Intercultural Communication and Translation News

With the advancement of video-calling in the last few years, including this year’s introduction of Apple’s FaceTime for the iPhone, we examine the benefits (and shortfalls) of both Tele- and Video-calling in the business world.

The first issue that often affronts the use of video-conferencing is ‘familiarity’ and how this relates to price. ‘Video-conferencing’ can be seen as a neologism, a new concept springing up on businesses from the technological ether, it seems both interesting and daunting; however the fact is that this method of communication was first presented nearly fifty years ago by AT&T Bell Labs at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. So why does it seem so, well new?

Firstly there are financial implications when installing and using video platforms. This has allowed big companies to successfully use this tool for years because they could afford to install the necessary platforms and had more teams globally they needed to converse with face-to-face. For smaller businesses video-conferencing has only become a possibility recently, as prices have decreased and the market for such platforms has widened. Also smaller businesses have only become more globalised in the last ten years, before then employees were mostly sent to conferences within your business’s region or country, now businesses might have employees from Japan to Brazil who need to speak face-to-face.

As video-conferencing becomes a more available possibility for businesses, what are the communicative advantages of its use?

On a linguistic level being able to see the facial expressions of the person you are talking to helps someway in counter-acting the difficulties of speaking to someone who doesn’t share the same first language as you.
Speaking over the telephone there may be cultural issues with the ambiguity of certain words, the way humour is conveyed or in the use of idioms; if you can see the delivery of someone’s speech than you may be better equipped to understand the pragmatic or implied meanings behind their words.

However, this advantage may not be a concern for shorter conversations.
So is it in fact the purpose of a discourse that determines whether video- or tele-calling is most useful? If you are simply placing an order with your supplier or ringing to check that a meeting has been held, then such a factual exchange of information should be sufficient to ensure both parties understand the other’s purpose. Furthermore, on a practical level it takes time to ensure a platform is working or set up, this time could be used to make a quick telephone call and in the case of urgent enquiries might be crucial in securing a deal. Therefore the telephone does still have a place in the conference market.

Leading on from this idea what are the other practical implications of making a video-call? On the plus side using a video-call might make it easier to conduct multi-way conversations (of more than two speakers) by avoiding the confusion of speakers talking at the same time or speakers’ having very similar accents. However, if you are making a video-call then you cannot simultaneously perform other tasks without your fellow speaker knowing, they will know that your full attention is not on them. This reduces video-calling to an ‘event’, something that must be pre-planned and organised. This requires either additional staff to run such operations or a reduction in the capacity of existing staff who must devote some of their time to the running of these conferences. Therefore both the speaker calling and the staff surrounding them are put at a disadvantage.

To conclude, whilst the video-call has become a popular means of communication for larger businesses there is still a key role for the telephone; this is especially important to smaller businesses who are likely to continue to hold some trepidation over the use of video-conferencing for at least some time to come.

Kwintessential are proud to announce their inclusion in the latest version of The Savvy Client’s Guide to Translation Agencies. Authored by John Yunker the guide offers great insight into the industry and the main players offering translation services.

More about the guide…

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Translating the translation industry

Selecting a translation agency should be a simple process, but it’s not. There are literally thousands from which to choose, and every one will claim to offer the highest quality at the lowest price. And then there’s the confusing terminology and acronyms, like SLV and MLV, internationalization and translation memory.

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In engaging with a different culture it is important to tailor one’s business approach efficiently, in order for any exchange to be successful. This can be especially important for Westernised companies who deal with the East (or vice verse). Here we focus on how the management of Western companies (particularly in America) deal with India.

On a practical level it is important for engagements in both countries to be a mutually communicative process; whether in boardrooms in your main headquarters or at the Indian base of the company you are working with. Three steps to success:

The ‘Boardroom’…
-‘Be Active’ is the key in communicating with Indian executives. Actively listen to what is said, actively notice the body language on display and actively consider the meaning behind the pragmatics (what more is there to say? What else do I need to know?).
-Indian executives are not as active, or to put it another way ‘direct’, as their American counterparts. To an American this communication may seem passive or even vague, this is not the case, it is simply that this expression is the cultural norm in India and thus affects how boardroom conferences are conducted. Consider that American executives may seem sharp or even abrupt to their Indian counterparts.
-These differences may be more prominent when bad news has to be broken or when difficult/impossible tasks are suggested.
-Actively engage and question Indian executives and they should be able to provide you with the factual reassurance you require. If uncertain then asking is key to success on both sides.

The Country…
-This goes with most –if not all- countries. If you have the opportunity, or if it is feasible, make the opportunity to visit the environment of the Indian business you work with. You cannot gauge the enthusiasm, atmosphere or commitment of a workplace and its staff via powerpoints or even through video-conferencing.
-Try to immerse yourself in the environment: see where the strengths and weaknesses lie, as well as the overall potential of the business.
-Visit annually and send a trusted senior employee at least twice a year. If possible take your partner or a family member with you to try and fully engage with India as a cultural experience. Taking someone who is not in the same business as you might also be beneficial, as it will provide you with a different kind of perspective on the country.

Indian Business…
-As a ‘growth’ country India is an exciting business prospect for many American companies, however it can also seem a little unstable. With such a proliferation of opportunities in the country any business you work with might have to act quickly to secure their own future.
-So always prepare for the possibility that a better deal may present itself to an Indian business and leave them with the prospect of terminating your contract early.
-The Indian economy is currently in a frenetic and opportunistic stage of development. Your company may want to take advantage of this position, but so do Indian companies.
-Always have a viable alternative supplier or partnership lined up in case an Indian company has to suddenly change direction and can no longer provide the service you require.

Wikipedia has confirmed that its first office outside of the USA is to be opened in India. The exact location is yet to be announced but Wikipedia’s co-founder Jimmy Wales reports that it will open in the next few months and will be a staffed by a small team initially of two to four people. This opportunity for both the company and India offers the prospect of a better online transaction between the East and West.

The venture both appeals to the business ambitions of the company and its overall concept to “realise…a world in which every single person can freely share…knowledge”. As it extends its reach beyond America, Wales implies that the company has carefully considered both the corporate and cultural environment it is to expand into. With this criteria it has chosen to select a country from its possible options –including England and Africa- that is currently in a position of growth; it is a location able to offer the technological foundations the company requires, whilst being well placed to benefit from the company’s experience in the online information sharing world.

On a cultural level, Mr Wales is eager to emphasise how he feels the region’s “enthusiasm” and willingness to commit to “free knowledge” make it the ideal place to begin the company’s overseas expansion. Although the company already has 91,000 active contributors and 78 million visitors (per month) worldwide, this initial expansion into a local community is a key step for the company’s globalization plans. By investing in a growth region it can hopefully establish a mutually beneficial relationship that enables the local community to profit from the company’s knowledge and Wikipedia to enrich its own sites’ linguistic and informative parameters.

There are however a few questions with the venture. Firstly, whether Wikipedia targeting a country known for its support of free-knowledge can really be deemed as progressive as them, for example, branching into a country where information is morally prohibited. Although it must be stated that Wikipedia are still approaching a country that has in the past seen oppression. Secondly and leading on from the benefits of the venture, is Wikipedia being overally zealous by stating their convictions of the “general commitment to free knowledge in India”; the government may indeed actively support this ideal but it does remains that a large proportion of the country lives in poverty without access to the internet. Wikipedia will more than likely help the region and locally –wherever they chose to settle- the “community”, yet the current levels of computer usage within the population shouldn’t be ignored.

Overall this venture does move towards the multilingual content that Wikipedia cherishes, but its positivity comes more from the prospect of long-term global development rather than from any short-term information advances in the region. From two to four people in an office could there soon spring the promising collaboration between the East and West that makes Wikipedia the first truly global “free knowledge” website?

Recent research published in the American Psychological Association’s Journal of Personality and Social Psychology seems to suggest a truth in the long held notion that living abroad nurtures our creativity. From Byron in Switzerland to Picasso in France, cultural change has historically been seen as the way to broaden the mind and enhance the artistic senses. Now 2009 research headed by William Maddux of INSEAD really has shown that time spent engrossed in a new culture can improve our creative skills- even after we have returned ‘home’.

An initial five studies using MBA students at the Kellogg School of Management, Illinois, showed that both cognitive flexibility and negotiation skills were higher in those participants who had spent time living abroad when compared to a control group who had not. One study to solve the Duncker candle problem (where a candle must be properly attached to a wall without dripping: using a candle, a box of matches and a box of tacks) showed that those with experience living abroad were better positioned to imagine the alternative functions of these familiar objects and thus solve the problem. This could mimick the intuitive skills required when dealing with the changing levels of importance placed upon greetings, etiquette, food or clothing and so on, when living abroad.

Another study involving a mock negotiation of the sale of a gas station demonstrated that those with living abroad experience were able to be much more creative with negotiations (after the sale price had been removed as the dealbreaker). This on a much simpler level replicates the way domestic shopping differs between countries and cultures, buying spices in a Morroccan market is very different from buying clothes in a Parisian boutique.

These two examples easily portray two different skills that are invaluable to most businesses, especially given the difficulties of the current global economic climate. The need for companies to keep innovating to stay competitive makes these skills more important than ever in recruitment, meaning that potential employees with such benefits may find themselves more sought after to fill positions in businesses, especially those operating globally.

The reason for the relationship between creativity and living abroad is not altogether known, but follow-up research with MBA students in France has correlated with the earlier Duncker candle findings. Interestingly, there is no evidence that those who have only traveled abroad either possess these skills or are any better placed than those who travel domestically. This suggests that businesses might therefore benefit more from a system of extended work placements abroad, with employees based in offices in each country, rather than from repeatedly sending employees for short overseas conferences or meetings.

Moreover evidence suggests that recreating or ‘priming’ employees to remember their cultural experiences could even benefit them once they have returned ‘home’. Another follow-up study found that Parisian students were much more able to solve cognitive puzzles when recalling the cultural challenges that faced them living outside of France, when compared to the control group who were told to recall any recreational or everyday challenges they had faced.

Although this research is by no means empirically conclusive it certainly leads the way for further research and potential business initiatives; whilst asserting the message that global interaction is a collective and individual advantage to one’s life. Furthermore it is an asset to the development of modern Psychology in arguing the ‘nurtured’ acquirement of new skills beyond the constraints of Behavourism, as humans psychologically adapt to their environment.