UA Alum: Language Fluency, Cultural Awareness Provide Edge in Global Marketplace

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – German corporations have more than 2,500 subsidiaries and affiliations in the United States. More than 600,000 Americans are employed in these corporations, according to the University of Pennsylvania’s Lauder Institute. Advancement by employees in these companies, and many other global firms, often means traveling and working in international locations.

Germany’s presence in the United States is just one example of the internationalization business, and students with combined language and business degrees have a clear competitive edge in such a workforce if they speak German, said Dr. David James, lecturer and coordinator of Business German at the University of Pennsylvania. James, a University of Alabama alumnus, visited the UA campus recently to talk to students about “How They See Us: Cross-Cultural Competence in the Business World.”

Intercultural awareness and second language acquisition are necessary and fundamental for students of business, James said.

For instance, in July of 2006, Wal-Mart announced plans to sell its 85 stores in Germany to Metro AG and pull out of the German market, due in part to cultural differences. James said that German workers interpreted a caution against supervisor-employee relationships as a complete ban on romance in the workplace. And, when female clerks followed Wal-Mart’s guidelines to smile at customers, male shoppers took it as a sign of flirtation.

“As far as culture differences are concerned, I think that simply being aware that many culture differences exist in the first place, alongside many similarities, is vital,” James said. “I don’t think that any one difference is more important than another one. That is why I stress being an observer and listener when one is abroad for work or study, at least at the beginning of one’s stay.”

At a workshop for students, James presented a video that featured interviews with German business executives about various stereotypes that Germans hold regarding American business relationships with Germany. After the workshop, students discussed their viewpoints about the stereotypes presented and why building relationships is important for doing business abroad.

“Some of them are serious, some are funny, and some are interesting,” James said. “But there are negative consequences for not being familiar with other cultures.”

At a luncheon held for faculty, James discussed different models for how universities are integrating language and business courses in business, and other, curriculums. For instance, leading programs such as the Harvard Business School and the Thunderbird School of Global Management have mandatory language classes and study abroad requirements.

“I suggested starting a dual degree program between engineering and foreign language and also ways to revitalize the existing MA/MBA program between the College of Commerce and Business Administration and UA’s Department of Modern Languages and Classics,” James said.

Dr. Barbara Fischer, associate professor of German, and Dr. Thomas Fox, professor of German and chair of UA’s department of modern languages and classics, hosted James’ visit. His visit was funded by the College of Arts and Sciences, and the faculty luncheon was funded by the College of Commerce and Business Administration’s International Business Programs and the Alabama International Trade Center.

“Dr. James’ visit was an important step for new initiatives and for revitalizing our combined MA/MBA between the business school and the modern languages department,” Fischer said.

James, a Birmingham native, received his bachelor’s degree in German in 1992 and his master’s degree in German Literature in 1994, both from UA. He received his doctorate in Germanic Studies with an emphasis in sociolinguistics from the University of Texas at Austin in 2003 and has been teaching at the University of Pennsylvania, which has the oldest academic program in Germanic Studies in North America, since 2005.