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Foreign Languages and Cross‐Cultural Knowledge: A Survey of Their Importance as Perceived by Human Resources Departments of Ohio's International Businesses
Author(s) -
D'Agruma Giannina,
Hardy James T.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
foreign language annals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.258
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1944-9720
pISSN - 0015-718X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1944-9720.1997.tb01315.x
Subject(s) - fluency , foreign language , competitor analysis , productivity , public relations , business , human resources , marketing , cultural diversity , internationalization , cultural competence , psychology , political science , pedagogy , economic growth , management , mathematics education , economics , international trade , law
Leaders in many professions now realize that fluency in a foreign language and understanding the thinking and behavior of customers and competitors are essential in their fields if the United States is to participate effectively in this global community. The intent of this study was to investigate the degree of importance that Human Resources Departments of Ohio's international businesses place on foreign languages and cross‐cultural understanding when they select candidates for their divisions, on foreign languages and cross‐cultural training for employees once they are hired, and on cooperation with colleges and universities to provide the training. The results indicate that a slight minority of the 170 responding companies consider it important to hire employees with foreign languages and cross‐cultural knowledge; several added that they would consider it most important if the hiring was done for international assignments. Even though a slight minority of companies with expatriates (the term used in business for employees working overseas) do not offer foreign languages and cross cultural training, almost all agree that such training increases productivity among expatriates and generates greater success with the assignment. Companies make little use of colleges and/or universities to train/educate employees and for translation and interpreting; however, if colleges and/or universities were to offer short‐term courses for employees who travel or are transferred overseas, many companies would be interested in enrolling their employees.