International managers as translators Online publication date: Wed, 27-Jan-2010
by Susanne Tietze
European J. of International Management (EJIM), Vol. 4, No. 1/2, 2010
Abstract: This paper draws attention to the role of the English language in creating an increasingly interconnected and globalised world. The argument of the paper is developed by contemplating the use of language and discourse by those agents who are deeply involved and implicated in the making of such global realities, viz. international managers. Such contemplation follows the trajectory provided by the Biblical story of the Tower of Babel. Within its narrative logic three discursively based, yet different, conceptualisations of international management (engineer, cultural negotiator, translator) are offered and aligned to three linguistic traditions (determinism, relativity, translation studies) and three understandings of globalisation (convergence, cultural difference, complexity). In concluding, it is advised that future research might concern itself with the nexus of ties between language systems and discourses and how they inform the making of organisational worlds.
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the European J. of International Management (EJIM):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:
Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.
If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com