02102010. Just today at exactly 13:39:36 which is also exactly 18:39:36 at home, I posted a comment in our company blog where the blogger was soliciting opinions and ideas as to the importance of having the latest technology for communication to achieve full globalization. It was my first time to have read such blog so I thought I would share my ideas as well to the post. As some readers expressed their views and preferences on having the latest communication gadgets and software relative to the goal of bridging all employees together around the globe, I had a different and practical opinion about the topic!
Being a gadget freak myself and a technology geek, I agree with them that having the latest equipments and software would offer added ease and convenience in achieving globalization but it does not mean that efficiency and effectiveness is achieve when one gets to upgrade from old models to newer ones. I know deep in my heart that I also would like to have the latest technology because I want to be up-to-date but at some point, I also would like to impart to others that communication should not be reliant to technology.
Thus, here is what I have written as a comment in that blog article. I have modified a little of it to make it more general but the idea remains the same. Please kindly read on.
“I believe that an effective communication in a corporate aspect should exhibit independence to tools and technology. Communication uses technology as one of the hundreds of channels available to man but this does not always warrant efficiency and effectiveness. Communication is made effective in a globalization effort when people talk, listen, share opinions and reach out regardless of channels. Communication has to be free.
Although emails, telephones, mobile phones and other online collaboration tools such as MS SharePoint, Google Wave and QuickPlace are so important these days that one cannot imagine working without them, I think that even the old fashion way of communication would still work best at this very high-tech era. A simple call is always effective than a chat because of its personal touch. As for having the latest email software, I still get to receive emails every day from my boss and perhaps you do as well using the old email client. Thus, the issue perhaps why we often would want to upgrade is convenience and man’s desire to be up-to-date always! Right?
Globalization is beyond the application of technology and the integration of various business processes into one. Globalization is not just a change in infrastructure with every employee having a new set of equipments like laptops and software. Globalization is being able to bridge the gap between locations and nationalities to unite multiple business processes and corporate practices into one common global standard where location is deemed irrelevant in one’s work and language becomes one. Globalization is an initiative to create a single global identity through uniformity yet retaining each entity’s identity.
The right tools for Globalization is not almost always reliant on the latest technology but on the approach and the effective utilization of current channels. Regardless if we use a slow Lotus Notes or we have fast Microsoft Exchange technology or other faster cloud computing technologies, if we do not exert effort to reach out to our colleagues in other parts of the world or perhaps start cooperating in the initiative to make a unified corporate environment, then all else is futile. The bottom-line is, we need not to fix or change something that is working fine same as the saying that "IF IT AIN’T BROKE, DON’T FIX or CHANGE IT!” Besides, communication needs not to be expensive for it to be effective and efficient!
So for me, we just need to make do with what we have. Master the use of whatever tools we have now and put value on the investment made. Some companies in Asia are more primitive in terms of technology investment yet they are global and successful in their own industries. You see, even people who uses old mobile phones do have higher level of communication efficiency than those who owns Blackberry and iPhones these days. Why? Old phones don’t have internet and chat so people get to talk more and stay focused. With phones having less features and components, you get longer battery life. Thus, you can communicate longer.
To end, the latest technology may be good for convenience and for aesthetics but it does not always warrant 100% efficiency and effectiveness which is a recipe for globalization. Just my two cents!
That’s all folks! So what do you think? Do we need to invest more on having the latest technology to achieve globalization? I wonder. Anyway, I got myself a new iPhone and a new laptop this year so I should agree with the others in their wish to have the latest technology. Hehehe. What an irony! Cheers!
This is a very interesting post! Thank you very much for that! But there’s one key message I emphasized for myself that kind of sounds more utopia to me than reality. “Globalization is being able to bridge the gap between locations and nationalities to unite multiple business processes and corporate practices into one common global standard where location is deemed irrelevant in one’s work and language becomes one.”
While I do agree that globalization has already created global standard, I don’t agree that locations, cultures or different languages are irrelevant at all when doing business in the world. And, I don’t agree that there’s one common language that is continuously being used without sacrificing understanding and communication at all.
I just came back from Japan a couple of days ago, and I have completely changed my view on the intricate relationships between globaliztion, language and the fate of business outside North America. If you have a company which you would like to introduce to Japan or China one day, you will simply be unable to achieve effective communication without mastering the local language and culture.
By: prlight on March 15, 2010
at 8:10 PM
I agree with you.
When I mentioned that location soon will become irrelevant, I was actually referring to the fact that regardless of where you are, you can always function as if you arere where your colleagues or counterparts are. With a global standard, an employee who works in Japan can be assigned in Germany and start working with minimal or no adjustments because he has the same business processes to work with.
If we put technology to push globalization at work, we would soon be in an era where the mother company can pool all its subsidiaries and global sites into a single corporate location through a virtual organization courtesy of IT! Thus, with the summation of culture, tongues and practices, we can form a standard.
Language is not just about the dialect or set of words we speak. I have used language on the context that it is a standard set of communication protocols where a Japanese can do business with a German at ease because of a global standardized business processes and practices.
Normally, it is a must that there should be a common language both known to parties that is to be adopted when doing business but for me what is more important is that we have a common understanding on how we operate things and on how we see things given all the differences that we have from color to time zone.
I do believe as well in your statement that it is quite hard to make use of English if you are in Japan or even in some countries in Europe where their language merits primacy over English. Globalization is beyond language. As I have mentioned, we are not dictating, we are creating a global business convention.
Nonetheless, it is the prerogative of a company to put a common language at work just for business use but what matters most now is whether we have the Japanese tongue or the German tongue, we should atleast have standard business processes and business solutions to align us into the same path.
That is the ultimate goal of globalization which is to put a framework for people to have a better way of doing business and to bridge the gap caused by the divide in location, tongue and culture in a business perspective. Anyway, I truly appreciate your ideas. Thank you for sharing them with me!
By: Ryan Ericson Canlas on March 16, 2010
at 4:01 AM