, and at the righttime, who would also be able to answer questions related to multilingualismissues.
Page 1 and 2: Studies on translationand multiling
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS SUMMARY ..................
Page 5 and 6: SUMMARYThe digital age and globalis
Page 7 and 8: INTRODUCTIONThis is the final repor
Page 9 and 10: 2.IMPACTOFMULTILINGUALISMONEUROPEAN
Page 11 and 12: The17relevantstudiesarepresentedint
Page 13: study this affects 11% of companies
Page 17 and 18: 2.1. Use of languageresources andmu
Page 19 and 20: 1.5. Multilingualdocument managemen
Page 22 and 23: 4.4.CASESTUDY#4—SME/PanEuropeanco
Page 24 and 25: 4.5.CASESTUDY#5—SME(Germany)BASIC
Page 26 and 27: 4.6.SUMMARYOFTHECASESTUDIESBest mul
Page 28 and 29: 5.1.Bestpracticessortedaccordingtou
Page 30 and 31: o Strategicchoices1 Define a profes
Page 32 and 33: 2 Organise multilingual multimedia
Page 34 and 35: 10bestmultilingualbusinesspractices
Page 36 and 37: ICTandMultilingualCommunicationEmai
Page 38 and 39: Languageresources&multilingualtermi
Page 40 and 41: 6.ANALYSISANDRECOMMENDATIONSTheanal
Page 42 and 43: Multilingualbusinesspracticesvaryfr
Page 44 and 45: The Council Resolution on a Europea
Page 46 and 47: 7Encouragelanguagelearninginthecomp
Page 48 and 49: MediaConsultingGroup/Peacefulfish.S
Page 50 and 51: Bibliographyrelatedtomultilingualis
Page 52 and 53: 7.2.Structuredfileofthemainstudiesa
Page 54 and 55: Referenceofthestudy/surveyAuthor(s)
Page 56: 7.3.InterviewguideforMBPcasestudies
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