Communication: The Currency of Commerce

When I was preparing my section of the discussion for the graduate symposium, I came up with the line, "Communication is the currency of commerce," which suggests that there's a lot to be gained from effectively communicating with people with whom there was initially no felt need to do so. Based on this core thought, I am going to look at two broad themes for my research:
1. Is the English language versatile enough to reach out to even those individuals who cannot speak it? This extends beyond the concept of hybrid languages such as Spanglish (Spanish-English) or Hinglish (Hindi-English) and examines how individuals incorporate English words and phrases into their everyday communication. What motivates them to do this, and how does the language facilitate this process?
2. Using plurilingualism as a tool for promoting diversity: There is considerable evidence that language proficiency in corporations—or the lack thereof—broadly impacts operations and results. The impact of the language barrier cannot be evaluated using simple measures such as dollars spent on interpreters or days lost in translating documents. Instead the true cost needs to be seen in terms of the way it distorts and damages relationships. These in turn impose pressures and constraints on the strategies pursued by the company. The key areas that may be negatively affected by such issues are buyer/seller relationships, foreign market expansion, joint ventures, and staffing policies.

In short, I am going to examine how divergence can in turn lead to convergence, and determine the best possible ways to facilitate the process of inclusion within the organizational context.