Сборник материалов международной научной конференции студентов, магистрантов, аспирантов

Т.С. Грабарук

Республика Беларусь, Пинск, ПолесГУ

Научный руководитель – В.В. Ширяев

ENGLISH AS AN INSTRUMENT OF CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION

Everybody knows that language is one of the most important elements of the culture and cross-personal interaction of individuals. Every language is peculiar reflection of the culture, in which not only the world, which is around the person is demonstrated, but also mentality of its people, national character, traditions, morality, the system of values, vision of the world.

Language as the main channel of social communication represents the difficult system functioning in the course of interaction of various cultures representatives. It causes the social variabilities of language reflecting contents of information as a result of communication [2].

At this stage Belarus dynamically moves on the way of expansion of interrelations with various countries. This process widely captured many spheres of public life. Expansion of interaction of the different people puts the problem of cross-cultural communication in the forefront.

Cross-cultural communication is carried out in the presence of language variety as embodiments of multiculturalism and originality of each individual, group, state, civilization. A reverse side of language variety is the phenomenon of language of world communication as peculiar mechanism of cross-cultural communication. In the modern world the role of the few exclusive languages, especially English amplifies. Now communication requires the international language and now most widespread and required language in the world is English. So, formation of English as a global is caused by economic and other achievements of the English-speaking countries – Great Britain and the USA [3]. To many people, especially businessmen and scientists, it is necessary to study English because of the professional activities. Besides, English is becoming popular in the world thanks to rapid development of mass culture, telecommunications and the Internet. So using English is a perfect way to minimize the quantity of the misunderstanding moments in the international and cross-cultural communication [4].

Now researchers and analysts are excited by prospects of the development of English in 20–30 years. D. Greddol comes to a conclusion that now we observe changes which, undoubtedly, will give English absolutely other direction. English today is the transitional phenomenon, according to the British scientist. Global political changes in Africa and in the Middle East, economic expansion of Southeast Asia, dynamics of demographic growth and active migration between continents will question the linguistic monopoly of English in the middle of the XXI century. At the beginning of the 2000th years English was the only global language, but by 2050 there will be a new hierarchy of languages, and English will play the same role as Chinese, Hindi, the Spanish and Arab languages [2].

Cross-cultural communication is an integral part of the professional culture of the person. The culture of business communication promotes the achievement of effective cooperation between business partners.

1. 
   Садохин, А. П. Введение в теорию межкультурной коммуникации / А. П. Садохин. – М. : Высш. шк., 2005. – 310 с.
   
2. 
   Грушевицкая, Т. Г. Основы межкультурной коммуникации : учебник для вузов / Т. Г. Грушевицкая, В. Д. Попков, А. П. Садохин ; под ред. А. П. Садохина. – М. : ЮНИТИ-ДАНА, 2005. – 352 с.
   
3. 
   Шамне, Н. Л. Актуальные проблемы межкультурной коммуникации / Н. Л. Шамне. – Волгоград : Изд-во ВолГУ, 1999. – 208 с.
   
4. 
   Hirsh, E. D. Cultural Literacy / E. D. Hirsh. – N.Y., 1988.
   

В современном обществе существует необходимость всестороннего взаимодействия различных стран. Поэтому межкультурная коммуникация – одна из самых актуальных тем для изучения. Эта проблема затрагивает многие сферы общественной жизни. Процесс межкультурного взаимодействия подвергается исследованиям многих ученых, так как для полного понимания информации, предлагаемой собеседником, необходимо знать не только язык, на котором он говорит, но также и такие аспекты, как менталитет его страны, национальный характер, традиции, мораль, системы ценностей, видение мира.

В.Ю. Грико

Республика Беларусь, Брест, БрГТУ

Научный руководитель – И.Е. Климович

MANAGING COMPETITIVENESS: EFFECTIVE BUSINESS INSTRUMENTS

Empirical observation confirms that resources (capital, labour, techno- logy) and talent tend to concentrate geographically. This result reflects the fact that firms are involved in inter-firm relationships with networks of suppliers, buyers and even competitors that help them gain competitive advantages in the sale of its products and services. Competitiveness is regarded as the ability of a product, company, or country to compete with others.

Competitiveness is a versatile concept including both quantitative (e.g. growth rates) and qualitative aspects (e.g. human resources). It is an important issue for policy makers and other stakeholders in the country. There are several main features of the concept, which are as follows:

− The widespread use of this concept reflects the growing need of nations and business enterprises to examine their relative position with regard to competitors in the global market.

− The concept of competitiveness is applied on different levels (e.g. international/global, national/domestic, local/regional, macroeconomic, microeconomic etc.).

− The concept of competitiveness is at the core of the success of nations and companies.

To increase competitiveness the following major instruments are employed:

1. Human resources management (HRM), also called personnel management, consists of all the activities undertaken by an enterprise to ensure the effective utilization of employees toward the attainment of individual, group, and organizational goals.

As business leaders deal with the need to remain competitive within their industries, they face the corresponding need to develop and implement programs to enhance their employees’ competitiveness within their fields. To attract and keep the best and the brightest, you will have to offer your employees opportunities for educational and vocational development that address their needs to remain relevant and aggressive in pursuing their career goals [2].

2. Knowledge management practices (KM) can have a big impact on organizational development and effectiveness. It can be defined as a formal and directed process of determining what information contained within an organization could benefit other people within the company, the industry, as well as the general business community and then creating ways to make this information easily accessible.

Knowledge management refers to the organization’s strategic efforts to gain a competitive advantage by capturing and using the intellectual assets held by its employees and customers. Efforts to archive best practices and lessons learned, and make better use of information stored in databases, also fall under the rubric of knowledge management. Advocates of knowledge management believe that capturing, storing, and distributing knowledge will help employees work smarter, reduce duplication, and ultimately produce more innovative products and services that meet the customers’ needs and offer a good value.

If a company knows something (e.g. changing tastes of the customers, innovative solutions to international tax issues, or how to use information systems to better monitor production processes) that its competitors do not, then that company has an opportunity to offer a distinguishing product or service. Knowledge management, as a business practice, impacts the entire organization by helping employees, managers, and executives share information and best practices that positively impact collective performance. Unlike downsizing, which emphasizes the reduction and control of costs (often through attrition and layoffs), knowledge management is a value-adding practice that seeks to enhance profits, innovation, and decision making by providing better and more abundant information to every member of the organization [3].

3. Managing Competitiveness through Product Development (PD). While product development is not the only contributing factor influencing a company’s competitive position, the growth and profitability driven by products (or services) speaks volumes of an organization’s prowess to meet customer «needs or wants». A well-crafted Product Development process provides insight on how companies view and understand their internal and external competitive environment to ensure the right prioritized product mix is in place to remain competitive. The prioritization of products to be developed helps shape the future competitiveness of a company. Prioritizing PD starts with the formation of comprehensive sets of criteria including:

• 
  Strategic Alignment – Will this product enhance, support our strategic objectives? This is predicated on the company having a clear understanding of the markets they serve relative to the products they offer.
  
• 
  Key Capabilities – What is the technical complexity required to develop this product? This is a critical question relative to the competitiveness of an organization. This creates a decision opportunity for management on how they will address and prepare for their future technical competitiveness.
  
• 
  Core Competencies – Does this product fit our core business competencies? Most leading organizations excel at some aspect of their business through the prism of customers, suppliers, or competitors. It provides a competitive advantage. The management must determine if the product or service fits within their core competencies relative to the market, product realties, or seek ways to enhance their core competencies to be competitive.
  
• 
  Customer Relations – Does this product improve, maintain, or degrade relations with our customers? This is a complex question that can best be answered relative to the particulars of the product being offered and who constitutes your customer base – general public, suppliers, government, etc. New products must be assessed through the eyes of the customer and on the existing strength of the relationship. For example, when Coca Cola introduced the “New Coke” several years ago, they misunderstood the customer acceptance of the legendary Coke product being changed. When complaints poured in, the strength of the customer relationship allowed Coca Cola to quickly withdraw the product and avoid any negative competitive long-term impact to their business.
  
• 
  Costs – What investment does it take to develop the product? This is the basic cost/benefit analysis expected of any new product. Again, it is a direct link to the company’s strategic objectives relative to profitability and growth. In the world of competing resources, companies must prioritize the right products to develop in order to maximize their financial goals and avoid excessive operational costs that reduce their competitive standing.
  
• 
  Risks – What are the issues and concerns associated with developing (or not developing) this product? Aside from the normal legal, regulatory concerns that any new product may have, it is also the “lost opportunity” in sales or market entry that can directly impact a company’s competitiveness if the product is not developed.
  

To conclude, for any business to succeed, one needs to know almost as much about their competitors as one does about their own company and customers. In other words, a detailed competitive analysis is to be carried out. It allows identifying competitors and evaluating their respective strengths and weaknesses. A competitive analysis is an ongoing process. One should always be gathering information about their competitors. And the last but not least, a competitive analysis can give you a clearer picture of where your business fits in the competitive environment [1].
1. Audretsch, D. Creating Сompetitiveness. Entrepreneurship and Innovation Policies for Growth / D. B. Audretsch, M.L. Walshok. – UK : Edward Elgar Publishing, 2013. – 220 p.

2. Chaudhry, A. S. Exploiting the Potential of Intranets for Managing Knowledge in Organisations [Electronic resource] / A. S. Chaudhry, A. A. Nor, I. A. Damayanti // Journal of Knowledge Management Practice. – Vol. 9. – 2008. – № 2. – Mode of access: http://www.tlainc.com/articl153.htm. – Date of access: 29.01.2015.

3. Pelkey, K. Managing Competitiveness through Product Development [Electronic resource] / K. Pelkey. – Mode of access: http://www.thinking dimensions.com/resources/blog/strategy/managing-competitiveness-through-pro ductdevelopment?hsFormKey=27a6cd5d39124ad7cb8f3a9080b60fe1. – Date of access: 23.02.2015.
Конкурентоспособность – понятие, которое больше всего ассоциируется с фирмами и организациями. Конкурентоспособная фирма отличается устойчивым уровнем высокой рентабельности. И наоборот, недостаточная конкурентоспособность может обречь фирму на потерю прибыли, что, в конечном счете, ведет к банкротству или неплатежеспособности. Статья посвящена вопросам повышения конкурентоспособности фирм.