Intercultural Communication and Translation News

Each year expats move across the globe in order to find new work and business opportunities. In order to facilitate these moves companies often offer their workers the chance to take part in some cross cultural training in order to help the foreign workers to fit in with the host country nationals. This is done in the hope that the training will make the move a social success as well as a business success.
Research has taken a closer look to see whether cross cultural training brings a satisfactory return on investment (ROI) and whether or not it is worth the expenditure from companies.
There are various reasons why an expat might fail to settle into the host country and these reasons can be varied from stress of the new job to their family not taking to the new country. Some researchers (for example Pires et al.) go as far as to say that they believe that the current cross cultural training is insufficient and does not in any way guarantee a successful move or a good ROI.
It also seems that in order for there to be a successful move and ROI then the host country nationals also need to receive some sort of cross cultural training in order to better receive any expats that may come to work for their company. It is clear then that the attitude of the expat that needs to be addressed but also the attitude of those that are receiving them. So maybe a better approach would be to look at the cross cultural training needs of each individual and tailor make a programme that will fit in with each person in order to improve the ROI.

For a long time now it has been clear that the Chinese school system and that the children in China seem to excel when it comes to schooling and education. However a recent study has shown that beyond this point this is where the Chinese population’s excellent results seem to peter out, as they do not seem to excel in the work place or take up a lot of management roles in the corporate world.
The study has shown that even though Chinese Americans make up around 5% of the population of The United States that this figure is not transferred into the working world. Only 0.3% of the Chinese Americans become corporate managers, less than 1% are on the board or belong to an upper management role and 2% are college presidents.
The Chinese people that took part in the study also pointed out that there seems to be a “bamboo ceiling” when it comes to workers that come from China. It has also been eluded to that this problem even exists in China. Multinationals that set up in China appear to shy away from employing Chinese workers in management positions and instead choose to employ expats staff to fill vacant manager roles.
It seems that the Chinese are putting this down to racism as they are quite rightly pointing out that the skills that made them do so well in the school environment are not lost as they get older, so this must prove that there are other factors at work which are making them lose out on management roles both in China and the in the rest of the world.

The Michigan Fish Test provides a great view into a person’s psyche and is also a great way to see their perception of the world and culture around them. You see, not everyone looks at their position within the world and within their own culture in the same way. It all depends on how your culture nurtures you, as this will have a very clear impact on your perception of the world around you.

The Michigan Fish Test is an image that was developed to test a person’s view of the world. It is an image that is made up from an underwater scene, with larger fish and smaller fish in a watery environment complete with bubbles and seaweed.

The test was put forward to two groups of people; one group from America and the other group from Japan. The study was interesting as the comments that came back from each group were strikingly different. The participants were asked to look at the Michigan Fish Test image for around 5 seconds and were then asked to comment on what it was they remembered from the picture. The answers provided an insight into the difference in culture between the two countries. The American group tended to only notice the larger fish and dismissed the peripheral images whilst the Japanese group tended to look at the image as more of a whole and commented on the environment as well as the characters.

Furthermore, when the image was changed slightly the Japanese group were able to point out the changes, whereas most of the American group were unable to do so.

The study showed that an individual’s perception of the world around them and of the people and things that they shared the world with was as a direct result of the way in which the world was positioned around them.

Business may be fundamentally the same the world over, but management style differs greatly.

Suggestions by subordinates might be welcomed in one culture but seen as inappropriate in another. Employees in a new country may be confused if bosses are not more hands-on, or feel stifled when they are.

These concerns are particularly acute in the UAE, where expatriates make up the majority of the workforce.

“If someone’s coming from the UK they’ve got expectations or experience based on British culture and then move across to the UAE where things are slightly different, the reaction can be negative,” says Neil Payne, a director of Kwintessential Arabia. He helps run the office along with Kamran Hussain, the company’s vice president.

It is one of a small number of companies, including Embrace Arabia and Spearhead Training, offering multicultural training in the Emirates.

“What we do is really give an explanation of the differences between them, how locals prefer to manage and how to interpret certain behaviours or actions so that when these things do come up it doesn’t result in a negative response.”

Read the full article in The National

For a long time now the French media have stayed out the private lives of French public figures (something which we in the UK might find an alien concept considering our own media). This is because France has some extremely tight laws about privacy which make it almost impossible for the press in France to publish gossip stories about people unless they have their prior consent. On top of this the public in France also seem to not want to hear about the private goings on of the rich and famous and the politicians of France. The French public think that it is intrusive and distasteful.
However things seem to have taken a little turn in the opposite direct since the Strauss-Khan case. Strauss-Kahn’s arrest has sparked debate about whether his behaviour might have been any different if his actions were reported in the French press.
France has a tradition of a very macho political culture where men who have extra marital affairs are often looked upon favourably rather than with disdain and the fact the Strauss-Kahn case has brought this to the very forefront of the French media means that the French culture for this closed door policy is coming under intense scrutiny.  Some members of the French media are even choosing to freely comment on Strauss-Kahn’s actions in the foreign press, away from the reprisal of the laws in France.
Since the Strauss-Kahn case and also since Nicolas Sarkozy came to be elected the wind is changing a little in France and it seems that the French macho culture may not be protected by the media for very much longer. The French macho culture is coming under increased criticism and looks set to undergo some media challenges in the near future.

Chinese fast food fans can look forward to more of the food they love in the next couple of years as McDonalds have announced a new business strategy that means they will be increasing the number of outlets in China. Plans have been announced that clearly set out a new business expansion strategy in China for the fast food chain. By the end of 2013 McDonalds are planning on having around 2000 Chinese stores.
McDonalds have announced a new business plan for China that involves a massive expansion. They plan on opening over 700 stores before 2013 (that’s a lot of stores!). Currently China has around 1300 McDonald’s stores so this new expansion means that McDonalds are obviously planning on taking the Chinese part of their business very seriously indeed.
McDonalds have been operating in China for many years but have not grown their business so dramatically until now. Financial experts are pointing to the reason for this being the new business opportunities that are coming out of a China that is becoming more westernised and it seems that McDonalds (as well as many other companies) are hoping to capitalise on this.
As well having a clear strategy for expanding their Chinese business, it also seems that the new announcement by McDonalds about their surge forward in China is also a defensive move to block rival fast food companies. The fast food business is enjoying very healthy growth at the moment and it looks as though one of McDonald’s closest competitors the Yum! Chain is fast on the heels of McDonalds.
Yum! Who own the KFC chain already have over 3000 outlets in China so it seems as though McDonalds have to play a quick game of catch up if they want to make the most of the new business coming out of China.

A new online translation system called V-See is helping Burmese patients to talk to their practitioners during medical appointments. The programme, which can be compared to the online communication system Skype, allows interpreters to assist the conversation between patient and Doctor without requiring their immediate presence in the consultation room.

The programme is a collaboration between five American Catholic institutions and provides an alternative to the charities’ existing service where two part-time interpreters can be sent out ‘on-call’ to appointments.

The main advantage of the system is its time and efficiency saving potential. This means two things: firstly that the ability to use interpreters online at short notice will improve the likelihood of all such appointments running to time (and thus affecting the overall day’s schedule); patients will no longer have to wait for their interpreter to physically arrive. Secondly it compares favourably with the existing service as it enables an increased frequency of appointments using translation. The collaboration reports that the system’s implementation (in December) has increased the daily average number of appointments from one or two to between ten and twenty.

On a practical and budgetary level the system is certainly productive, yet it also rates favourably on a personal level with patients. In a medical consultation it is not necessary for an interpreter to physically be in the room with the person they are interpreting for (as may be the case in court or a prison visit), this means that the patient’s confidentiality and modesty are more likely to be preserved. Attending a medical appointment can be stressful especially if a physical examination is required, having a third party in the room with you is therefore likely to increase the level of stress or potential embarrassment felt. Using this online system means that you can divert the interpreter’s camera away during times that may affect your modesty, whilst the practitioner could still see the interpreter’s face onscreen if they needed to use their facial expressions.

The programme also has a secondary set of advantages in seeking to provide a way to narrow the cultural gap between Burmese patients and their practitioners. Interpreters would also provide patients with basic factual information on topics ranging from how to use public transport to attend an appointment to waiting room protocol and even the American medical insurance system. Many of these subjects are alien to refugees from Burma and therefore are only likely to increase the communicative barriers that stand between them and accessing medical assistance.

The programme’s initial success on some floors of the charities’ Parkview Hospital has led to plans for its complete introduction across the entire building and the nearest other facility, Parkview North. In the future if the programme could be widened to include other languages across the entire USA then it could really improve the efficiency of the American medical system and the confidence it inspires within its non-English speaking patients.

A new study has shown that around 25% of British people think that being drunk is part of the British culture. The poll showed that more people thought that being drunk made you more British than having a hard working attitude towards life.
The survey that was carried out by Optimum Research UK collated results from over 2000 British people who were questioned as part of the study. Over 60% of the British people that took part in the culture study said that drinking tea was always a big part of British culture as well as the long joked about discussions about the weather.
Worryingly the culture study showed that the British people who took part in the survey were not entirely sure of the typical set of traits that would make up the typically British person and the same people were unsure as to the image that was portrayed to people abroad.
It is concerning that alcohol and getting drunk seem to appear high in the results of this culture study and it seems a shame that this might be the image that the British are putting over to people who live abroad. The British culture is such a rich one that has a wealth of history woven into it that it is a crying shame that we are depicted as drunk people when we go on our holiday abroad.
According to the study many of the people surveyed also did not know when St George’s day was which is also something of concern as this means that the British people are not entirely sure of their own culture or heritage.
Bring drunk is sadly one of the things that many British adults do on a regular basis and this is evident in the binge drink culture that is developing.

It has long been suspected that many British people are quite lazy when it comes to learning new languages. Our blasé attitude towards foreign language skills means that the British public are losing out on key jobs, work and business opportunities in Europe.
According to a recent report it seems that British workers are only getting 5% of work and business opportunities within the European Parliament as a result of not having the sufficient language skills to carry out the work. This is in spite of almost 12% of British people making up the European population.
The EU Parliament had its first British jobs fair on Monday 9th May in the hope that it would encourage more British people to learn foreign language skills and take on work and jobs in Europe. The EU Parliament has been expressing concern at the way British people are under-represented within the administrational centres of Europe. It was reported that if British people were to learn better foreign language skills then they would be able to work in jobs ranging from administration to policy makers in the European Parliament and Commission.
This latest move by the EU Parliament seems to prove that it is committed to including the British public in more European jobs. However, since the government made it possible to drop foreign language studies at GCSE level, the number of British students learning a foreign language has dropped considerably which in turn severely affects their chances of getting international jobs or becoming involved in international work and business opportunities.
Clearly, if the British people want to be able to compete in Europe within business and jobs then we have to start to lose our snobbery when it comes to English and learn a foreign language.

A futuristic looking search tool has been unveiled by online search engine Google. Google developers have designed the search tool to show how online searches are determined by the language that has been used by the user.
The results have been colour coded to show what is the most popular language used to search the internet by users all over the world. The results are really quite impressive; the 3D globe is very visually striking and is able to visually depict online search patterns by regions and language.
The search results are shown on a colourful 3D image that shows online language searches and so far it has proved that many search patterns come from Europe, America and other developed countries. The results are lit up on the globe in bright lights and 3D images which show very clearly which languages internet users use in order to make their online searches.
The interactive 3D globe was designed by Google in order to take advantage of new 3D tools and graphics on PCs and laptops and the unveiling of the tool shows just how far graphics have come.
Initial results that have explored the online search patterns and the language that internet users use, show that the those countries which have poor internet access and maybe not as much opportunity to use computers or even access to electricity are falling behind on internet usage.
Even though the 3D globe shows up some interesting and futuristic images it also highlights some concerns about international access to the internet.
In order to see the new tool that has been unveiled by Google you will need to have your internet browser enabled to receive fast 3D images and be using an online search engine such as Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome.