Article Review Example. Communication: Global Business Speaks English

In the article, global business speak English, Neely focuses on analyzing the importance of English language knowledge for business in the near future. The author uses various relevant examples to communicate his major idea throughout the article. For instance, China, whose official national language is Mandarin is depicted as one of the world's fastest-growing economy but mandarine is not the preferred language of business. English has dominated the business conversation globally (Neeley, 2012).

In a step to strengthen its dominance further, the article clearly depicts English moving from a marker of the elite' as in the past, to a basic skill needed for the entire workforce'. In business, the ability to speak more than one or two languages is essential in transacting and dominating the global market. According to the article, the most preferred second language currently is English, in cases where it is not the first. Thus, most of the big companies that operate and serve clients globally have made English as their official language. Efficiency in service delivery within a company is an essential aspect, and using the simplest and most common language facilitates efficient service delivery to diverse clients.

An essential necessity in the globalized world is adopting a common language. English has proven to be the world's most common language. One of the basic indispensable requirements for one to serve in a big multinational in a significant position is the ability to communicate effectively in English. The advancements in technology have made the world a global village where countries and international organizations can easily organize conferences and meetings to discuss various issues. The ability to communicate in English enables one to understand and easily communicate in such international meetings.

According to the article, one can deduce that English is the lingua franca of the majority of international companies. It is estimated that more than two billion people use English in communicating on a regular basis. In addition, in the business world, the most precious asset is the customer. Most the customers consume the brands they are aware of or goods and service branded in a language they can understand. This implies, a company whose English is the lingua franca has the potential of offering service to more than 2billion people worldwide. Thus adopting English as a lingua franca can propel the business to huge success. In my opinion, even in the social world, one is required to have basic knowledge of English to survive and connect with diverse persons.

However, it is important to note that adopting a global is capped with a lot of challenges. Thus, the article presents some parts of the world where English is not popular. In such parts, most of this big multinational companies face problems such as resistance from employees and the need to brand their products and services in a language understood by the natives. Working in such big companies would also affect the confidence of some of their staff as they may feel inferior for not being able to communicate fluently in English. Most multinational corporations offer private English classes for their employees to curb the number of disadvantages associated with the inability to communicate English. From the perspective of the social aspect, English is essential in facilitating interactions between persons of different origins, which is diversity promotion. And diversity facilitates learning and sharing from each other in a manner that promotes collaboration and cooperation in creating sustainable solutions to common problems: making the world better and more fulfilling to live in. thus, in my opinion: English has played a key role in making the world great and more interesting.

References

Neeley, T. (2012). Global business speaks English: Why you need a language strategy now.