Globalization, Communication and the Workplace:Talking Across the World

The global developments in Information Technology Enabled Services have transformed customer service encounters which were until recently face-to-face. The major business areas of healthcare, insurance, banking and media are increasingly moving their customer processes to call centres, web-based interaction, and email. ITES is set for explosive growth over the next decade, alongside being increasingly outsourced to non-English speaking destinations. The need for good English language communication skills is becoming ever more acute.

This book looks closely at interactive communication in customer-facing services, featuring the voices of academics and those in industry. It aims to integrate the work of applied linguists, teachers, trainers and businesses. After an initial discussion on the value of research to applied training, the major issues of ITES communications are addressed with either an academic analysis being followed by a training example derived from it, or with an analysis of a workplace problem followed by a research-based solution proposal. Each section is introduced and summarized by the editors.

The volume strikes a balance between academic discussion of language description, needs, teaching and research and aspects of language that businesses and their trainers see as crucial. These theoretical and applied perspectives (on service encounters that are essentially dependent on the linguistic aspects of communication since other aspects such as gesture and eye contact are absent) open up other important avenues of research. This volume will appeal to a wide readership in both academic and business training and HR departments.

Gail Forey is Associate Professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong.

Jane Lockwood is Head of the Language Centre at the Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong.