Proficiency in various languages will help young executives converse with global clients

Jamshedpur, May 7: Large companies have learnt that being fluent in a foreign language helps when it comes to doing business abroad.

Mergers, acquisitions and tie-ups with firms in other countries have changed the way Indians do business, with firms realising that being fluent in a foreign language may translate into more business.

?We may be more comfortable with English in India, but it isn?t of much use in some parts of the world. It therefore becomes essential for our executives to be well-versed in the local language if they want to invest in these parts,? said Madhukar Shukla, a senior faculty member at XLRI.

Avinash Prasad, vice-president, human resources and industrial relations, at Tata Steel agreed. ?If we want to get global clients, we need to learn their language,? he said. The company runs a full-fledged course in Mandarin at their language laboratories in Tata Management Development Centre.

A course in Spanish is to follow. ?We?re looking at Latin America as a potential market,? said Prasad, who is a believer of the ?go global, think local? philosophy.

Some companies have taken language training a step further. Sumant Sinha is the divisional manager industrial relations, Tata Motors, and has recently returned from a trip to Korea. He was part of a three-and-a-half-day crash course in cross-cultural management that the company runs for executives leaving for assignments abroad.

?The stress is on global business managers who can take on challenges from across the world,? said Sinha, who also enrolled in a six-month course in Korean.

Foreign tie-ups have made it necessary for Telcon executives to learn Japanese.

?Our company is in a major tie-up with Japan-based Hitachi and our executives regularly go to Japan to gain an insight into the technology,? said Peter Bonnerjee, head of corporate communications.

Cashing in on the spurt in language classes is city-based Arena Multi Lingua, a language training institute. The institute is publishing handbooks, which according to its director Ashok Ghosh, will have an emphasis on communicating.