Working values: an analysis of language policies and their alignment with organizational values

Abstract

Previous language policy research and lawsuit rulings have shown that employers will implement language policies as a means to unify the workplace in hopes of creating a less hostile and more productive environment, which in turn, they believe will increase profits (Bergman, Watrous-Rodriquez, & Chalkely 2007; Crowe 2005; Pakiela 2002; Scott 2007). This study examined the values of an organization in order to determine how they are implemented and perceived by their employees in relationship to language policies. The reason this study looks to values is because they provide a foundation for culture and, subsequently, identity. A three part qualitative analysis utilizing Glaser and Strauss’s (1967) constant comparative method (CCM) was conducted to identify the values within the culture of one organization. It was uncovered that the current climate of the organization was not the result of the implementation of language policies. Instead, the language barriers and complications within the organization were the result of merging companies and the lack of one cohesive culture.