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English in the Workplace

Introduction

The 21st century has witnessed acute transformations as far as cultural and multilingual diversity in health care is concerned. The association between medical practitioners and clients is calling for a unitary language. Therefore, policy makers are looking into the issue to ascertain the best course of action to be undertaken. Linguistic competence has emerged as a pivotal factor that needs to be aligned well to an organizational culture without compromising the performance of employees and their relationship with clients. This paper seeks to dissect issues concerning the use of only English in the workplace. In addition, it seeks to provide a sound proposal and conclusion on the subject matter based on analysis.

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Rationale for and against the policy

Communication is an important aspect in the contemporary business word. Its ability to connect individuals has enabled humanity progress through innovations and inventions. Major strides made in the technology sector together with science breakthroughs are some of the good examples behind the unity of language.

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The discussion surrounding the use of a single language in an industry is dynamic. Both the proponents and opponents of the policy are standing their grounds. However, the differing sides have valid grounds that anchor their decisions. Here is a look at their arguments, for and against:

Rationale for

Communication plays a significant role in day-to-day operations of a business enterprise. In addition, communication plays an integral role during this age of globalization and liberalization (Waheed, 2003). The adoption of English as a sole language to be used in the healthcare system is a mile step. First, the use of a common language fast tracks service delivery. This is because the units responsible for the coordination of functions in a healthcare system are in the same lingual page with their juniors. Secondly, English plays an integral role in the personal development of firm managers and other professional employees. Moreover, the use of a common language to guide the daily operations in a firm curbs distortions that may result in miscommunication. Communication barriers and subsequent miscommunication between company stakeholders affect companies negatively.

Rationale Against

It is eluded that English is the only language thriving in global business. The assertion is falsified as other languages are equally spread all over the world. Globalization is evidence that not only English-speaking nations are conquering the world; their counterparts from the Middle East are making remarkable strides. Advocating for the use of a single language i.e. English in the modern society is detrimental to business units. Forcing the use of English in a multilingual organization is bound to create communication barriers and subsequent word distortions to colleagues (Leblanc & Kolar, 2007).

Benefits of cultural and linguistic inclusion

Culture and firm linguistic are of paramount importance to an organization. In the everchanging business world, the presence of the duo offers a sense of belonging to not only the employees but also the stakeholder. A common language and culture is a source of pride. In addition, it helps stakeholders stay on course as far as firm objectives and goals are concerned. English being a major language used in the world gives it a lingual advantage over the other languages. Companies’ sole aim is to increase their profitability and enhance their growth in the global sphere. One way of staying ahead of competitors is in the adoption of a common culture and language, one that unifies the firm employees. In today’s corporate world, most meetings conducted in both local and global sphere use English as a primary language. From the aforementioned, it is apparent that firms cannot remain adamant to the need to adopt a common language (Finnerty, 2002).

Drawbacks of cultural and linguistic inclusion

Individuals do not need to have a good command of a foreign language for them to be effective. Although unitary of firm culture and language are important, it can dent the image and operations of a firm in the long run. For example, given a firm is spreading its wings all over the globe, it is bound to meet different cultures and language. Rigidity in changing firm culture is detrimental to the performance of a firm in such areas. This is because most countries and employees value primary culture and language and any move to alienate them may lead to rebellion.

Being part of an all-inclusive organization

An organization needs to provide a good environment for interaction between all stakeholders of the company. Employees are the pillars to firms’ success in terms of profitability and subsequent growth. Therefore, it is prudent for them to feel appreciated and taken care of by firms’ managements. To nurture a cordial relationship, employees need to be included in the decision making process. Thus, their thoughts are sought before the formulation and subsequent implementation of a policy. Another important aspect of developing and all-inclusive firm is by encouraging multilingual. Here, employees are allowed to use primary language, English and their primary language in operations. Companies that have realized the importance of incorporating employees in their decision making process have stayed ahead of their competitors

(Mullins, 2010)

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