6 ms·

I think it's hard to overstate the issues that stem from a workforce who cannot all speak the same language. In my experience it's an absolute showstopper for

I think it's hard to overstate the issues that stem from a workforce who cannot all speak the same language. In my experience it's an absolute showstopper for creating an effective organisation. Add language barriers to solving very hard technical problems and you're going to have slow progress. To be clear I am talking about just about language and not the cultural differences other comments are talking about.

osnium123 2y ago
I agree with you. Having said that, TSMC’s ramp in Japan has gone much more smoothly than in Arizona, which indicates that all the issues can’t be attributed to language barriers. There is a work ethic/culture delta as well.
- badcppdev 2y ago
  I accept your point but with the caveat that if there were issues would you expect to hear them aired publicly by a Japanese Taiwanese partnership?
VancouverMan 2y ago
This can easily become an economy-wide problem. Canada is an example of this, and it has certainly harmed the country's overall productivity. Language has long posed a challenge for organizations in Canada with operations and customers in both the English-speaking and the French-speaking regions of the country. These days, though, that has become a comparatively minor issue to deal with. Severely flawed immigration policies have very quickly brought in a huge number of people who don't know English well, and who also don't know French well, too. In effect, these people don't really fit in linguistically anywhere across the country. As this third group has gotten larger, especially over the last decade, unnecessary friction has been introduced into even the most basic of interactions, for pretty much all of the participants involved. In the major cities, for example, it's not uncommon to watch one customer after another with limited English and/or French skills have trouble interacting with a cashier who also has limited English and/or French skills. Native English and French speakers are left in a position of constantly being unsure if they were properly understood, too. Miscommunication, misunderstanding, and mistakes have become far more common than they were even as recently as the 1990s and early 2000s. Lots of time, money, effort, and resources are frequently wasted thanks to this. Canada's productivity has certainly taken an unnecessary hit due to language issues.

osnium123 2y ago

I agree with you. Having said that, TSMC’s ramp in Japan has gone much more smoothly than in Arizona, which indicates that all the issues can’t be attributed to language barriers. There is a work ethic/culture delta as well.

badcppdev 2y ago
I accept your point but with the caveat that if there were issues would you expect to hear them aired publicly by a Japanese Taiwanese partnership?

VancouverMan 2y ago

This can easily become an economy-wide problem. Canada is an example of this, and it has certainly harmed the country's overall productivity. Language has long posed a challenge for organizations in Canada with operations and customers in both the English-speaking and the French-speaking regions of the country. These days, though, that has become a comparatively minor issue to deal with. Severely flawed immigration policies have very quickly brought in a huge number of people who don't know English well, and who also don't know French well, too. In effect, these people don't really fit in linguistically anywhere across the country. As this third group has gotten larger, especially over the last decade, unnecessary friction has been introduced into even the most basic of interactions, for pretty much all of the participants involved. In the major cities, for example, it's not uncommon to watch one customer after another with limited English and/or French skills have trouble interacting with a cashier who also has limited English and/or French skills. Native English and French speakers are left in a position of constantly being unsure if they were properly understood, too. Miscommunication, misunderstanding, and mistakes have become far more common than they were even as recently as the 1990s and early 2000s. Lots of time, money, effort, and resources are frequently wasted thanks to this. Canada's productivity has certainly taken an unnecessary hit due to language issues.