Table of Contents

Introduction 1 1 The Lingua Franca Mandate: "Englishnization" 13 2 Leading the Lingua Franca Mandate 27 3 Linguistic Expats and Bounded Fluency: "I am an expat in my own country" 42 4 Cultural Expats and the Trojan Horse of Language: "It's their culture wrapped in our language" 58 5 Dual Expats' Global Work Orientation: "Been there, done that, know that!" 82 6 Five Years Post-Mandate 110 7 Lessons for Top Leaders, Managers, and Employees 129 8 Conclusion 138 Acknowledgments 143 Appendix A Research Design, Methodology Details, and Sample 147 Appendix B Quantitative Analysis of CEO Leadership and Employee Confidence 165 Notes 173 Index 185

About the Author

Tsedal Neeley is an associate professor in the Organizational Behavior Unit at Harvard Business School.

Reviews

"Winner of the 2018 Bronze Medal in International Business / Globalization, Axiom Business Book Awards"

"An interesting read. . . . One of her most intriguing findings has to do with the effect of the English mandate on Rakuten's corporate culture."
*Wall Street Journal*

"Neeley . . . tackles her study of ‘Englishnization' with scholarly rigor and journalistic zeal. . . . [The Language of Global Success] skillfully demonstrates that major corporate initiatives must be championed by top leadership and provide meaningful support and training for employees."
*Publishers Weekly*

"This analysis offers sharp insights for any multinational thinking about adopting a 'lingua franca'."---Matthew Reisz, Times Higher Education

"She weaves her observations of Rakuten into a larger story about language education in Japan, which is a crucial part of the 'Abenomics' agenda of the country's prime minister, Shinzo Abe. The result is an interesting and informative book full of practical lessons for any internationally ambitious organization."
*Foreign Affairs*

"The Language of Global Success is more than a study in organizational communication. It also is a study in change management."
*Strategy + Business*