It's not what you say, but how you say it

The ranks of upper and middle managers of multinational business firms include more and more people whose native language is not that of their corporate home country. Two factors are largely responsible for this trend and its continuation: the desire of a growing number of companies to hire the best management talent available, irrespective of the potential candidates' nationality; and the pressure exerted by host countries to have an ever‐increasing number of their own nationals involved in decison‐making processes, even in expatriate companies. These influences have wide‐ranging implications, for they directly affect the communication processes and practices of multi‐nationals.