Class Activity 5

The United Nations International Telecommunication Union estimates that 3.2 billion people use
the Internet. To put this into perspective, the world population is just over 7.2 billion. These figures
translate into nearly 45 percent! About 2 billion of those connections are in the developing world.
With all these people on the Internet, one of the challenges as it is in the physical realm is the many
different languages spoken by Internet users. In fact, there are nearly 800 languages spoken in
India alone! The top 10 languages used on the Internet are as seen in the graph.

The diversity of Internet users

creates challenges for the
increasing number of companies
expanding operations globally.
One of the challenges for
companies is to find a common
language to ensure effective
communication and shared
understanding across cultures.
Today’s workplace often
includes geographically
dispersed teams, creating a need
to overcome these
communication challenges.
When teams address conceptual
matters such as consumer
preferences, there is a significant
risk that team members will have
different interpretations of a
particular idea or concept. The
growing availability of translation software is making it easier to communicate across language
differences. For example, Skype now offers real-time translation services between seven of the
world’s most used languages for video discussions. Skype also provides translation of more than
fifty languages through their text chat service. However, cultural differences still create
communication concerns. As the number of Internet users continues to grow, so will challenges
for companies working with international employees as well as customers.

Q1. How can a manager improve communication between employees in different international
locations?