
Originally Posted by
fretburner
The official language in Canada are French and English. Montreal, if I'm not mistaken, is predominantly French-speaking.
The official language of the Philippines is Filipino, which is based on Tagalog. However, the official language of business in the Philippines is English.
So, if you want to do in Cebu what you do in Montreal, which language should you use?
Yes, that's correct, use English. Then when customers talk to you in Bisaya, then speak Bisaya.
Saying Cebuano/Bisaya is not a medium for business, is fair. But, that applies to Tagalog or Filipino as well.
Also, Henry Sy (and so many other Taipans) hails from Cebu. I think if this gets to their level, that manager could be given the boot.
What would be interesting though is what image is SM Appliance and SM in general want to project? An international company with 1 standard of language, or an international company with local sensibilities and therefore would tailor their methods according to the cities they operate in? Remember HSBC's motto?