Mapping Best Multilingual Business Practices in the EU

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4.4.CASESTUDY#4—SME/PanEuropeancompany(Spain)BASIC DATAName of the companyCountryProfileCafès NovellSpainCafès Novell is a family firm which has been dedicated to the selection, import,roasting and sale of coffee since 1958. The central headquarters is situated inVilafranca del Penedès and Cafès Novell has branches throughout Spain.Date of creation 1958Type of businessTurnoverFood production and distribution (coffee)# € 15 millionStaff 130 employees in 2010HeadquartersSubsidiariesLanguages used in the companySpain (Catalonia)noMainly Catalan, Spanish, English and ItalianDESCRIPTIONMULTILINGUAL BUSINESSPRACTICES1.1. Recruiting multilingual staff1.3. Hiring local staff and local partnerships1.4. Multilingual business meetings and corporate languages1.5. Multilingual document management2.1. Use of language resources and multilingual terminologies2.2. Use of free online resources and tools for translation assistance andunderstanding3.1. Multilingual Internet website3.5. Integration of multilingual online devices and toolsPROCESSES1.1. Recruiting multilingual staffRecruitment of employees with vocational skills (management, sales), who are at easein foreign languages such as English or Italian. Fluency in a foreign language such asEnglish is a ‘plus’ for an applicant. Multilingual skills requirements apply to employeeswith management and sales profiles, in other words staff doing business inside andoutside of Spain. Few of the executives speak Italian and/or English.1.3. Hiring local staff and localpartnershipsAn office in Milan (Italy) with 5 sales managers and intermediaries among Spanish andItalian staff.1.4. Multilingual business meetingsand corporate languagesCafès Novell‘s corporate business languages are Catalan and Spanish. Its staff iscomprised of 70 % Catalans and 30 % Castilians. Corporate communication (official e-mails, internet communication) mainly takes place in Spanish. Management takesplace in Spanish and in Catalan (corporate communication can be in Spanish or inCatalan, depending on staff profiles). The languages of business are mainly Spanish,Catalan, English, Italian and Portuguese. For most of the staff English is the mostrequired and practised language. It is the business language for most of Cafès Novell’sclients in Europe. Example of ‘Latin Business’ with Portugal: written businesscommunication in English (e-mails, documentation, information letters…), workinggroups in Spanish and Portuguese. Example of ‘Latin Business’ with Italy: writtenbusiness communication in English (e-mails, documentation, information letters…).Oral expression in working groups is a mixture of Italian or English.20
1.5. Multilingual documentmanagement2.1. Use of language resources andmultilingual terminologiesCorporate documents are only translated for local contacts, which implies integratingspecialised vocabularies and customised communication (English, Portuguese, Italian,and French). E-mails, Internet, and communication documents are in Spanish. Othersare produced in Catalan and Spanish.Multilingual information and document management (input/output): reception ofinformation in a foreign language (e-mails, documents, telephone calls..), sorting outand sending to the central department, which identifies the most appropriate corporatecontact to translate the document and support the people responsible for managing thebusiness in hand.Dictionaries are used for filtering the information and providing an initial understanding.2.2. Use of free online tools fortranslation assistance andunderstanding3.1. Multilingual Internet website3.5. Integration of multilingual onlinedevices and toolsFree online dictionaries and free machine translation tools are also used, but only asan initial attempt to understand the document as a whole. It is useful for obtaining afirst overall draft of the document and for preparing the final answer to be validated byhuman resources. Machine translation tools are only used as dictionaries and are notsuitable for a final output. Office software is also used to correct spelling.Creation of a 4-language website (English, Spanish, Catalan, and French), which hasbeen up and running for 2-3 years with outsourced assistance.Presence on social networks and multimedia channels such as Twitter, Facebook (inSpanish) and YouTube (advertising, communication videos) for B2C support andcommunication. A blog is also available in Spanish and Catalan.RESULTSCafès Novell has offices in Spain (Catalonia, Madrid, Valencia, Malaga and Saragossa) and also in Italy (Milano). Thecompany has 130 employees with five based in Italy (sales managers and intermediaries). The corporate languages areSpanish (Castilian) and Catalan: 30 % of employees are Castilian, 70 % are Catalan (speaking Catalan and Castilian). Themain clients are located in Spain, Andorra, Portugal and Italy. English is the business language required and used by all theCafès Novell’s biggest foreign clients. Even in Italy or Portugal, it can be a mixture of English and Italian or Portugal, as someclients use them as business languages.The objectives are to promote the international development of the company and to increase export sales. Willingness toimprove multilingualism, especially in the export sales department, depends on local partnerships and local businessopportunities. International sales at Cafès Novell account for around 10 % of global turnover.FURTHER INFORMATION AND CONTACTSWebsitehttp://www.cafesnovell.comContactCafès Novell, sa. — Pol.Ind. Estació de Mercaderies.C/ Font de l’Avellaner, s/n. CP. 08720 Vilafranca del Penedès (Barcelona)21
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 and 14: study this affects 11% of companies
Page 15 and 16: 4.CASESTUDIESMultilingualisminthebu
Page 17 and 18: 2.1. Use of languageresources andmu
Page 19 and 20: 1.5. Multilingualdocument managemen
Page 24 and 25: 4.5.CASESTUDY#5—SME(Germany)BASIC
Page 26 and 27: 4.6.SUMMARYOFTHECASESTUDIESBest mul
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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
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