The Importance of Language in Global Teams: A Linguistic Perspective

Zusammenfassung

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Often one of the main problems faced in global teams is that one or more of the team members will need to use a foreign language. This can cause communication difficulties and hinder the performance of global teams. The researchers discuss in this paper how research in linguistics can help further research on these difficulties in global teams, giving examples of different types of challenges and their implications. Linguistic analysis can enrich researchers' theories about global team management and improve management practice of global teams. One of the most troublesome aspects of communication in the global team context is the use of polite language forms. Research could examine the organizational, social and cultural factors that influence the language used within global teams or how they mediate between language and team performance.

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The Importance of Language in Global Teams: A Linguistic Perspective

Introduction

There are potentially many sources of diversity in teams (Milliken/Martins 1996) but one of the clearest distinguishing features of global teams is that team members are drawn from different countries and will often speak different languages. This obviously can cause communication difficulties (Marschan et al. 1997, Monks 1996, Feely/Harzing 2003). The impact of communication on team performance has also long been recognized (Anderson 1983, Fiedler 1966, Walsh et al. 1988). However, despite these previous findings, research on the role of language in global teams is surprisingly limited.

We discuss in this paper the problem of language in global teams and how research in linguistics may help further research on global team management. First, we briefly review the literature on communication in global teams. secondly, we briefly introduce some basic linguistic theories and discuss the implications for research and practice of global team management.

Communication in Global Teams

The importance of communication in teams has been well researched for over thirty years. One of the most common reasons for global teams is to leverage the knowledge and skills of diverse team members (Lagerstrom/Andersson 2003). In skilled tasks, a team with a diverse skill set that is able to coordinate those skills will generally outperform teams that lack certain skills or are unable to coordinate them successfully. For instance in decision-making, research suggests that diversity in membership increases the number of solutions offered and alternatives considered. On the other hand, diversity of knowledge and skills can also present obstacles that result in decreased performance (Huffman 1965,1979,Hackman/Morris 1975,Rigby 1987, Wanous/Youtz 1986, Kirchmeyer/Cohen 1992). Nevertheless, other studies suggest that despite these problems, team diversi...

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