- 29 Aug 2017
- Book
Using Language to Build a Global Company
In her new book The Language of Global Success, Tsedal Neeley describes Japanese tech giant Rakuten's five-year effort to adopt English as its lingua franca of business. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 27 Jun 2017
- First Look
First Look at New Research and Ideas, June 27
Building Hyperloop One ... Leading Coca-Cola in Turkey ... Improving profit in the mobile-money market.
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- 07 Jul 2016
- Cold Call Podcast
How to Fix a Broken Global Team
On a Cold Call podcast, professor Tsedal Neeley discusses her recent case study about a manager charged with corralling a hugely diverse, underperforming group and leading it back to success on a global scale. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 10 Feb 2016
- Sharpening Your Skills
Sharpening Your Skills: New Insights into Career Development
When is a job promotion a bad thing? Does networking leave an oily substance on your clothing? From our archives we look at career change in the twenty-first century, where researchers are offering fresh insights into our dynamic workplaces.
- 27 Jul 2015
- Research & Ideas
The ‘Promotion’ That Makes You Feel Bad
Receiving an unexpected professional status bump doesn't always feel good, especially if it wasn't really earned. Companies need to be aware of potential problems with unearned status gain, and be ready with solutions, says Tsedal Neeley. Open for comment; 2 Comment(s) posted.
- 06 Oct 2014
- Research & Ideas
Why Businesses Need a Language Strategy
Organizations that effectively marry language strategy with their global talent management process gain a leg up on the competition, say Tsedal Neeley and Robert Steven Kaplan. Closed for comment; 3 Comment(s) posted.
- 20 Jan 2014
- Research & Ideas
Language Wars Divide Global Companies
An increasing number of global firms adopt a primary language for business operations—usually English. The problem: The practice can surface dormant hostilities around culture and geography, reports Tsedal Neeley. Closed for comment; 19 Comment(s) posted.
- 19 Mar 2012
- HBS Case
HBS Cases: Overcoming the Stress of ‘Englishnization’
CEOs of global companies increasingly mandate that their employees learn English. The problem: these workers can experience a loss of status and believe they aren't as effective in their learned language, says Assistant Professor Tsedal Neeley. Closed for comment; 18 Comment(s) posted.
- 18 Apr 2011
- Research & Ideas
It’s Not Nagging: Why Persistent, Redundant Communication Works
Managers who inundate their teams with the same messages, over and over, via multiple media, need not feel bad about their persistence. In fact, this redundant communication works to get projects completed quickly, according to new research by Harvard Business School professor Tsedal B. Neeley and Northwestern University's Paul M. Leonardi and Elizabeth M. Gerber. Closed for comment; 65 Comment(s) posted.
- 12 Nov 2009
- Working Paper Summaries
Walking Through Jelly: Language Proficiency, Emotions, and Disrupted Collaboration in Global Work
As organizations increasingly globalize, individuals are required to collaborate with coworkers across international borders. Many organizations are mandating English as the lingua franca, or common language, regardless of the location of their headquarters, to facilitate collaboration across national and linguistic boundaries. What is the emotional impact of lingua franca adoption on native and nonnative speakers who work closely together and often across national boundaries? This study examines the communication experience for native and nonnative English speakers in an organization that mandates English as the lingua franca for everyday use, and the impact of the lingua franca on collaboration among globally distributed coworkers. HBS professor Tsedal Neeley and coauthors describe in detail how emotions and actions were intertwined and evolved recursively as coworkers attempted to release themselves from unwanted negative emotions and inadvertently acted in ways that transferred negative experiences to their distant coworkers. Their findings have implications for managers who are charged with overseeing internationally distributed projects. Key concepts include: Disparities in English language proficiency were a major challenge for workers in the study. These disparities not only disrupted information sharing, they often triggered a cycle of negative emotional responses that interfered with collaborative relationships on the teams. It is important that workers engage in perspective taking with the goal of understanding the experiences and constraints of their colleagues. Building awareness of the experiences of coworkers with different language backgrounds and proficiencies and empathizing with those experiences can circumvent the negative cycle. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 29 Jul 2009
- Working Paper Summaries
Firsthand Experience and the Subsequent Role of Reflected Knowledge in Cultivating Trust in Global Collaboration
How can workers better collaborate across vast geographical distances? Distributed collaboration—in which employees work with, and meaningfully depend on, distant colleagues on a day-to-day basis—allows firms to leverage their intellectual capital, enhance work unit performance, face ever-changing customer demands more fluidly, and gain competitive advantage in a dynamic marketplace. Research over the last decade, however, has provided mounting evidence that while global collaboration is a necessary strategic choice for an ever-increasing number of organizations, socio-demographic, contextual, and temporal barriers engender many interpersonal challenges for distant coworkers and are likely to adversely affect trust between and among workers across sites. In this paper that examines employee relations at a multinational organization, HBS professor Tsedal Beyene and MIT Sloan School of Management professor Mark Mortensen find that firsthand experience in global collaborations is a crucial means of engendering trust from shared knowledge among coworkers. Their findings reinforce the important role of others' perceptions in our own self-definition, and suggest a means of addressing some of the problems that arise in cross-cultural global collaborations. Key concepts include: As organizations increasingly move toward more global designs, with greater intersite communication and mobility, a more highly socialized view of global collaborations is required. Direct knowledge entails knowledge about physical space and facilities, cultural traits of coworkers, work processes, people, and relationships. Reflected knowledge enables people to view how their home office is both presented to and perceived by others. In global collaboration there is the distinct and important role played by reflected knowledge as opposed to direct knowledge. Both types impact trust. While direct knowledge may help to identify barriers to collaboration, there is no guarantee that any particular person can ameliorate them. In contrast, reflected knowledge provides feedback about our own context and related factors that are more likely to lie within our control. While technology may be designed to mirror the other's view, it cannot provide the full breadth of reflected information typically gained while on-site. Managers would be wise to provide for subsequent reciprocal visits to ensure that the hosts of any first meeting gain firsthand experience of their collaborators' sites. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
Language and Globalization: The Mandate to Speak English at Rakuten
Japan’s largest online retailer, Rakuten, is rapidly expanding into global markets and requiring all employees, where ever they are located, to conduct business in English. Tsedal Neeley discusses the strong connection between language and globalization. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.