Linguistic Assets

As an American firm founded in San Francisco, the Gensler working language is English, though it was never officially declared as the “corporate language.” With 30

offices in North America (29 in the United States, 1 in Toronto, Canada), the firm operates chiefly in American English. London, the hub office for the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) region is also a native English speaking location. The company intranet is in English, and most of the firm’s external communication channels, such as the official website, blog, and LinkedIn page are English-only. All internal communication between headquarters and subsidiaries, written or spoken, is

conducted in English. Working level English fluency is a basic requirement and an inherent part of the company’s human resource strategy. This can be referred to as

logical ethnocentrism, which in some cases can lead to some neglect to host country culture, language and practice (Anne Wil Harzing & Pudelko, 2013). Also, a shared second language does not always lead to clear communication, since cultural values can affect communication styles and prevent

Gensler Shanghai also has many expatriate directors, most of whom have little to no fluency in Mandarin. When a project lead is brought to a studio, the project

information needs to be translated into English for the directors to evaluate whether or

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not to bid. There are also international designers working within the studios, in various functions and levels. These international designers need to collaborate with their local colleagues on projects and work with local design institutes to understand local building codes, project requirements, and client feedback. But all this translation work is rarely documented.

The collaborative and flat nature of Gensler demands effective communication.

Employees depend on their network across offices and divisions to facilitate their work and share information across borders and time zones. Developing well-rounded policies and support systems will ensure that the organization remains effectively collaborative in practice. Language training and selective recruitment of linguistically capable staff can also be beneficial, but a thorough language audit (Reeves & Wright, 1996) would help the firm acquire a thorough understanding of its existing linguistic

resources and translation demands. Ideally, language will eventually be considered an inherent part of the firm’s overall strategy, and not just translating everything like an

afterthought (Marschan-Piekkari et al., 1999b).

Table 4. Native Language

Native Language Percent Count

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Mandarin Chinese 68.8% 53

English 24.7% 19

Cantonese 2.6% 2

German 1.3% 1

Korean 1.3% 1

Vietnamese 1.3% 1

Total 77

Regional and international collaboration and knowledge sharing are highly dependent on effective and efficient communication, and most staff members speak English at working level fluency or above. The Gensler Shanghai office operates in both English and Mandarin Chinese. All staff meetings are conducted in English, with sprinklings of Chinese, but public office announcements are bilingual. All human resources, legal, and financial documents are bilingual. Shanghainese, the local dialect in Shanghai, can be heard in studio meetings and pantry conversations. Externally, the choice of language may vary depending on the client, communication with local consultants, vendors, and local design institutes is generally carried out in Mandarin Chinese. The firm provides a lot of resources for its subsidiaries, such as stock responses to RFPs (requests for proposals), standard Non-Disclosure Agreements,

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research data, and marketing materials such as case stories and other project metrics.

But these resources are usually produced in English only, and must be localized

Table 5. English Fluency

How would you rate your English fluency?

Percent Count

No proficiency - limited to a few words 0.0% 0 Elementary proficiency – basic

greetings and taxi Chinese

3.9% 3

Limited working proficiency – basic social conversations, carry on non-technical conversations

27.3% 21

Professional working proficiency – can conduct business and discuss technical, professional topics with ease

41.6% 32

Native or bilingual proficiency 27.3% 21

Total 77

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Only 3 designers claimed “elementary proficiency” in English, with zero respondents claiming “no proficiency,” which was the anticipated result, since

employees are not likely to self-report having no fluency in English, the company’s de facto corporate language. All in all, 68.9% of the office speak professional to native level English. 32 out of the 77 surveyed (41.6%) reported professional working proficiency in English, and with 19 native English speakers, 21 reported native to bilingual level fluency in English (see Table 5).

Table 6. Mandarin Fluency

How would you rate your Mandarin Chinese fluency?

Percent Count

No proficiency - limited to a few words 2.6% 2 Elementary proficiency – basic

greetings and taxi Chinese

10.4% 8

Limited working proficiency – basic social conversations, carry on non-technical conversations

11.7% 9

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Professional working proficiency – can conduct business and discuss technical, professional topics with ease

6.5% 5

Native or bilingual proficiency 68.8% 53

Total 77

Reversely, only 5 non-native Mandarin speakers rated themselves as having professional working fluency in Mandarin (8 at elementary; 9 at limited working proficiency, see Table 6), but 91% of the office has at least elementary proficiency in

Mandarin, indicating that while few have mastered the local language, everyone has made an effort to communicate with their local team members. Only 2 reported “no proficiency” in Mandarin, and both of these are designers, these along with the 3

designer respondents with elementary English proficiency suggest that architects and designers can perform their work effectively, even if they were only proficient in one of the two working languages in the office.

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