A Multilingual Internet
As both European and Asian markets use the Internet more and more to conduct business, there will be an increasing need for language choices for the different markets.
English is so often used on the Internet that it might make you think that everyone in the world speaks English, or at least give you the impression that it is the world’s most widely-spoken language. If this were true, it would, of course, bring benefits for worldwide communication and understanding, though that it could also possibly become a threat to cultural diversity. English certainly seems to be everywhere, from films to pop music and TV, and from business to science and other fields.
Information varies, but suggests that about 75% of the pages on the Web are in English. Yet English is the mother tongue for only 5.4% of the world’s population, while further 7% of the world’s population are proficient speakers of English. This means that only around 12% of the world’s population can communicate well in English. This figure is nowhere near the total number of people speaking Chinese languages, which, at 20.7%, is much higher.
More and more people are accessing the Internet nowadays, including many companies wanting to conduct e-business. As a consequence, the position of English is beginning to change. Both Europe and Asia are growth areas, with businesses increasing their use of the Internet and people would apparently rather buy things online if they can order in their own language.
It has been predicted that by 2003 only one third of Internet users will be speakers of English. As a result, companies wanting to reach world markets are beginning to realize that they will have to translate their websites for the various customers.
However, creating a multilingual website is not an easy task. Companies wishing to translate their sites for different markets basically face both technical and linguistic problems. They are unable to use automated translation systems, which already exist in the market, simply because the quality is not good enough for professional use. Businesses all over the world are now faced with this huge challenge.
Moreover, translating websites is only the beginning. Customers with questions or problems will need to discuss matters in their own language, for example, while prices will need to be in the local currency. Dates will also need to be in the right format to avoid confusion. Companies will need to adapt their advertising materials so as not to offend different cultures. They may also have to change their way of doing business to suit certain customers-in Japan, for example, as the Japanese do not tend to give their credit card details over the Web. There are also legal issues to take into consideration.
Such vast changes will not happen overnight. It is impossible to say exactly how many texts there are on the Web as the number is changing all the time. One thing which is certain, however, is that a growth in the use of Internet is guaranteed. Companies doing e-business simply need time to translate their sites into the various languages necessary to do business. Meanwhile, more and more material in different languages is being added to the Web at a fast pace.
While all this is happening, local companies, with few employees, doing e-business only in the language of their target market and who are aware of the cultural aspects of that market, will certainly be at an advantage. The problems of language and culture could well limit larger companies from expanding and so offer more opportunities to smaller businesses in poorer areas of the world.
Virginia Evans, Linda Edwards, Upstream Advanced
Unit VII. Text A
Doing the business
Roisin Ingle hears how efficient management structures are vital for success
The need for a solid structure within all business entities is ‘absolutely fundamental’, according to Ms Angela Tripoli, a lecturer in Business Administration at University College Dublin. ‘Organisational structure concerns who reports to whom in the company and how different elements are grouped together. A new company cannot go forward without this and established companies must ensure their structure reflects their target markets, goals and available technology.’
Depending on their size and needs there are several organisational structures companies can choose from. Increasingly though, in the constantly evolving business environment, ‘many firms are opting for a kind of hybrid of all of them’.The most recognizable set up is called the functional structure where a fairly traditional chain of command (incorporating senior management, middle management and junior management) is put in place. The main benefit of this system is clear lines of communication from top to bottom but it is generally accepted that it can also be a bureaucratic set up which does not favour speedy decision-making.
More and more companies are organizing themselves along product lines where companies have separate divisions according to the product that is being worked on. ‘In this case the focus is always on the product and how it can be improved.’The importance for multinational companies of a good geographic structure, said Ms Tripoli, could be seen when one electrical products manufacturer produced an innovative rice cooker which made perfect rice - according to western standards. When they tried to sell it on the Asian market the product flopped because there were no country managers informing them of the changes that would need to be made in order to satisfy this more demanding market.
The matrix structure first evolved during a project developed by NASA when they needed to pool together different skills from a variety of functional areas. Essentially the matrix structure organizes a business into project teams; led by project leaders, to carry out certain objectives Training is vitally important here in order to avoid conflict between the various members of the teams.During the 1980s a wave of restructuring went through industry around the globe. This process, known as delayering, saw a change in the traditional hierarchical structures with layers of middle management being removed. This development was driven by new technology and by the need to reduce costs. The overall result was organizations that were less bureaucratic.
The delayering process has run its course now. Among the trends that currently influence how a
company organizes itself is the move towards centralization and outsourcing. Restructuring has
evolved along with a more ‘customer centric’ approach that can be seen to good effect in the banks. They now categorize their customers and their complex borrowing needs into groups instead of along rigid product lines.
Another development can be seen in larger companies, which are giving their employees more freedom to innovate in order to maintain a competitive edge. Ms Julia MacLauchlan, Director of Microsoft’s European Product Development Centre in Dublin, said the leading software company had a very flat organizational structure. ‘There would not be more than around seven levels no between the average software tester and Bill Gates,’ she said.
Microsoft is a good example of a company that is structured along product lines. In Ireland, where 1,000 employees work on localization of the software for all Microsoft’s markets, the company is split up into seven business units. Each unit controls the localization of their specific products while working closely with the designers in Microsoft’s Seattle Headquarters. It works, said Ms MacLauchlan, because everyone who works in the unit is ‘incredibly empowered’. ‘Without a huge bureaucratic infrastructure people can react a lot more quickly to any challenges and work towards the company’s objectives.’
Profile Intermediate, Oxford Business English
Unit VIII. Text A