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The relevance of linguistic diversity policies to actual language practices on the work floor: A case study in Rabobank

by Melike Meder-Kara

A Master thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Management of Cultural Diversity at Tilburg University, School of Humanities

August 15, 2017

Background Information

Details of the Student: Name: Melike Meder-Kara ANR: 594940 Telephone: Email:

Name of the Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Kutlay Yagmur Prof. Dr. Herman L. Beck

Title of the Master Thesis Circle: Investigating language policy of commercial organizations

Title of the Thesis: The relevance of linguistic diversity policies to actual language practices on work floor: A case study in Rabobank Group

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Acknowledgements First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude for my first supervisor, Kutlay Yagmur, who used every means available in order to help me in realizing this research project. Thanks to his valuable inputs and clear guidance along the way, I am now able to celebrate an important milestone of my life. I also would like to thank my second supervisor Herman L. Beck who played an important role in shaping my thesis. Furthermore, I would like to thank Ugur Pekdemir and Roeli Pot for their cooperation and Rabobank for accepting to host my research. Lastly, I would like to thank my husband, Baris, and my family and friends who always encourage me in my endeavours.

I wish you an inspiring reading.

Melike Meder-Kara

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Table of Contents Abstract...................................................................................................................................... 5 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 6 1.1. Overview ......................................................................................................................... 6 1.2. Rationale ......................................................................................................................... 6 2. Theoretical Background ........................................................................................................10 2.1. Overview ........................................................................................................................10 2.1.1. Language Policy and Planning (LPP) & Language Management Theory (LMT) .......10 2.2. Macro Level ....................................................................................................................12 2.2.1. Language policy & planning in European context .....................................................12 2.2.2. Language policy & planning in Dutch context ...........................................................13 2.3. Meso Level .....................................................................................................................14 2.3.1. Approaches to linguistic diversity management in MNCs .........................................15 2.4. Micro Level .....................................................................................................................17 3. Methodological Framework ...................................................................................................19 3.1. Overview ........................................................................................................................19 3.2. Research Design ............................................................................................................19 3.3. Sample Strategy .............................................................................................................19 3.4. Data Collection ...............................................................................................................21 3.5. Data Analysis .................................................................................................................23 3.6. Research Quality Indicators ............................................................................................23 4. Contextualization of the Research.........................................................................................25 4.1. The Rabobank Group .....................................................................................................25 4.2. The Organizational Structure of the Rabobank ...............................................................25 4.3. Diversity at the Rabobank ...............................................................................................26 4.4. Organizational Policies Regarding Linguistic Diversity ....................................................27 5. Results ..................................................................................................................................28 5.1. Organizational Perspective on (Linguistic) Diversity .......................................................28 5.1.1. Organizational attitude towards (linguistic) diversity .................................................28 5.1.2. Change in the organizational attitude .......................................................................29 5.1.3. Concrete steps towards (linguistic) diversity .............................................................30 5.1.4. Organizational awareness of linguistic diversity .......................................................31 5.1.5. Opportunities for language learning..........................................................................32

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5.1.6. Management practices regarding linguistic diversity .................................................32 5.1.6.1. Recruitment process .............................................................................................33 5.1.6.2. The use of translators............................................................................................34 5.2. Employee Perspective on Linguistic Diversity .................................................................34 5.2.1. Individual views on the importance of and need for (linguistic) diversity ...................34 5.2.2. Awareness of and attitude towards (linguistic) diversity policies ...............................36 5.3. Language Practices ........................................................................................................36 5.3.1. Corporate language(s) .............................................................................................37 5.3.2. The role of English ...................................................................................................38 5.3.3. Language practices of employees ............................................................................38 5.3.3.1. Work-related context .............................................................................................39 5.3.3.2. Social context ........................................................................................................40 5.3.3.3. Influential factors on language practices of employees ..........................................41 6. Conclusions and Discussion .................................................................................................43 6.1. Case Study Conclusions .................................................................................................43 6.2. Discussion ......................................................................................................................45 6.3. Limitations of the Research and Directions for Future Research ....................................48 6.4. Practical Implications and Recommendations for the Organization .................................49 7. References ...........................................................................................................................51 8. Appendix ...............................................................................................................................61 I. Overview of the Interviewees ..............................................................................................61 II. Overview of the Coding Process........................................................................................62 III. Interview Guideline ...........................................................................................................71

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Abstract Since the majority of earlier cultural diversity management studies overlooked the linguistic diversity factor in multinational commercial companies, this research aims at revealing the relevance of linguistic diversity policies in a commercial company with the actual practices in the work floor. Both the macro level (European & national) policies and meso level (organizational) policies are explored and evaluated in order to gain a relevant insight into de facto language practices in micro (individual) level in a multinational company (MNC). The research is conducted as a form of case study in Rabobank Group, in The Netherlands. In line with the qualitative approach, along with the relevant documents from the company, the required data is collected with incidental observations and semi-structured interviews. This study contributes to existing research by suggesting that the linguistic diversity in European businesses is inevitable and invaluable in expanding both the range of activities and services, and inclusiveness of European companies.

Keywords: Linguistic diversity management, business multilingualism, multinational companies, language management, language policies

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1. Introduction 1.1. Overview The aim of this research is to uncover the relationship between linguistic diversity policies in a commercial multinational company with the work floor practices. In line with this aim, three levels of language policy production, and manifestation of language practices is explored. This chapter serves as an introduction to the study by exploring the relevant literature and representing the rationale of the study. The research question and the sub-questions will be posed in this chapter as well. In the second chapter, the abovementioned -respectively macro, meso, and micro levels will be approached and explored as theoretical background. In chapter three, the justification of the applied methodological approach and the elaborate description of sample strategy, data collection and data analysis processes can be found. In chapter four, in order to contextualize the research, along with the characteristics of the company, company policies on and management approaches towards diversity management will be outlined. In chapter five, results will be presented and discussed. Finally, the conclusions will be made, limitations of this study will be discussed and directions for future research will be suggested in chapter six. Practical recommendations that should help the organization in order to improve their current management of linguistic diversity can also be found at the end of this chapter. 1.2. Rationale Even though formal language policy interventions and language planning are relatively new practices in policy development area, the need to manage languages in social, political and economic settings is rapidly increasing (Wright, 2004). As a result of the fact that people, goods, and ideas are moving from one place to another easier than ever, diversity in workplace have grown and new languages have been introduced to the new work settings. In these new work settings people with different backgrounds and linguistic repertoires are required to work together towards a common goal. At this point, effective communication is one of the main factors that ensures that information transfer within the company and negotiations between different stakeholders are successful and the common goal is attained (Grzeszczyk, 2015). In line with this fact, Lauring & Klitmoller (2015) found that inclusive communication management strategies are linked to highly creative or high performing work groups. They indicate that linguistic diversity in MNCs needs to be managed effectively in order to improve the 6

communication process among different stakeholders within a company. Otherwise, as Feely & Harzing (2003, 2008) found out, ‘language barrier’ may have adverse impacts on the internal and external communication. Language barrier may create conflicts, uncertainty and mistrust among employees, managers, customers/clients, or business partners. In order to avoid these dysfunctional consequences, MNCs apply some language management strategies including recruiting skilled native speakers for the needed language, website adaptation to reach both international and local target groups and, make use of translators and interpreters to address their local employees and customers (Hagen, Foreman-Peck, Davila-Philippon & Nordgren, 2006). By doing these, MNCs aim to make use of their employee potential to the full, while reaching out to a broad range of clients and customers around the world (Feely & Harzing, 2008). In other words, affective language management may help the company to grow and to increase its profit rate while assuring that the company will remain competitive in the market (Grzeszczyk, 2015; Hagen et al., 2006). For this reason, it is important to establish optimal language management practices in order to enhance business outcomes of a company. It is predictable that the need for management intervention in language related circumstances becomes more salient when a company is multinational and accordingly multilingual. In line with this need, it is highlighted in several studies that English serves as a lingua franca within most of the MNCs (Angouri, 2013; Fredriksson, Barner-Rasmussen & Piekkari, 2006; Amelina, 2010; Hagen et al., 2006). The standardization of corporate language aims at effectively managing the linguistic diversity in a company and preventing communication problems among several stakeholders within and outside of the company. However it is not clear to what extent the actual language use in the organizations follows these policies (Hagen et al., 2006). Angouri (2013) describes work floor further by stating that linguistic ecologies are far more complex than we currently can grasp, and both the ‘official’ and ‘local’ languages in the workplace are coexistent. Fredriksson et al. (2006) also found out that there is a discrepancy between company policy and employee practices regarding language use. Amelina’s (2010) work also reveals that linguistic diversity should be considered as an asset, because it has a significant importance on business outcomes of the company. It is also argued that linguistic diversity may help European organizations in broadening their international business relations and in positioning themselves efficiently in the global market (Business Forum for Multilingualism, 2008; Hagen et al., 2006; Extra & Yagmur, 2012; Watson 2010).

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Despite the importance and relevance of the topic, linguistic diversity factor and its effects on the achievements of a business is relatively less-emphasized area in literature. There is a significant lack in academic research on language usage in corporations (Thomas, 2007). Angouri (2013) also indicates that the number of language policy studies in complex workplace systems such as MNCs is insufficient. The inadequacy of the studies creates false assumptions about language use in the work floor. For this reason, in most cases, empirical data seems contradictory with policy documents (Loos, 2007). This topic needs to be problematized in more case studies in order to find out the extent to which language use dynamics are reflected in companies' language policies. Such in-depth case studies could help both the researchers and language policy makers by improving theoretical approaches and models of language policy and planning (Angouri, 2013). Furthermore, Angouri (2013) indicates that most of the studies framed linguistic diversity in MNCs under the domain of politics or economics. Therefore, individual perspective is lacking in linguistic diversity management studies that aim to reveal the actual practices and realities of languages in the work floor. Thus, in this study, multilevel analysis is adapted. It allows grasping employee perceptions and behaviour towards linguistic diversity in the workplace, while letting to position diversity ideologies of management levels within the organization in wider contexts (Ortlieb & Sieben, 2013; Spolsky, 2012; Sherman & Strubell, 2013). It also needs to be indicated that most of the reviewed works employs quantitative approach. However, qualitative data can provide deeper and more detailed insights about the role of multilingualism in the workplace in MNCs. For these reasons, with my thesis, I aim to contribute to the existing literature on linguistic diversity management in MNCs by employing qualitative approach and by problematizing the concept of policy at the individual level. I wanted to uncover both the latent processes that play a role in language choice of employees, and the employees’ perceptions of language practices in the company context. Consequently, the following research question has been developed:

How does the (linguistic) diversity policies developed by the Rabobank relate to the actual language practices on the work floor?

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In order to elaborate on this question and give it a comprehensive answer, sub-questions regarding the meso- and micro levels are formulated as follows:

Meso level: -How diverse is the company in terms of the spoken/written languages? And is the company aware of its linguistic diversity? -How is the linguistic diversity perceived by the company? -What are the diversity management approaches towards linguistic diversity? -How is the diversity policy implemented?

Micro level: -How is the linguistic diversity reflected on the work floor? -What are the functions of different languages in the work floor? -How do the employees rationalize their language choices? -How do the relevant policies affect employees’ language choices? -Other than policies, what are the other factors that affect the individual language practices of employees? As the conceptual framework, I followed Spolsky’s (2007) approach towards language planning and management in which he differentiated three levels of language policies: ideologies, management and behaviour. Exploring these three dimensions of language policies provides useful framework in revealing the relationship between the policy makers, policy implementers and target groups. Based on the ethnographic data collected from several local Rabobanks, a policy analysis, as a part of this case study on linguistic diversity management, along with those three dimensions will be presented. It is aimed to uncover the relevance of organizational linguistic policies and management approaches towards linguistic diversity within the Rabobank to the actual language practices. In other words, the main objective of this research is revealing the consistency of or discrepancy between the organizational language policies and de facto language practices in Rabobank.

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2. Theoretical Background 2.1. Overview As previously stated, three levels are differentiated and explored in this study. In the following parts of this chapter, the macro level (2.2) covers the European and national language management activities, the meso level (2.3) looks at the language management approaches in the organization. Lastly, the micro level (2.4) deals with the relevant literature on language choices and practices of the employees in the work floor. For Spolsky (2012), each level needs to be considered in sociolinguistic language management studies in order to understand how language policies are formulated in MNCs, their fundamentals and their manifestation in real life situations. Thus, it is especially important to delve into language practices in a specific setting, because practices adapt to various social situations and may alter under the influences of different demands and requirements. Before delving into these three levels; Language Policy and Planning (LPP) & Language Management Theory (LMT) will be explored as overarching relevant concepts. 2.1.1. Language Policy and Planning (LPP) & Language Management Theory (LMT) I find exploring policy concept relevant before looking into the macro and meso level policies on linguistic diversity and its management. Policy can be defined as a course of action adopted and pursued by a government, party, ruler, and statesman. Similarly, Kroon (2000) describes policy “as a systematic and purposive activity aiming at achieving well-defined goals using welldefined means in a well-defined time structure” (p. 16). The way in which policies are created and made, follows a cycle. Even though the real life policy making process usually do not follow the sequence, the conventional way to describe the policy process covers its five major steps: agenda-setting, policy formulation, decision making, implementation, and evaluation (eventually leading to termination) (Jann & Wegrich, 2007). Further, Kroon (2000) distinguishes eight steps of policy making cycle: ideology formation, agenda formation, policy preparation, policy formation, policy implementation, policy evaluation, feedback, and policy termination. According to this cycle, it would be expected that once a social problem is defined, policy development and implementation follows. Policy assessment step comes after the implementation process and according to the results of the assessment; policies will be either terminated or restarted. 10

It is important to note that feedbacks are one of the most important elements of policy process. As it is stated before, there is a constant interaction between policies and practices. In other words, policies, as management intervention strategies, can be altered and enhanced with the help of the feedbacks in different steps of the policy process and, language policies are no exception to that. Language policy is defined by Cooper (1989) as “deliberate efforts to influence the behaviour of others with respect to the acquisition, structure, or functional allocation of their language codes” (p. 45). Even though Cooper (1989) finds the definition of language planning as the work of only authoritative institutions too restrictive, states and supra-states institutions are generally seen as the providers of public level language policies. Further, he frames the language planning by asking the questions of “who plans what for whom and how” (Cooper, 1989, p. 31). Therefore, his definition calls for three types of language planning: corpus planning, status planning and acquisition planning. Later, Tollefson (1991) also defined the Language Policy & Planning (LPP) concept as ‘conscious efforts’ of governments that aims “to affect the structure or function of language varieties” within society (p. 16). In other words, “language policy is one mechanism for locating language within social structure so that language determines who has access to political power and economic resources” (Tollefson 1991, p. 16). As these definitions address, LPP can be comprehended as explicit and implicit policies that either support or discourage usage of different languages within society. And, “they might, for example, take the form of a clause in a national constitution, or a language law, or a cabinet document or an administrative regulation” (Spolsky, 2004, p. 11). This means that these policies have always been considered as “an attempt to change language behaviour of individuals within society” (Thomas, 2008, p.307). Hence, the planning and setting up of language policies were being framed as actions of the nation-states. In other words, LPP can be summarized as certain and intentional macro level behaviours and interventions towards specific languages within a society. However, the idea that language planning activities can take place in different levels and be initiated by different actors in society was introduced by Neustupný & Jernudd (1987) in 80s (Liddicoat & Baldauf, 2008; Baldauf 2012). Spolsky (2004, 2009) and some other scholars also pointed to the different actors and various linguistic factors in language planning (Nekvapil, 2009, 2011; Nekvapil & Nekula, 2006; Kimura, 2014; Shohamy, 2006). The identification of other factors, namely macro and micro factors within organizations and society generated a new understanding of language planning which is recognized later as Language Management Theory

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(LMT) (Spolsky, 2004, 2009). The language management in LMT is “not merely a matter of institutions, but also an issue of the everyday linguistic behaviour accompanying the ordinary use of language in concrete interactions” (Nekvapil & Sherman, 2015, p. 6). In summary, the relation between these two levels is highlighted in LMT. Similarly, Shohamy (2006) also identified several ideological mechanisms that are used for “affecting, creating and perpetuating de facto language policies” (p. 54). She also suggested that the relationship between ideology (meso level beliefs towards languages), mechanisms (management practices or interventions in linguistic diversity) and practices (language choice of individuals) needs to be identified in order to reveal both explicit and implicit language policies (Shohamy, 2006). 2.2. Macro Level In this section, language practices in Rabobank are embedded in a wider European and Dutch context. The European and Dutch institutional policies and documents are used as a frame of reference in order to contextualize and understand micro level language practices. 2.2.1. Language policy & planning in European context The European Union (EU) acknowledges that “the linguistic landscape in the EU is complex and diverse” and, “linguistic diversity is a fundamental component of European culture and intercultural dialogue” (European Council, 2014, p. 2). Therefore, “the ability to communicate in a language other than one's mother tongue is acknowledged to be one of the key competences which citizens should seek to acquire” (European Council, 2014, p. 2). Currently, EU has 24 official languages and recognizes further 60 languages without giving them official status (European Commission, 2016a). The EU and the Council of Europe are the institutions that are responsible for European language policy. They promote language learning and linguistic diversity “not only in education, but also across a variety of policy fields, such as employment or social integration” (Gutierrez-Eugenio & Saville, 2017). Even though the EU cannot interfere in the national policies on linguistic diversity, it encourages the member states “to promote multilingualism in support of competitiveness, mobility and employability and as a means of strengthening intercultural dialogue” (European Council, 2014, p. 3).

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Multilingualism is usually defined as a “phenomenon that an individual uses features from more than two languages” (Jørgensen, 2008, p. 167). However, according to European Commission (2005) the term “may refer to both a person’s ability to use several languages and the co-existence of different language communities in one geographical area”. Therefore, the term will be used here as “the ability of societies, institutions, groups and individuals to engage on a regular basis, with more than one language in their day-to-day lives” (European Commission, 2007, p. 6). As the definition states, EU promotes multilingualism not only on national and individual level but also institutional level. In line with this definition, the European Commission carries out and funds studies and projects on language diversity and linguistic diversity management in MNCs in order to increase the awareness about the importance of languages in international businesses. Among these studies ELAN, PIMLICO, DYLAN, Language Rich Europe Project (LRE), and the Language Guide for European Business (LGEB) are worth mentioning. Among these, LGEB discusses the importance of linguistic diversity and ways to improve language management strategies in MNCs (European Commission, 2011). It is also indicated in LGEB that using English as lingua franca in organizations is not enough for developing strong international business relations (European Commission, 2011). LRE by Extra and Yagmur (2012) is another study in European context that aims to increase awareness about the gaps between policies and practices in multilingual workplaces. The study also promotes the idea that linguistic diversity including regional and minority languages is one of the key factors in achieving success for European businesses (Extra & Yagmur, 2012). In this context it is important to mention the ELAN study as well, since it highlights Europe’s rich linguistic landscape and importance of languages other than English and national languages in European businesses (Hagen et al., 2006). Moreover, the study provides evidence that having a language strategy, and effective internal and external communication; stimulates economic growth in MNCs (Hagen et al., 2006). 2.2.2. Language policy & planning in Dutch context Language is an important component of the identity in nation states (Jørgensen, 2008). Thus, many countries have official language/s and this language/s have particular importance in governmental or educational use. Also in the Netherlands, two official languages (Dutch and Frisian) and two regional languages (Lower Saxony and Limburgish) are recognized by law.

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Furthermore, the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages that “aims to protect and promote the historical, regional, or minority languages of Europe” was ratified by the Netherlands (Council of Europe, 1992). With this charter, besides the Frisian, Limburgish, and Lower Saxony; Romani and Yiddish languages are also recognized by law. However, only Frisian has an official provision in regional education (Extra & Yagmur, 2012). Along with these officially recognized languages, more than twenty languages are believed to be used within the territory of the country by recently arrived minority groups (Kuiken & Van der Linden, 2013). Since there is no official data collection mechanism, the number of users and the scope of these languages are unknown (Extra & Yagmur, 2012). As stated in the previous section, the management and promotion of multilingualism is states’ area of authority. In Dutch context, it is possible to follow the language policy developments in line with the migration flows to the country. After the Second World War, respectively, immigrants from former colonies, guest workers, and refugees arrived to the Netherlands. The Netherlands has been following welcoming and inclusive policies regarding immigrants, however a recent shift from pluralist state ideology to assimilationist state ideology can be observed in restrictive language policies in education, and strict integration policies towards migrants (Yagmur, 2009; Extra, Spotti & Van Avermaet, 2009). Even though current multinational businesses mostly rely on English, this shift may have negative impacts on the future of linguistic diversity in the country and correspondingly on business outcomes of MNCs which are in constant need of communication with different cultures and languages around the world. In this respect, whether the abovementioned ideology shift reflects itself in the organizational attitudes and management practices will be examined in the results section. 2.3. Meso Level As it is stated in previous sections, language management “refers to the formulation and proclamation of an explicit plan or policy, usually but not necessarily written in a formal document, about language use”, and “the existence of such an explicit policy does not guarantee that it will be implemented and, nor does implementation guarantee success” (Spolsky, 2004, p. 11). However it is important to reveal the organizational ideologies towards different languages in order to understand their effects on language practices. Therefore, this section deals with the

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meso-level, in which management approaches and interventions in literature regarding linguistic diversity in MNCs are explored. 2.3.1. Approaches to linguistic diversity management in MNCs As stated in the previous section, European countries, including the Netherlands, have witnessed massive migration flows since the Second World War (Jonsen, Maznevski & Schneider, 2011; Extra, 2013). These migration flows resulted in increasing diversity in the work floor. Consequently, multilingualism became an integral part of the new workplaces (Extra & Yagmur, 2012). Besides that, “international partners, an increasing number of partnerships within and between businesses scattered over various countries, and an increasing number of staff from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds who are working in the same teams, both physically and virtually” make effective language management necessary in MNCs (Lüdi, 2014, p. 15). Therefore, understanding how multilingual resources are mobilized and multilingual dimensions of the new work places are represented and regulated is important. Ideologies towards languages are closely related to language choices. Thus, understanding management approaches is an important step towards revealing actual language practices (Spolsky, 2012; Angouri, 2013; Ahonen, Tienari, Meriläinen & Pullen, 2014). In this context, Angouri (2013) underlines that language practices are “manipulated and controlled” by ideologies (p. 567). The management level may also reflect the national and supranational level policies in regard to the multiple languages in society and the workplace (Sherman & Strubell, 2013). As it is defined in the LGEB (2011), “a language management strategy is a company’s package of measures and techniques used to prevent linguistic and cultural barriers from occurring in new and expanding foreign markets” (p. 9). Lüdi, Höchle & Yanaprasart (2010) also define the language management as “all forms of the company’s or its agents’ intervention on the employees’ linguistic repertoires, their representations of language and multilingualism and their language behaviour in internal and external communication” (p. 213). Some of the language management strategies include adapting a common corporate language, recruiting skilled native speakers for the needed languages, website adaptation to reach both international and local target groups, and make use of translators and interpreters to address local customers (Hagen, et al., 2006).

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Regarding language management in the workplace, Spolsky (2009) indicates that management strategies may either deal with internal communication or external communication. Internal communication refers to “communication between employers and employees, or between employees at the same or different levels of authority” (p. 63). On the other hand, external communication refers to the “communication between employees and clients, customers, or other firms (Spolsky, 2009, p.63). While some of the following language management strategies focus on the internal communication, others aim to organize relations with customers. Since banking industry is a highly customer-oriented field of work, customer relations needs to be considered as an important factor in creating language management strategies (Kingsley, 2009). As stated above, adapting a Common Corporate Language (CCL) is one of the language management strategies in organizations. For MNCs, it is important to establish a CCL that serves well both in the international/global communications of the organization and relations with the local target audience (Angouri & Miglbauer, 2012). However in most cases, local and minority languages are disregarded, because they are seen as having relatively low importance compared to the dominant languages in a society (Angouri & Miglbauer, 2012, 2014). This selective multilingualism is an ideologically directed language management practice and quite common among MNCs (Angouri & Miglbauer, 2014; Ahonen et al., 2014). Even though there are several ways of adapting a CCL, in most cases ‘whatever works’ attitude is adopted by employees (Angouri & Miglbauer, 2014; Robichaud & De Schutter, 2012). One of these ways is to adopt an official or working language which is used both in the headquarters and branches of a company. Most of the times, this language is English (Piekkari, Vaara, Tienari & Santti, 2005; Seidlhofer, 2011). However, English-only strategies are not sufficient for a successful communication within and between organizations and other stakeholders, and multilingualism is needed in order to ensure that “relevant information reaches its intended audiences at the global, national and local levels (Varennes, 2012, p. 173). Moreover “the mere introduction of English as the corporate language does not automatically lead to its adoption, nor does it make it ‘shared’ throughout the organization” (Fredriksson et al., 2006, p.407). In line with this statement, Amelina (2010) found that English as a lingua franca is restricted to professional discussions where no other common language is available and it “does not displace other languages nor does it dominate them in all the domains of interactions” (p. 251). In other words, employees’ linguistic repertoires have a

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dynamic nature and are negotiated throughout their daily work and social interactions. Another option would be adopting the language of the parent company. This option appears quite similar to the first option. The difference is that, usually, the language of the parent company is the language of the country where the headquarters is located. The third option can be called as functional multilingualism (Feely & Harzing, 2003; Kingsley, 2009; Thomas, 2008). In this approach, several foreign languages can be spoken and promoted besides the language of the parent company (Nekvapil & Nekula, 2006). Apart from these options, purposive recruitment, and utilization of external translation and interpreting services would be used as part of the language practices of a multinational organization (Hagen et al., 2006; Feely & Harzing, 2003). As part of the both internal and external communication strategies, different languages can be adopted for websites and intranet. According to Lauridsen (2008) there are three ways of website adaptation. In the first option, only the national language would be used for websites and intranet. In the second option, websites and intranet would be available in major foreign languages, such as English, besides the national language. Lastly, websites can be available in several languages which make it multilingual (Lauridsen, 2008). As in the website adaptation, “the choice of language for advertising is an important form of language management” (Spolsky, 2009, p. 63). In both of these management practices, it is important for companies to ensure that the communication process “can be read and understood by all relevant target audiences” (Lauridsen, 2008, p. 113). 2.4. Micro Level The micro level takes into consideration the ‘behaviour’ (Spolsky, 2007). As it is indicated in the literature, language negotiation takes place in the individual level (Amelina, 2010; Angouri, 2013; Angouri & Miglbauer, 2014; Fredriksson et al., 2006; Nekvapil & Sherman, 2015; Spolsky, 2007; Spolsky, 2009; Thomas, 2008). Understanding language practices reveals the compatibility between policy and practice, the reasons behind employees’ language choice, individual perceptions of linguistic diversity, and the use of languages in the work floor. As stated in the previous section, ideologies influence practices, and in this context, “language practices are the observable behaviours and choices – what people actually do” (Spolsky, 2009, p. 4). These choices are mostly motivated by thoughts and individual perceptions (Angouri & Miglbauer, 2014; Blackledge, 2005). Spolsky (2004) identifies “age, gender, social class,

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probable place of birth and education, level of education and other facts about the speaker and his or her attitude” as well as possible motivations of language choices (p. 9). Sherman and Strubell (2013) also assert that individual features that constructs one’s identity such as ethnicity, nationality, and linguistic background, affects one’s attitude towards languages. Spolsky (2004) further indicates that, “a policy-imposed change at one level necessarily is connected to all levels” of language management (p. 10). Therefore, the effects of meso level ideologies and practices can be observed in individual level language practices in a given language environment (Nekvapil & Nekula, 2006).

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3. Methodological Framework 3.1. Overview The research is conducted in Rabobank Group which is a multinational, international financial service provider based on cooperative principles. Because of the multinational identity of the organization, it is possible to come across with multiple cultures and languages in the headquarters as well as the local Rabobanks across the Netherlands. Diversity Board of the organization was my starting point and main source of information on the diversity management approaches and practices of the organization. Besides a board member, two managers, who are in charge of multicultural and multilingual teams, and several employees, who interact with culturally and linguistically diverse customers and clients on a daily basis, were interviewed. With the help of the policy analysis on EU, and national and organizational levels, in-depth interviews with actors with diversified backgrounds revealed different attitudes towards linguistic diversity. Although being limited, work floor observations are linked to the findings from the interviews. Through this approach, data triangulation is ensured. 3.2. Research Design In line with the explorative nature of this research, qualitative research strategy and grounded theory is employed. While the qualitative data provides deeper and more detailed insights in the management strategies and their implications in the work floor, inductive procedures of the grounded theory allows the researcher “to develop a well-integrated set of concepts that provide a thorough theoretical explanation of social phenomena under study” (Strauss & Corbin, 1990, p. 5). In line with this statement, incidental observations, semi-structured interviews, and policy papers are used to construct the perspectives of involved people in its particular social and organizational context and understand the linguistic diversity management phenomena in Rabobank Group. 3.3. Sample Strategy First of all, a Dutch multinational commercial company was purposively selected. Since my aim was to reach the employees who are involved in diversity matters and activities within the company, as they might contribute to the study the most with their opinions on diversity issues thanks to their familiarity with the topic, an initial meeting was arranged with the diversity 19

manager in order to decide on the sample. However, at the time of the beginning of my research, as the diversity manager explained in our initial meeting, another research was being conducted within the company. Therefore, it was not possible for the diversity manager to help me to create a complete list of possible respondents. Still, in line with my selection criteria, the diversity manager managed to introduce me to two possible respondents who are involved in diversity matters and have a multinational and multilingual background. This was convenient for the purposive sampling strategy, because these two employees had a connection with diversity and met the selection criteria (Sekaran & Bougie, 2013). I also wanted to become acquainted with the socio-cultural space in the headquarters and the policy documents on diversity. In line with this aim, observations were made, and information on policies was gathered. The following step was to write an e-mail in which the purpose and a short description of the research were explained. I also explained my selection criteria by stating that I was looking for people who have diverse linguistic repertoire and are willing to share their opinions and thoughts on their experiences with the diversity management within the company. The expected duration of the interview was stated in this e-mail. This e-mail was sent to the two possible interviewees who were addressed by the diversity manager. While one of them was willing to join the research, the other one declined my interview request and explained that he thought the study was about cultural diversity in general, but not specifically on linguistic diversity; therefore, he stated that he was not willing to join the study. From that point on, I had to depend on my first interviewee to contact with further colleagues. Thus I continued with ‘snowball sampling’ in which “asking one informant to nominate others who might be worth talking with” is the main way to approach further participants (Arksey & Knight, 1999, p. 4). As the organization is structured as one headquarters in Utrecht and centralized local Rabobanks throughout the Netherlands, I tried to reach interviewees from different offices across the country. Even though it was challenging, this factor was important in revealing the effects of the characteristics of regions and local management bodies on relations with customers, and negotiations of different languages in the work floor. It was also important in revealing the compatibility of the organizational policies with actual practices, especially in recruitment process. As a result, the headquarters and Tilburg, Eindhoven, Almere and Goirle as local branches were included in this study. Eventually, the focus group can be characterized as being highly educated professionals who have multicultural background and routinely use two or more languages in their work environment and daily lives.

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Even though gender and age did not play a role in reaching out to the possible interviewees, it can be observed that final interviewees are quite heterogeneous and spread evenly among different categories including gender, location, linguistic repertoire and function in the organization (Robson, 2002; see Appendix I). Furthermore, limited time frame had to be taken into account (April 6 – June 13) in reaching out to the possible participants. Lastly, because of the availability and location of some of the interviewees, telephone interviews were arranged. Even though talking through phone adversely affected the quality of some of the records, all 12 interviews were recorded. 3.4. Data Collection After the approval of the research request within the Rabobank Netherlands, intensive desk research period took place. Prior to the initial meeting with the diversity manager in the headquarters, I developed an interview guideline based on the literature, previous studies on the topic, and the information about the organization from their website. I was provided with further documents about the company such as annual reports, yearly plans and policy documents on diversity after the initial meeting. These data helped me to create an image of the organization’s approach towards diversity management and to adjust the interview guideline for further interviews (see Appendix III). Even though I had an interview guideline beforehand, I avoided a clear-cut research design which would restrain my scope in exploring the new directions in my research. Flexibility, as a key feature of qualitative research method, allowed me to interact with the respondents in a more spontaneous way. For this reason, I mostly avoided yes/no questions and instead asked open-ended questions (McCracken, 1988; Arksey & Knight, 1999). During the first meeting with the diversity manager, I aimed to observe the actual negotiations of languages in this specific research setting and the language use in the work environment. However, because of the limited time and phone interviews only incidental observations were possible to make. As a result, initial interview guideline was updated based on this initial meeting and provided documents. Further data was collected through 12 semistructured interviews. Five of these interviews were conducted on phone because of the time constraint and scattered informants across the country. The remaining seven interviews were conducted in a face-to-face manner. These face-to-face interviews were especially valuable for the research, since they allowed me to make some observations on the work environment and

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gain deeper insights into the linguistic diversity topic in a given research setting. All of the interviews were audio-recorded with the consent of the respondents and transcribed. In some cases, short summaries of the observations and field notes were made. Before commencing the interviews I made sure that interviewees are aware of my aim in conducting the interviews, and how and in what ways the data will be used (McCracken, 1988). My aim was to uncover the patterns of organization’s and employees’ language choice and use in a given setting. I interviewed with the employees who have a broad linguistic repertoire and can fluently use at least two languages in their work environment and their daily lives. I started every interview with a short introduction about myself and my study. Following the introduction, background information about the interviewee, such as position within the company and linguistic repertoire, were collected. After that the focus of the questions was shifted towards the management ideologies of the organization on multilingualism, and personal experiences on linguistic practices on the work floor. Even though most of the respondents were quite open and willing to explain their experiences with language management, it was observed that some were not quite comfortable in sharing their language practices. Since it was a sensitive topic for some of the interviewees, I carefully continued with the interviews in order to avoid rudeness towards the interviewees and respect their privacy (Arksey & Knight, 1999). All of the face-to-face interviews were held in private offices except one. This one was held in a broad meeting space with several meeting tables and close by coffee corners which allowed me to gain deeper insight on language practices in informal settings as well. As stated before, quality of the phone interview records were lower. Thus, transcripts of these records include a few inaudible parts. I took side notes especially during the phone interviews. These interviews were supported with these side notes. Six of the respondents have Turkish backgrounds and some of them were not proficient or confident enough to use English as the language of communication during the interviews. Therefore they were offered to conduct the interviews either in English or in Turkish. Eventually, all of these six interviews were conducted in Turkish. The remaining six interviews were held in English. The duration of the interviews varied between 15 to 45 minutes. In general, there was no problem in understanding of the questions by the interviewees. Almost all of the informants were able to talk about their experiences with linguistic diversity and could think of relevant examples on its management within the organization.

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3.5. Data Analysis First pile of the data was collected from the company website and the diversity manager. These data was consisted of the written information including reports, policy documents, action plans and booklets on diversity. Audio material from interviews, interview transcripts, side notes during the interviews, and field notes from observations generated another pile of data. These various types of data were turned into narratives and arranged in a systematic way before the actual analysis. Then, the organized narratives were related to the framing themes of the theoretical framework such as organizational management approaches and individual language practices. The data went through an intensive coding process during this categorization of the narratives in order to discover the “emerging patterns in data” (Walsh, Holton, Bailyn, Fernandez, Levina & Glaser, 2015, p.13). As Strauss and Corbin (1990) identified, three stages of coding were applied in this study (see Appendix II). In accordance with the grounded approach, I started with the initial coding process which allowed me to distinguish the relevant data for further analysis and label them in order to create the overarching coding categories based on the theoretical framework. The re-coding step followed this initial phase and helped me to gain deeper insights into my data, and develop additional categories based on the topics and examples that are highlighted by the respondents. Thus, codes and categories in this step are derived directly from the data. Moreover, in this step, the most significant and repeated data are filtered than the larger pile of data (Charmaz, 2006; Boeije, 2002). During the last step of coding process, which is called selective coding, patterns and subcategories emerged, and the most striking points of the data were outlined and connected to the main framework of this study (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). 3.6. Research Quality Indicators The following research quality indicators can be identified in this study: external validity, internal validity, reliability, and transferability (Sekaran & Bougie, 2013). Firstly, correct data collection methods and systematic assessment procedures that were in line with the literature were applied. By this way, the external validity is ensured. Secondly, different stakeholders were included in data collection process and the same topics were examined by using multiple perspectives including semi-structured interviews, observations, as well as an extensive literature review. The combination of these methods established data triangulation and assured the internal

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validity of the study. Additionally, systematic coding of the data in three stages, minimized subjectivity, reduced speculations, and prevented bias in both collection and analysis of the data (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). Thirdly, in order to increase the reliability of the data and decrease the potential biases that might have affected the quality of the study, such as the possible socially desirable answers, anonymity of the collected information and confidentiality were ensured. In spite of having fulfilled strict validity criteria, my presence as a researcher and recording the conversations with an audio-recorder might have affected the honesty of the answers of the respondents. In order to avoid this problem, I explained the academic nature of my study at the beginning of the each interview session and strongly emphasized the anonymity (McCracken, 1988). By doing this, I aimed to increase the trust and honesty in conversations and reduce the possibility of biased answers (Arksey & Knight, 1999). Besides that, I also aimed to decrease and neutralize my own subjectivity as a researcher by creating operationalized research questions and applying strict coding method as it is described in the previous section as part of the grounded theory approach. Lastly, I aimed to create a transferable research design and results that can be integrated into broader or similar future studies. Even though generalizations cannot be made due to the nature of the case study, it seems possible to compare and connect the results with future studies on management of linguistic diversity within MNCs in Europe. The transferability and consistency of the study were aimed with a focused research design and semistructured interview guideline which could be used as a starting point for future researches on the topic.

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4. Contextualization of the Research This chapter provides a brief description of the context in which the study was conducted. This chapter starts with a brief introduction about the Rabobank in section 4.1. An overview of the organizational structure of the Rabobank can be found in section 4.2. Afterwards, section 4.3 discusses the topic of diversity within the corporate culture. The last section, 4.4, explores the organizational policies regarding (linguistic) diversity & inclusion. 4.1. The Rabobank Group The Rabobank Group consists of Rabobank Nederland, local Rabobanks, and a number of specialist subsidiaries. The company was founded in 1860s by Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen in The Netherlands (History, n.d.) and started its international activities in 1980s. The Group, now, has around 61.000 employees who serve about 10 million customers worldwide. In this study the Rabobank Nederland in Utrecht plus four local Rabobanks, namely Rabobank Tilburg, Rabobank Goirle, Rabobank Eindhoven, and Rabobank Almere, were included. As a “leading bank in the Netherlands with an international focus on food & agriculture”, the Rabobank provides financial services and products including corporate lending, financial institutions risk and treasury management, lease, and transaction banking (Annual Review, 2015). The company has 7.5 million individual and 800.000 business customers in the Netherlands (Organization, n.d.). Since almost half of all small and medium sized Dutch companies are customers of the Rabobank, the importance of the company in the national economy is undisputed (Code of Conduct). Because of its cooperative nature, customers can become members of the bank and play a role in shaping the bank’s direction in the market. Currently the bank has 1.9 million members. The headquarters of the company is located in Utrecht, the Netherlands. 4.2. The Organizational Structure of the Rabobank Rabobank has been a cooperative organization consisted of highly independent 108 (2016) local Rabobanks. As of 1 January 2016, new corporate governance structure of the bank was introduced; and cooperative local Rabobanks and the central organization, Rabobank Nederland, merged into a single legal entity. The aim was to become “a better cooperative and a better bank’ by improving their management practices, financial services, and relations with community and

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clients via members” councils of local Rabobanks (A better cooperative and a better bank, n.d.). These local members’ councils form the basis of the governance structure. The highest ranked decision-making mechanism within the company is executive board. Along with that, there is also a supervisory board that serves as an advisory mechanism. Besides these governance bodies, there are several committees in the company that focuses on specific topics such as Audit Committee, Risk Committee, HR Committee and Cooperative Issues Committee. The company also has a Diversity Board that deals with the diversity related topics. 4.3. Diversity at the Rabobank It is strongly emphasized that the company “promotes and celebrates diversity” through policies and activities (Diversity, n.d.). They also believe that a more diverse staff profile will enable them to better understand and serve their customers. In line with that, it is clearly stated in the Code of Conduct that the company values different perspectives and diversity and, believes that “its workforce should represent the broadest possible cross-section of society because diversity enhances the quality of the services” (Code of Conduct, n.d., p. 34). In order to reflect the society better, the Rabobank aims to include more women, young people, and a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds especially in its governance bodies. “After all, being a meaningful cooperative bank for all members and all of society” is one of their main aims (Annual Report, 2016, p. 152). For the Rabobank diversity refers to differences in sex/gender, age, sexual orientation, culture/ethnicity, and mental and physical abilities in their workforce. In line with his statement, managing diversity means that these differences are fully exploited, nobody feels disadvantaged because of these differences, and all employees feel valued in the organization. As it is indicated in the previous section, the company has a Diversity Board in order to achieve these goals. The board aims to provide better and equal opportunities for everyone. There are several concrete steps taken by this board. Amongst others, signing the ‘Diversity Charter (Diversiteit in Bedrijf)’ in May 2016 is one of the most important steps towards establishing an inclusive corporate culture. By signing this charter, Rabobank demonstrated its commitment to promoting workplace diversity and inclusiveness, and established several challenges for the year. These challenges include “aiming for 22% women at the senior level and 27% women at the sub-senior level, having at least one position at each local Rabobank and each centralized unit held by an

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employee with an occupational disability, and promoting cultural diversity within the workforce so that it is a reflection of society” (Diversity Charter, 2016). Besides that there are several specialized networks that hold meetings, and organize festivities and programs within the company. For example, while the Agora Network organizes a cross-mentoring program for multicultural employees, the Rabo Women covers several topics in their meetings including leadership, diversities, corporate responsibility, role models, and work-life balance. Last year, the Rainbow LGBTI Network organized the participation of the Rabobank in Amsterdam Gay Pride. Having an open and transparent work space is strongly emphasized in the Code of Conduct as an important component of the corporate culture of the Rabobank. Another aimed characteristic of the corporate culture is empowering environment for employees. The Rabobank believes that empowering employees by “promoting clear and involved leadership, individual responsibility, and risk awareness in all layers of the organization” help to “build a culture of continuous improvement and innovation” (Meaningful Cooperative, n.d.). Besides that the company focuses on the importance of having an inclusive company culture. It is stated in Diversity Policy & Program – 2016 that having an inclusive culture, “a culture where professionals are selected according to their abilities and talents”, is a prerequisite for achieving greater diversity (Diversity & Inclusion at Rabobank). 4.4. Organizational Policies Regarding Linguistic Diversity As mentioned in the previous section, the organization has an active policy development strategy on diversity. The commitment of the organization to the diversity can be observed in the diversity policies and related activities. The main diversity topics that are covered in internal policy papers so far can be categorized as follows: (1) gender diversity (especially for managerial positions), (2) cultural/ethnic diversity, (3) sexual orientation, and (4) inclusion of people with occupational disabilities. Linguistic diversity is also quite visible within and an inseparable part of the company. However, the organization does not have a formal policy document on linguistic diversity.

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5. Results This chapter presents the results of this case study conducted in Rabobank. In section 5.1 the organizational perspective on linguistic diversity is presented that reveals the meso level ideologies and management practices, and the factors that affect them. The section 5.2 reveals micro level perspective which includes individual stances on the linguistic diversity management topic, and daily language practices. This section also justifies the need for more action in order to increase linguistic diversity and inclusion in the organization. The last section covers language and, internal and external communication practices of the organization. Identified patterns from interview data are used to organize this chapter. Designated letters are used instead of the names of the interviewees in order to guarantee anonymity. 5.1. Organizational Perspective on (Linguistic) Diversity This section presents data found on organizational attitude towards and awareness of linguistic diversity and management practices. Three management level employees were included in this study. Therefore, their ideological stances on linguistic diversity, and the perception of other employees about them were revealed as the focus in this section. 5.1.1. Organizational attitude towards (linguistic) diversity Since there is no official statement on language use and linguistic diversity management policy, the responses revealed that organizational attitude can be interpreted differently according to the context. For example, as the diversity manager stated, normally employees are not allowed to speak to customers in languages other than Dutch or English. Even though the company is not strict about the external communication language, some of the respondents stated that languages other than Dutch or English are neither forbidden nor promoted. Further statements on the topic revealed that there is no explicit linguistic diversity promotion at all. In line with these statements, diversity manager declared that creating a language policy is not a priority for the organization, because the organization is currently dealing with a lot of dimensions of diversity and already covered a lot of topics such as gender and cultural diversity. Further explanations of the diversity manager on not having plans for creating a linguistic diversity policy revealed that, in the organization, languages of the employees are not perceived as the most important component of their cultural identities. This ideology reflects itself in recruitment process which

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is presented in the relevant section. Responses also revealed that there are other factors that affect organizational attitude towards linguistic diversity. As one of the respondents explained, organizational attitude may change according to languages. For example, the same respondent put forward that “Turkish is not perceived as German or French, probably because it is not an international language”. Or, as the interviewee L stated how the organizational attitude has changed over time: “Ten years ago I was told not to speak Turkish whatever the reason was. Thanks to our new CEO, it is not a problem now”. Two other respondents pointed to the manager factor and explained that even though their managers are fine with different languages in the work floor, they have some colleagues from other branches saying that they don’t want to speak Turkish with their customers, even if it is needed sometimes, because of the attitude of their managers. On the other hand, two other managers pointed to the importance of being customeroriented in banking industry, and speaking the language of the customers in order to serve better. Interviewee F, who is a high level manager in the company, said that he thinks having employees with different linguistic abilities is advantageous in reaching out to different customer groups. The same respondent further stated that “in verbal external communication, employees are free to use whatever language is available”. Another point was made by the diversity manager regarding the impact of state ideology on organizational attitude. She said that there is no state intervention regarding language use in the work place; therefore no ideological resemblance between the Dutch government and the company can be found. 5.1.2. Change in the organizational attitude Most of the interviewees raised a common point regarding the organizational attitude and claimed that the attitude of the organization towards diversity has changed over the years. It is also highlighted by the employees that the company has made huge improvements regarding diversity and inclusion. As the diversity manager said, the previous board was not committed to diversity and in 2014 the board and CEO has changed and it affected diversity policies positively. Before becoming the diversity manager, she was working for another department in the company, and constantly trying to encourage board members in order to improve inclusion policies of the company. She further stated that the current CEO, Wiebe Draijer, is very prodiversity oriented. Therefore, she enlarged upon; current situation of diversity is a result of both

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top-down interventions and bottom-up demands. Another turning point for diversity management in the organization was the merging between Rabobank Nederland and local Rabobanks in 2016. She stated that one of the most important results of this merging process was the launch of the Global Diversity Department. Respondents, especially the ones that are located in the headquarters, emphasized that, as a result of the merging, it became more common to speak English, and English is widely introduced into the work floor after the merging in 2016. One of the respondents said that being supervised by European Central Bank starting from 2014 also has effects on language diversity in the organization. Before that the company was working with DNB (De Nederlandsche Bank). He further explained that language requirements have changed for some departments, and they are using more English now. Regarding ideological stances, some of the respondents interpreted the change in the organizational attitude in line with the political atmosphere of the country. One of the respondents said that, “About 30 years ago, languages were restricted in most parts of social life, and then they realized that languages can be useful and help in making money. Again nowadays, in line with the political atmosphere, they started to have the mentality of ‘we are in the Netherlands, why don’t you speak Dutch’” (Interviewee H).

Interviewee I also drew an analogy between country politics and organizational attitude by stating that “years ago, they (managers and colleagues) were easily irritated when they hear me speaking Turkish”. Interviewee L also said that the attitude of the organization, especially towards immigrant languages, has changed positively during the years. Lastly, one of the managers stated that organizational attitude towards linguistic diversity needs improvements. He explained his views on linguistic diversity management by stating that “the change towards linguistic diversity should start from the top management, I am sure other managers and employees will follow” (Interviewee F). 5.1.3. Concrete steps towards (linguistic) diversity As stated in the Contextualization of the Research chapter, the diversity policies within the company covers four main topics, namely, gender diversity, cultural/ethnic diversity, sexual

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orientation and, inclusion of people with occupational disabilities. As stated in the same section, the company has specific aims and targets regarding diversity management. For the year 2017 improving multicultural corporate communications including labour market communication and campaigns is one of the target improvement areas (Annual Plan for Diversity and Inclusion, 2017). As the diversity manager indicated, Diversity Board is one of the most important steps in achieving these targets. In line with the aims of the board, there are local work groups that are consisted of people who are diverse and want to act as diversity ambassadors in their branches. ‘Diversity Magazine’, which is available both in English and in Dutch, is another step taken towards diversity. The magazine covers several topics regarding diversity in the organization and aims to increase awareness among employees. However, most of the employees indicated that they are not aware of the magazine and, as the interviewee B stated, only involved people know about the ‘Diversity Magazine’, and said “only if you are an ambassador like me, you know about the magazine”. The diversity manager also mentioned that the magazine is not practical for the organization, because it is expensive to publish regularly and frequently. Another step indicated by several respondents is the ‘reflection of the society’ policy of the company. This policy calls for representation of different nationalities in the Rabobank. The interviewee E indicated that: “They want the employees to be the reflection of the society”. Interviewee F told that they recently employed two people with immigrant background, because their backgrounds were not represented in a team in his branch. One interviewee indicated that there are large immigrant groups in their city, however they are not well-represented in the company, and the ratio of the people with immigration background to the people with Dutch background is quite low. As some of the employees stated, the company does a lot about diversity, but there is much needs to be done. Lastly, only one employee thinks the diversity networks including the abovementioned work groups separate people. He said: “I think these groups label people and bring our differences into the forefront”. 5.1.4. Organizational awareness of linguistic diversity Overall, responses revealed that the organization does not have a systematic mechanism to register, manage and utilize the linguistic abilities of the employees. Still, the employees can add their linguistic abilities to their personal profiles in intranet, but, as one of the respondents said, it is not used effectively. As one of the managers indicated, the company has a big bilingual

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potential. Furthermore, interviewee E said even tough “diversity is a well-known subject; I do not think that there is an awareness of linguistic diversity”. On the other hand, some of the respondents exemplified situations in which foreign or immigrant languages are needed in local banks and how their managers employed the linguistic abilities of employees. Several examples revealed that, on a local level, both the managers and other employees are aware of the linguistic abilities of each other. Another issue was raised by interviewee H about monitoring linguistic ability levels. He asserted that “some departments are working always in English, but even in these departments the language levels are not monitored thoroughly during or after the recruitment process”. When asked if the company’s is aware of the EU studies and promotions on linguistic diversity, almost all of the respondents answered the question with ‘no’. Only the interviewee C emphasized that they are not involved in EU studies or programs, because they are a local branch. 5.1.5. Opportunities for language learning With regard to the opportunities for language learning or learning in general, responses revealed that there is a chance for employees to attend courses, including language courses, in order to improve themselves. Learning or improving English is especially promoted in higher level positions, but for lower level jobs it is not promoted. However no Dutch courses are available, because it is already a must. In line with that, interviewee G stated that there are only a few people in the company who cannot speak Dutch, but everyone has a budget for learning and they can use it for Dutch courses as well. Interviewee L exemplified her situation when asked about the opportunities. She said “I attended an English course last year, because I was not feeling confident while speaking to customers. It helped a lot, now I feel more confident and express myself very well”. 5.1.6. Management practices regarding linguistic diversity In the first section the respondents talk about their experiences regarding linguistic diversity management during recruitment process. Following section represents the attempts of managers to find practical management solutions to the linguistic diversity in the work floor. Statements of the respondents revealed that there is a central diversity policy, but supervisory boards in local

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banks can make their own decisions on diversity issues which create variations in language practices in different branches. 5.1.6.1. Recruitment process As it is stated in the previous section the company aims to reflect the society (on a local level). Therefore, recruitment process is expected to be according to this policy. In line with that, one of the managers stated that: “We try to include different nationalities in our work force, because customers need to identify themselves with the bank”. As several other respondents expressed, especially in the cities with high percentage of immigrants, the company try to hire people with bicultural backgrounds in order to increase population representation. Similarly, the diversity manager made similar explanations regarding the policy, but added that “it is not necessary that they (employees with bicultural background) speak the Turkish language, or one of the Moroccan languages, but just to recognize somebody who is the same as you or looks the same as you” is enough for customers. However, several employees with bicultural background, who have daily contact with customers with immigration background, exemplified their everyday experiences on the topic, and stressed that the language is an important common feature that improve the communication between themselves and the customers. Regarding the recruitment strategy of the company, respondents said that purposive recruitment is done according to the requirements of the position. For example, English is always asked for the positions that require international communication. On the other hand, interviewee B highlighted that purposive recruitment strategy is not applied and she said: “…for example we have a lot of Turkish customers here in Tilburg, but we don’t have a Turkish financial advisor (who can act in Turkish when needed)”. Almost all of the respondents stated that language requirements are clearly stated in the job vacancies. For the positions in local banks Dutch is specifically required, but English is not always stated in job descriptions. Interviewee I gave her explanation on the topic as follows: “Normally employees need to speak a bit English, so they can help (English speaking) clients”. Interviewee L told that she has never seen an immigrant language as a requirement in a job description. Interviewee I also said that foreign languages such as English or German may increase your chance to be recruited, but immigrant languages do not have the same effect. Only

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one respondent stated that “let alone the language, not having a Dutch name is sometimes a reason for not being recruited” (Interviewee K). 5.1.6.2. The use of translators For managing linguistic diversity, the organization makes use of translators and interpreters, but there is no internal translation service within the company. Therefore, as almost all of the respondents mentioned, external translation and interpreting agencies are used for several documents. The diversity manager said that she personally use external translators for official documents and emails. Interviewee F, who is also a manager, exemplified some situations in which external simultaneous interpreters are being used. For example, when delegations from national banks of other countries visit him, for some topics, they want to express themselves in their own language. Therefore, as he explained, the need for the interpreters in high level meetings is because of political reasons rather than the lack of the linguistic ability of the stakeholders. External interpreters are sometimes used in conferences as well. Almost all of the respondents said that they never needed a translation in an internal training. On the other hand, it is indicated by several respondents that if an employee has the linguistic skills that are needed for business, the bank use it. A Turkish speaking respondent specified that, when needed, other employees or managers call the Turkish speaking employees to have something translated or to communicate with someone in Turkish. She also said: “we act like translators within the company”. 5.2. Employee Perspective on Linguistic Diversity The answers and reactions on linguistic diversity, revealed two main patterns about the employee perspective. Firstly, there was a strong emphasis on the need for linguistic diversity within the company. The second emphasis was on the ambiguity in the rules and regulations regarding the language practices. 5.2.1. Individual views on the importance of and need for (linguistic) diversity The respondents raised a number of key issues that helps to explain individual language practices. Firstly, they all stressed upon the importance of being able to speak the language of the customer in reaching out to them. One of the respondents stated that especially in cities like Rotterdam, bicultural/bilingual employees are helpful in communicating with customers. 34

Another employee said that most of the customers are Dutch, in spite of the large immigrant groups in their city. She explained how the branch would get more customers if they have some employees with Turkish or Moroccan background. Interviewee G also explained his views in a similar way: “You have to speak the language of your clients; it means, if the client needs English or French, [you have to speak it], the client is the king, so the company must be more customer-oriented”. Interviewee E also said that: “Society has changed, this requires a different approach, and as a commercial company you have to adjust”. Interviewee C also explained how her mother tongue can be useful in some situations just like English or German. Another employee, who cannot speak Turkish, illustrated how she thought it would be easier to get her Turkish customers if she could speak Turkish, but she could not get them because of a communication problem. Interviewee G explained his views on diversity policies in general as follows: “It doesn’t matter if you are a small or a big company. I think the companies who are not listening to the market, will lose in the future. I think diversity is not one’s action; it is something that has to be in the DNA of the organization. It means you have to start with it; you have to embed it in your company, so in the future you can make difference with it”.

The same respondent said that, when the employees communicate with the language preference of the clients, it gives the customer a satisfying feeling, therefore, increase customer satisfaction. Interviewee I also said: “When you speak Turkish with Turkish customers, they immediately trust you, and easily agree to buy insurances or mortgages”. It was a consensus among employees that implementing cultural diversity policies according to background of the employees is good, but the ability to communicate with customers in their own languages, should also be one of the key criteria in recruiting people with diverse backgrounds. Interviewee J pointed to another aspect of external communication and stated that: “We sometimes work with banks of other countries. Employees who are native in foreign languages are helpful in communicating and solving problems with these banks. If we have people with the native languages of the countries that we are working with, it would speed up the processes”.

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In summary, both accounts pointed that bilingual/multilingual employees should be seen as asset for the company, and the relevant policies needs to be revised in order to be more inclusive in terms of the linguistic abilities of the employees. 5.2.2. Awareness of and attitude towards (linguistic) diversity policies The company does not have an official language policy, but the general policy on diversity and inclusion is generally well known by the employees. On language policy, two of the respondents stated that only IT and International Business departments have a written statement on language use in work floor. English is appointed as the common language in these departments. Apart from that, several employees indicated that there is no need for a language policy. One of the respondents explained his reason behind this statement and said that: “I think having a linguistic diversity policy within the company would create an extra barrier among people”. The same employee, as it is stated before, thinks organized diversity groups separate people rather than bring together. On the other hand, most of the employees agreed upon that there is no explanation about which language to use in which situations. Interviewee D exemplified this situation by stating that: “I am not sure if we are allowed to communicate in languages other than English or Dutch but I would do that”. Interviewee I also gave a similar example: “I was one of the first immigrant employees in this branch, and I wasn’t sure how to act with immigrant customers and whether I was allowed to speak their language when it is necessary. Now they (managers and other colleagues) trust me and I can speak their language (immigrant language) in necessary situations”.

Lastly, one of the employees indicated that a language policy should always be in line with the needs of the company and the market. If the company wants to reach certain groups, needs to act accordingly. 5.3. Language Practices This section presents data on language practices in the work floor. Findings on the corporate language and the role of English are presented beforehand as part of the relevant patterns.

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5.3.1. Corporate language(s) As it is stated before, the company does not have an official language policy. There is no official statement about the language of the company as well. Therefore, when asked, the diversity manager said that Dutch is informally accepted as the language of the company both in the headquarters and in the local banks. However, she expects the language of the headquarters to change to English in a few years. Her following observation reveals much about the importance of Dutch and English within the company: “I think the most used language here will be English. Of course in the local Rabobanks it will be Dutch”. Another respondent also expects that in a few years English will be the most common language. For now, according to the respondents, Dutch is the most common language in the company, but, especially in the headquarters, two languages are accepted as corporate languages: Dutch and English, because some departments, like IT, use only English in their internal and external communication. The language used for corporate branding, marketing and website is mainly Dutch and sometimes English. Similarly, these two languages are used for intranet. It is observed that some parts of the intranet are available only in Dutch. For example, the interviewee L stated that there is no language option other than Dutch for the part of the intranet in which documents and news regarding diversity and inclusion is shared. As the basis of the organizational policies, Code of Conduct is also available in English and Dutch. The diversity manager said that “central documents (issued by the executive board) are always in two languages: Dutch and English”. Other respondents also indicated that most of the working documents are available in English and Dutch, but not in other languages. One employee explained that, since contractual documents are law-driven, Dutch version is always required, but English, German, and French versions are also available of some documents. Besides that, interviewee H said that the level of Dutch in customer-related documents is lowered to MBO-level Dutch, in order to ease communication and accelerate the business processes. In addition, interviewee F said that in speaking language employees are free to use whatever language is available, but documentation needs to be in Dutch. He also added that the company can provide translated version of a document (into the native language of the customer) if it is demanded from the customer. In terms of trainings, most interviewees said that internal trainings are mostly held in Dutch, but for some of them, English option can be found.

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In general, answers revealed that, especially in local banks, Dutch is considered as the primary language in all contexts. One of the respondents stated that one has to speak Dutch to be able to work in local Rabobanks. Diversity manager also said: “Employees who cannot speak Dutch cannot do anything with Dutch employees and the Dutch parts of the Rabobank”. In line with the importance of the national language within the organization, interviewee B pointed to the national outlook of the company. According to her; “because of the identity of the bank as a farmer’s bank, national language is really important”. Interviewee F also stated that the bank is seen in the society as a ‘white bank’. 5.3.2. The role of English Employees’ experience with English is one the emerging patterns in this section. Most of the employees indicated that they are not quite comfortable while speaking in English. Some of them said that speaking English is challenging for them. Some others expressed their desire to be fluent in English. However, none of them pointed that their English skills as a problem in their communication. Interviewee K said: “Since most of us cannot speak English in advanced level, we use basic vocabulary in our meetings”. The necessity of English is highlighted by several employees as another aspect of English use in the work floor. Most of them agreed that English is a must for Rabobank because of its commercial and international identity. There are several ways English is needed and used in the company. First of all, English is the common language for international actions of the company, especially in the headquarters. Secondly, for some local branches, English is the second common language. Interviewee I an L pointed that English is necessary in their branches, because they are close to the university in the city. Furthermore, in some cases, the employees use English, because there is no other choice. In that case, English functions as an intermediary between different stakeholders. Lastly, interviewee G remarked that: “When you, as a company, can explain yourself in a worldwide language, it means that your organization is transparent to all”. 5.3.3. Language practices of employees In terms of the language practices of employees, it is observed that practices vary according to the department of the employee is working for, or the location or the branch, whether it is the headquarters or one of the local branches. Position of the employees, whether they have direct contact with individual customers, is also important factor in language practices of employees. 38

5.3.3.1. Work-related context Communication in work-related context can be divided into two: external communication and internal communication. Significant number of the employees indicated that they switch between languages in both cases. The diversity manager pointed that she, especially in emails, switch frequently between English and Dutch. Interviewee I also said that they have a lot of international customers because of the university in the city; therefore, she switches between languages a lot. Another employee stated that: “I always start with Dutch when speaking to my customers, if it doesn’t work, I switch to whatever language works [in the range of my linguistic abilities]”. An employee with bicultural background also mentioned that she switch between different languages (English-Dutch-Arabic) “when someone has difficulty with Dutch”. One Turkish speaking employee argued that: “I personally switch to Turkish when I have Turkish customers, if it is easier for the customer to communicate in any other language than Dutch; I do it, because there is no point in forcing people”. Another Turkish speaking employee avowed that: “If necessary, I can use Turkish in my job, it is a language just like English, German, and French… If we can use these languages, we can use Turkish as well. Why not?”. One of the employees justified her language practices as follows: “Some of my Turkish clients are not fluent in Dutch. For this reason, I use Turkish with my customers when it is necessary. When they know the content of insurances well, they buy it more readily”. Another employee stated that she uses Turkish ‘strategically’, because, she claimed, for Turkish people, which language you serve in is more important than the price of the service. So, in that sense, she uses Turkish strategically. Some of the respondents emphasized that they would use languages other than Dutch, only when it is really necessary. For example, one employee stated that: “I use Turkish with my customers only when it is really necessary. Because when I speak Turkish with my clients, my colleagues don’t understand me and that would be a problem”. Another Turkish speaking employee emphasized that she does not speak Turkish with her Turkish customers, if they are able to communicate in Dutch. Responses of the employees who work in international departments revealed that communication language for work-related context is mostly English. One employee who manages an international team said that because of his department, he uses English on a daily basis. The same employee indicated that even though the corporate languages are Dutch and English, he speaks Turkish while he is with his Turkish colleagues and his Chinese friends talk

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Chinese between each other. Furthermore, the following statement of this employee revealed that language levels of the employees may hinder the communication process and cause some problems: “When I first started working in the Rabobank, my Dutch was not good. I was not able to follow some contact meetings, and could not make a request for an English session, because most of the times I was the only one who cannot follow meetings” (Interviewee J). One of the management level employees stated that he makes use of his linguistic abilities in English, Dutch, German, and English in his international communication with customers and delegates from other countries. This statement shows that linguistic abilities are utilizable independent from the position of an employee. Lastly, one Turkish speaking employee stated that, in jobrelated communication, he finds speaking Dutch or English easier than Turkish, because, he said, he learned the relevant vocabulary in these languages. 5.3.3.2. Social context Considering the language use in social context, a diverse picture is exposed. First of all, the spoken language during informal settings depends on the situation and the involved people. One employee with bicultural background stated that she uses several languages in informal settings including her mother tongue, and it depends on the people she is talking with. Another Turkish speaking employee said he talks Turkish with his Turkish friends, but when someone joins them, they immediately switch to Dutch. He said it is a ‘common sense’ to switch to a language everyone understands. On the other hand, even though, by learning Dutch, international employees try to show their respect to the Dutch origin of the organization, and indicate their desire to be part of the work environment and social context in the company, two of the employees, who work in management-level positions and learned Dutch as their second language, stated that people may confront with some problems in the company, if they don’t speak Dutch well. One of them exemplified that when he was new as an international employee in the Rabobank; his colleagues were talking Dutch among each other and his level of Dutch was not good enough to join their conversations. The other employee explained his situation as follows: “I learned Dutch in order to not be excluded from social contexts”. Only one of the employees focused on the attitudes of his colleagues and said: “I try not to use Turkish in work environment. There are two reasons for that. First, I don’t want to have

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negative reactions, because some people are still easily offended by immigrant languages. Second, personally, Dutch is easier for me while communicating in the company”. He further stated that not only immigrant languages but also dialects of Dutch are sometimes not welcomed by some of his Dutch colleagues. In summary, some of the interviewees indicated that when two colleagues with the same cultural background and linguistic abilities meet, they would prefer to use their mother tongue to communicate with each other. And, almost all of the interviewees implied that it is a common sense to switch between languages, if it is necessary. 5.3.3.3. Influential factors on language practices of employees Interviews revealed that there are some internal and external factors that influence the language choice of employees in the work floor. First of all, the majority of the interviews revealed that customers have a significant impact on the languages spoken by employees within the organization. Is some cases, it is a must to switch between languages because “not every customer understands financial terms in Dutch” and “some customers need to hear financial terms in their own language in order to fully understand them”. The importance of speaking the same language with the customers is acknowledged by almost all of the interviewees. This attitude reveals itself in language practices of the employees, because, as it is stated by an interviewee, most of the customers want to speak in their native languages. On the other hand, interviewee B stated that, in the Netherlands, people have positive opinions on Spanish or Italian, because it is not that common to speak these languages. The same employee asserted that elderly Dutch people are allergic to mixing English words when speaking Dutch. She even cited a statement of these elderly people as follows: “you live in Holland; you should use Dutch words”. A Turkish speaking employee said she sometimes uses Turkish with her customers. She elaborated that because elderly Turkish people or Turkish immigrants are not fluent in their Dutch, they have difficulty in following the conversation in Dutch. The following quote of the same respondent also exemplifies the customer effect on language choice of employees: “Approximately 20 years ago we were not allowed to speak in Turkish, because Dutch customers were complaining and saying that ‘We don’t understand you, speak Dutch’. Now the company realized it is an important step towards reaching the immigrant

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population, and we can speak it, when it is necessary. We are still cautious about speaking Turkish in front rows”.

Another employee told how some Turkish customers specifically ask for Turkish speaking employees, and then she communicates with them in Turkish. Reportedly, demands of customers affect the languages of documents as well. On this subject, one of the respondents stated that contract documents are available in Dutch, English, German and French, “because a great majority of customers ask for these languages”. Some of the respondents drew a distinction between language practices in the headquarters and in local branches. They argued that while English and Dutch are widely used in the headquarters, other branches mostly rely on Dutch in both internal and external communication. Statements like “We are a local bank so we don’t have that much international clients or colleagues” and “English is not necessary here, in a local bank” pointed to this difference. Counter examples are also given in this context. As one of the employees stated, having a university in the city changes customer profile. Therefore, even though it is a local branch, working in Tilburg requires o a lot of English communication. Another factor that affects the language practices of employees is the attitude of managers towards languages. One of the employees stated that they hear “in some other local Rabobanks employees are not allowed to speak in other languages [other than Dutch and English]”. Another employee said: “Some colleagues from other branches say they don’t want to speak Turkish with their customers, even if it is needed sometimes, because of the attitude of their managers”. Even though these statements are considerable, they are far from being able to shed light on the topic, because they are not attained from the first person. Lastly, one employee stated that they use Dutch for meetings but prepare reports and documents about the meeting in English because of the practical reasons. Firstly, these documents are needed to be submitted only to the Central European Bank, and there is no need for a Dutch version. Secondly, some of his colleagues are not fluent in Dutch; therefore they may need to go over these English documents, which cover meetings, again.

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6. Conclusions and Discussion In this last chapter, conclusions and final remarks will be made regarding the results of this case study in order to provide an answer to the research question. The following section will discuss the results in regard to the literature presented in the theoretical background. Then, limitations of this research will be outlined and directions for future research will be suggested. In the last section, company-specific recommendations will be presented. 6.1. Case Study Conclusions The aim of this case study was to explore the relevance of linguistic diversity policies to the actual language practices in the work floor in Rabobank. The results revealed that, even though there is no official language management strategy within the organization, especially individuals are aware of the importance of linguistic diversity in the company. The statements of the employees with tenure revealed that there is a significant change in the attitude of the organization regarding diversity. The change in the attitude of the organization towards diversity can be attributed to the expected business outcome of their diversity policy. As it is stated by several employees, diversity and inclusion helps to improve customer relations which are quite important for the organization. However, according to the statements regarding the cultural diversity policies, linguistic abilities of the employees are overlooked and are not considered as an important part of individual identities. Both in the headquarters and included local branches, the dominance of the Dutch language is apparent. Because of the immigrant population in the country, international students and expats, English is also highly functional in some cases. Inattention towards other foreign or immigrant languages is observable. For documents, two main languages are used: Dutch and English. The dominance of these languages mostly varies according to the locations and departments in which the documents are needed and used. Besides that, as it is stated by the employees, immigrant languages are not offered as language of any documentation. The Dutch and English only website also shows that the company does not pay attention to immigrant or other foreign languages. Besides that, even though the change in the attitude of the organization towards different cultures and languages is noticeable, there are still some accounts claiming that the attitude of the organization is negative towards their cultural and linguistic identities.

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Therefore, it is not clear whether the company is speaking or is willing to speak the same language as their customers. Since there is no official linguistic diversity policy, language practices in the work floor cannot be discussed in a specific framework. However, it can be said that Dutch emerged as the primary language for both internal and external communication of the company. The second most important language appears to be English which is not surprising because of the international orientation of the company. Besides the ambiguity of informal language practices, there are several factors that have an impact on the language choice of the employees such as regional characteristics of cities in which branches are located, and attitudes of different managers towards different languages. These factors affect not only the verbal communication but also the written communication practices of the company. Interviews revealed that, when needed, external translation and interpretation services are being used, but limited with foreign languages such as English, French, or German. Since there is also no regulation on this, which documents are going to be translated purportedly depends on the demands of the customers. However, it needs to be highlighted that in spite of the large immigrant groups as the target audience of the company, immigrant languages are neglected. There is also no formal linguistic requirements policy for recruitment process, but it can be said that managers pay attention to specific foreign language skills such as English and German. However, again the immigrant languages are (almost) completely ignored. Furthermore, it is revealed that employees, who contact with customers on a daily basis, especially emphasized the need for a diverse workforce with different linguistic abilities including immigrant languages. Therefore, recruitment process seems the starting point of increasing linguistic diversity among the employees. The need for cultural and linguistic diversity in the work floor is generally acknowledged by the employees. Therefore employee perspective can be accepted as positive towards diversity. However, on the management level, linguistic diversity is excluded from cultural diversity policies. As the interviews revealed, the organization assumes that having an employee with a specific cultural background, guarantee an effective communication with the customers. However, the abilities of the employees in the language of their presumed cultural backgrounds are also of importance. Several languages exist in the work floor. However, only two of them are officially functional. Even though Dutch is primarily significant in the company and is a must for

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almost all positions in the company, Dutch and English can be considered as corporate languages together, because English is also vital for communication in some departments. Apart from these languages, several other foreign and immigrant languages are needed and frequently used in the work floor. However, as stated above, several factors affect the need for and the frequency of occurrence of these languages in the work floor. In conclusion, this study revealed that there is no written down language policies within the Rabobank. Therefore, informal policies are adopted by the employees for both internal and external communication. Even though Dutch is the corporate language, English also seems gaining more and more importance in the organization. For internal communication, as the responses revealed, Dutch is the common language. Also for external communication, Dutch seems enough. Since the company wants to reach new customer groups such as the immigrant population in the country, the national-language-only policy does not seem a fit to the aims of the organization. As an international company, Rabobank is part of a customer-oriented sector. Therefore, linguistic abilities of the employees should have the utmost importance in diversity policies. In line with the organizational beliefs, another pattern emerged in the recruitment process. The Dutch language proficiency, most of the times, is not even asked, because it is already assumed as it is spoken by candidates. Moreover, the company does not invest in longterm language strategies which cover languages other than Dutch and English. 6.2. Discussion As it is indicated in the literature, in spite of the importance and relevance of the topic, linguistic diversity factor and its effects on the business outcome for companies is relatively lessemphasized, and that there is a significant lack in academic research on linguistic diversity management in international/multinational corporations (Thomas, 2007; Angouri, 2013; Loos, 2007; Bauer, 2016). Therefore, the aim of this study was to discover if there is a convergence between the meso level management ideologies and practices and the micro level language choice and linguistic practices. After the desk research, literature search and examination of the company website, it is expected that the Rabobank is paying close attention to the diversity issues. After the field research and in depth examination of the case, the assumption is confirmed. However, the focus on linguistic diversity was lacking. General interest of the company on diversity topics covers a

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broad spectrum such as gender diversity, cultural/ethnic diversity, sexual orientation, and inclusion of people with occupational disabilities. In the literature, the importance of the diverse workforce is argued convincingly that diversified workforce has a strong impact on addressing the “increasingly heterogeneous customer base” which leads to the successful business outcome (Caye, Teichmann, Strack, Haen, Bird & Frick, 2011, p. 2). The attitude that is encouraged in this study is in line with the organizational attitude of Rabobank towards diversity. The international orientation of the company is strongly emphasized both in the company documents and the statements of the employees. It is highlighted in several studies that English is widely used as lingua franca within most of the MNCs (Angouri, 2013; Amelina, 2010; Bauer, 2016; Fredriksson et al., 2006; Hagen et al., 2006; Seidlhofer, 2011). Also in the Rabobank, English is introduced as the language of communication in the headquarters and some departments of the company. However the introduction of English does not guarantee its acceptance in the work floor and the situation in the company is in line with this statement (Fredriksson et al., 2006; Amelina, 2010). Even though English is widely introduced to the work floor after the merging in 2016, Dutch is the dominant language in the headquarters and in the local branches. Both the statements of the employees and my observations revealed that, especially in internal communication, the use of English is limited to a few extreme cases. Another strong emphasis of the organizational policies is on the customers which has a powerful effect on the external communication practices of the company. Existent diversity management policies take into account the immigrant population of the country. Since, language negotiation takes place in the individual level, and understanding language practices revealed that linguistic aspect of the diversity is also needed to be considered (Amelina, 2010; Angouri, 2013; Angouri & Miglbauer, 2014; Fredriksson et al., 2006; Nekvapil & Sherman, 2015; Spolsky, 2007, 2009; Thomas, 2008). Even though the company does not seem aware of the linguistic diversity policies and promotion in the European context, several other diversity topics are well-known. Therefore, it can be said that European ideology and attitude towards diversity, in general, is reflected in the organizational ideology and attitude on the topic. The ideological stance of the Netherlands is observable especially in education and integration policies (Kroon, 1990). Since there is no direct government intervention regarding linguistic diversity management in businesses, it is difficult to come to a conclusion about the relation between ideology of the state and the

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organizational ideology. However, it can be deduced that there are similarities between these two such as the dominance of the Dutch language in the organization and negative attitudes of some managers towards immigrant languages. Language practices are closely linked to the ideology (Shohamy, 2006; Spolsky, 2004; Kingsley, 2009). As Kingsley (2009) states there are three main areas where language is explicitly considered and shape language practices in MNCs: “the management of the working language, recruitment, and language courses within organisations (p. 156). These mechanisms are shaped by ideological beliefs of the organization. As for these ideological beliefs, following pattern emerged: (1) a belief in the importance of diversity in order to reach out to the customers, (2) a belief in the value of foreign languages in external communication, (3) a belief in the value of Dutch in both internal and external communication, and (4) the belief in the insignificance of the immigrant languages in reaching out to the customers. As for the mechanism of the management of the working language, this study revealed that Dutch is the most important language within the company, both in the headquarters and in the local branches. Therefore the strategy of adapting the language of the parent company is adopted (Feely & Harzing, 2003; Kingsley, 2009; Thomas, 2008). However, as it is indicated in Hagen et al. (2006), functional approach towards language management, including practical and incidental solutions, are also taken by the company in order to overcome the linguistic barriers in the work floor. It can be observed in the use of the translation and interpretation services, and utilizing linguistic abilities of the employees when needed. A similar ‘whatever works’ approach is also taken by the employees especially in communicating with the customers (Angouri, 2013; Angouri & Miglbauer, 2012; Nekvapil & Nekula, 2006). Even though immigrant and other foreign languages are not considered much in language policies of the company, the usage of these languages in the work floor reveals a divergence between meso level ideologies and micro level practices. The attitudes and statements of the employees also revealed that the availability of different languages in the work floor improves micro level language practices and customer relations, and thus, help the business to grow. Therefore, the findings of this study confirm the results of the ELAN study which provides evidence on the importance of languages in MNCs (Hagen et al., 2006). In conclusion, this study contributes to the literature by providing evidence that linguistic repertoires of the employees are beneficial for the business outcome of MNCs.

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6.3. Limitations of the Research and Directions for Future Research There were several limitations that I confronted during this research. First of all, because of the limited time, availability, and location of some of the interviewees, I conducted 5 out of 12 interviews via telephone. Telephone interviews did not give me the chance to observe reactions and emotions of the respondents. Because of these reasons, it was not possible to carry out structured observations as I planned. Although being limited, incidental observations were made in order to grasp the actuality of the work floor communication. Another problem with the phone interviews was that the quality of the recordings was lower than the recordings of the face-toface interviews. Therefore, not all words were understood and transcribed. In short, observational findings should be crucial part of future research because of the fact that interviews might easily be affected by external factors such as social desirability. Secondly, six of the interviews were conducted in Turkish. It was a spontaneous process for some of these interviews. In some cases, I let the Turkish respondents know that there is a possibility to conduct the interviews in English, if they like. However, all of them preferred Turkish. The transcription is made in Turkish, but results and quotes are presented in English. Since some expressions may differ from language to language, slight differences might be found in meaning, but not to the extent that it effects the conclusions of the study. The remaining six interviews were conducted in English. Since none of us have English as our mother tongue, this might have an impact on the quality of the expressions. In other words, the participants, including me, might not be able to express themselves as easily as they would in their mother tongue. Thirdly, it is observed that talking about languages was a sensitive issue for some of the respondents. One of the potential respondents stated that he does not want to get involved in the study after he learned that the study is specifically about languages but not diversity issues in general. Some of the respondents hesitated whether they would allow me to record our conversation or not. I made sure that all of the respondents are aware of the academic nature of my study. The anonymity of the participants is also ensured. The same is also suggested for future research. Lastly, there is a strong representation of Turkish employees in this study. It was neither intended nor planned, but shaped as a result of snowball sampling. Furthermore, I conducted

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interviews in five different branches. But, increasing the number of included branches, may improve the representation of different stakeholders for future studies. 6.4. Practical Implications and Recommendations for the Organization Based on the results of this case-study, a few recommendations can be given to the organization in addition to their (linguistic) diversity management strategies. First of all, it is recommended that the company could apply purposive recruitment. As the study reveals, different languages are needed in different circumstances. Having a recruitment plan in line with these needs, may help the company to reach new markets and improve their business outcome. However, it should be kept in mind that inclusive recruitment strategy of the company, which can be called ‘reflecting the society’ strategy, should not be solely based on cultural/ethnic background of the employees. The strategy also needs to consider the linguistic abilities of the employees, because of the fact that not everyone who has the same cultural background is proficient in the language of the culture. Moreover, not everyone is willing to utilize their linguistic abilities in the work floor, generally because of external factors such as negative attitudes of managers. This brings the topic to my second recommendation. Since there is no linguistic diversity policies, employees have different views and insights about language use in the work floor. It is revealed that, the lack of a centralized linguistic diversity policy, affects the language choices of the employees. It is recommended that the company should create a centralized linguistic diversity management strategy that eliminates the controversial views on and the arbitrary treatments towards different languages. Thirdly, a small diversity research team could be created in order to take the pulse of the needs and improvements in the headquarters and local Rabobanks regarding the (linguistic) diversity in the organization. The team could help the Diversity Board in their decision making processes by creating reports based on up-to-date information. Furthermore, linguistic abilities of the employees needs to be developed, registered, and strategically allocated according to the above-mentioned reports which may help to define and reveal the linguistic needs of the organization. Fourthly, the study revealed that there are several languages available in the work floor, by which multilingual branches can be established. These branches could offer the customers the possibility to choose the language of the service. The same thing can be done for

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marketing as well. Advertisements could include a small note on the language possibilities in a specific branch. Lastly, linguistic abilities of the international employees could be monitored before and after the recruitment process, because their level of Dutch might not be sufficient and create language barriers. Because of the fact that being able to work in the company requires a good level of Dutch, necessary interventions should be made, such as the proposal of Dutch language courses, and English alternatives for trainings and for some meetings.

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8. Appendix I. Overview of the Interviewees Interviewee

Mother Tongue

Other Languages

Gender

Location

A

Dutch

English, German (low level), French (low level)

F

Utrecht

B

Spanish

Dutch, English, French, German, Arabic (low level), Italian (low level)

F

Tilburg

C

Arabic

Dutch, English

F

Almere

D

Dutch

Surinamese, English

F

Almere

E

Surinamese Hindi

Surinamese, Dutch, English, German (low level)

F

Almere

F

Turkish

English, Dutch, German

M

Almere

G

Arabic

Dutch, French, English, German (low level)

M

Tilburg

H

Turkish

Dutch, German, English, French (low level)

M

Eindhoven

I

Turkish

Dutch, German, English, French (low level)

F

Tilburg

J

Turkish

English, Dutch, German (low level)

M

Utrecht

K

Turkish

Dutch, English, German (low level)

M

Eindhoven

L

Turkish

Dutch, English (low level)

F

Goirle

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II. Overview of the Coding Process Sample statements & Quotes of respondents In 2014 the board and CEO has changed and it affected diversity positively. In 2016 Rabobank has gone through a merging process and it affected diversity policies.

How the statements are submerged under a general code Interviewees are talking about the organizational attitude towards (linguistic) diversity and how this attitude has changed and what are the concrete steps towards diversity since then

Central themes which the process from re-coding to selective coding

Organizational Perspective on (Linguistic) Diversity

Ten years ago I was told not to speak Turkish whatever the reason was. Thanks to the new CEO, it is not a problem now. ‘Diversity Magazine’ is published both in Dutch and in English. Reflection of the society policy: They want the employees to be the reflection of the society. Different nationalities should be represented in the Rabobank. Officially it is not allowed to speak to customers in languages other than Dutch or English. The company is not strict about the communication language with the customers. Languages other than Dutch or English are neither forbidden nor promoted.

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Linguistic abilities can be added to personal profiles in intranet but it is not used effectively. The company is not aware of the EU studies on linguistic diversity.

Interviewees are talking about the organizational awareness of linguistic diversity and available opportunities for language learning

Organizational Perspective on (Linguistic) Diversity

Diversity is a well-known subject but I do not think that there is an awareness of linguistic diversity. The company and our managers are aware of our linguistic abilities, because it is needed. Some departments are working always in English, but even in these departments the language levels are not monitored thoroughly during in recruitment or after recruitment. English courses are offered. No Dutch courses are available, because it is already a must. They promote learning or improving English in higher level jobs, for lower level jobs it is not promoted. External translators are used for official documents and emails. There is a central diversity policy.

Interviewees are talking about management practices regarding linguistic diversity such as the use of translators

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Documentation needs to be in Dutch. So we can provide the translated document (into the native language of the customer) if it is demanded from the customer.

Organizational Perspective on (Linguistic) Diversity

Supervisory boards in local banks can make their own decisions on diversity issues. If an employee has the linguistic skills that are needed for business, the bank use it. Language is not important when hiring people with diverse backgrounds but the looks.

Interviewees talk about their experiences in recruitment process

Purposive recruitment is done according to the requirements of the position. Not purposive recruitment, for example we have a lot of Turkish customers here in Tilburg, but we don’t have a Turkish financial advisor. English is required for some positions but Dutch is a must. Linguistic requirements are clearly stated in job vacancies. Foreign languages like English, French or German may increase your chance to be recruited but immigrant languages do not have the

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same effect.

Organizational Perspective on (Linguistic) Diversity

Let alone the language, not having a Dutch name is sometimes a reason for not being recruited. I have never seen an immigrant language as a requirement in a job description. Especially in cities like Rotterdam, bicultural employees are helpful in communicating with customers.

Individual views on the importance of and need for (linguistic) diversity

Employee Perspective on Linguistic Diversity

Speaking the language of the customer is necessary in reaching out to them. It doesn’t matter if you are a small or a big company. I think the companies who are not listening to market, will lose in the future. Implementing cultural diversity policies is good, but the ability to communicate with customers as they want, is also necessary. We sometimes work with banks of other countries. Employees who are native in foreign languages are helpful in communicating and solving problems with these banks.

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Only IT and International Business departments have a written statement on language use.

Individual awareness of and attitude towards (linguistic) diversity policies

Employee Perspective on Linguistic Diversity

Interviewees are talking about the role of English and Dutch in the company

Language Practices

I am not sure if we are allowed to communicate in languages other than English or Dutch, but I would do that. I was one of the first immigrant employees in this branch, and I wasn’t sure how to act with immigrant customers and whether I was allowed to speak their language when it is necessary. A language policy should always be in line with the needs of the company and the market.

I think the most used language here will be English. Of course in the local Rabobanks it will be Dutch. The language for corporate branding, marketing and website change according to the country, so here it is mainly Dutch and sometimes English. Dutch is the most common language, but there are two corporate languages: Dutch and English, because some departments, like IT, use only English.

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In some cases we use English, because there is no other choice.

Language Practices

English is necessary in this branch, because we are close to the university. Common language is English in our international actions. Employees who cannot speak Dutch cannot do anything with Dutch employees and the Dutch parts of the Rabobank. Because of the identity of the bank as a farmer’s bank, national language is really important. I already knew Dutch when I started working. I learned it in order to not be excluded from social contexts. I always start with Dutch when speaking to my customers, if it doesn’t work I switch to whatever works. I switch between different languages (English-DutchArabic) when someone has difficulty with Dutch.

Interviewees are talking about their language practices in work-related context

In job-related communication I find speaking in Dutch or English rather in Turkish. I use Turkish with my customers only when it is really necessary.

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If necessary, I can use Turkish in my job, it is a language just like English, German, and French… If we can use them, we can use Turkish as well. Why not?

Language Practices

For Turkish people, which language you serve in is more important than the price of it, so in that sense, I use Turkish strategically. Because of my department, I use English on a daily basis. When I first start working in the Rabobank, my Dutch was not good. I was not able to follow some contact meetings, and could not make a request for an English session because most of the times I was the only one who cannot follow meetings. I use several languages in informal settings including my mother tongue. It depends on the people I am talking with.

Interviewees are talking about their language practices in social context

I talk with my Turkish friends in Turkish, but when someone joins us, we immediately switch to Dutch. It is a common sense. I learned Dutch in order to not be excluded from social contexts. Sometimes even dialects of Dutch are not welcomed.

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Elderly people are allergic to Dunglish. Some elderly Dutch people say ‘You live in Holland, you should use Dutch’.

Interviewees are talking about the influential factors on their language choice and practices in the work floor

Language Practices

Some customers need to hear financial terms in their own language in order to fully understand them. Most of our customers want to speak in their native languages. Most documents are can available in Dutch, English, German, and French. Because a great majority of customers ask for these languages. Some of my Turkish clients are not fluent in Dutch. For this reason, I use Turkish with my customers when it is necessary. Because of the school here we have a lot of international customers, so I switch between languages a lot. Sometimes Turkish people specifically ask for Turkish speaking employees, and then I communicate with them in Turkish. I hear in some other local Rabobanks employees are not allowed to speak in other languages (managerial factor).

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The bank world is Englishoriented that means using of English is necessary (sectorial factor).

Language Practices

We use Dutch for meetings but prepare reports and documents in English (practical factor).

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III. Interview Guideline

Focus: Questions about the interviewee:

1- What is your background (age, education, experience and position in the company)? 2- What is your mother tongue? 3- What other languages you can speak/understand? 4- What is the degree of your international communication? To what extent do you communicate externally? In which languages? 5- Which languages do you generally use/prefer to speak with your colleagues in work-related settings/meetings? 6- Which languages do you generally speak with your colleagues in informal settings/coffee breaks/lunches etc.? 7- Have you ever encountered any problems in communication because of lack of the knowledge of a language that was spoken (e.g. in a meeting or an informal setting)?

Focus: General questions

1- Do you think that the company is aware of EU studies and programs that promote linguistic diversity in European business world? 2- How do you think that different linguistic abilities of the employees can be considered as an asset for the organization? 3- Do you think that the company is aware of the linguistic abilities of the employees? 4- Do you switch between different languages? When and why, could you exemplify a situation? 5- Do you feel comfortable while listening and speaking to others in English? How do you think the use of English affect the effectiveness of your communication? 6- Have you ever encountered any negative consequences that came out of the use of the English language in your business-related communication?

Focus: Questions on external language policies

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1- In which language(s) (foreign, regional, immigrant) do you (personally) interact with external stakeholders or customers? 2- Which languages does the organization use to communicate externally (annual reports, marketing, corporate branding/identity, website)? 3- Do you think it is necessary/advantageous to use different languages in reaching out to different stakeholders? 4- Is there a regulation or enforcement regarding the language choice of employees while communicating with the customers? For example, you have a colleague whose mother tongue is French. And your colleague has a French customer who can barely speak English or Dutch. Is your colleague allowed to use French as a means of communication? 5- Do you think that language skills play a role in the recruitment process? Is language proficiency in Dutch, English or any other language a selection criterion for new employees? If so, why? Are language requirements clearly stated in job vacancies? 6- Does the company explicitly recruit employees that have skills in (foreign/regional/immigrant) languages or even native speakers to support the organization? If so, in which languages? 7- Why do you think the linguistic ability of employees is/can be relevant/useful for the business? 8- Do you think the organization’s attitude towards linguistic diversity has changed during the years? Why? What are the possible reasons?

Focus: Internal Language Policies

1- Do you know that diversity policies exist within the organization? If so, are there policies on language diversity? Is there a written statement on which languages to use in which circumstances? 2- Does the company promote language diversity? If so, how? 3- Is there a general/explicit language strategy of the company? If so, what is the strategy? 4- Is there an implicit language strategy in the company? For example, is there a common corporate language of the company? Or an informal lingua franca? 5- Which languages are used for workplace documents, reports, the website and intranet?

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6- Do you know in which languages is the Code of Conduct available? 7- What do you think about the inclusiveness of the ‘Staff Magazine’ in terms of the topics covered? In which languages is it published? 8- Does the company provide language or intercultural awareness trainings for employees? For example Dutch language classes for non-Dutch employees? Or English classes to increase language proficiency? 9- In which languages are the internal training programs being held? Is there ever a situation in which translation is needed? 10- Does the company make use of external interpreters or translators? If so, for what purposes? 11- What is the importance of the national language within the organization? 12- How necessary to be able to speak English within the organization? 13- Do you think that Dutch language skills are required for a job in this organization? Why? 14- Do you think that other fluent foreign language skills are required for a job in the organization? Why? 15- Did you ever feel in struggle to understand your colleagues because of your or your colleagues’ language proficiency in either English or Dutch? 16- Have you ever felt excluded in the work environment because of not understanding a particular language? 17- Have you ever confronted with barriers in the work environment that is caused because of linguistic or cultural differences? 18- Have you encountered with a misunderstanding and miscommunication because of accents or language levels of employees? 19- What do you think about creating a linguistic diversity policy within the organization? Is it necessary? Would it be useful for business and effective communication? 20- Are there any comments/suggestions you would like to add about the study?

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