The process of business communication can be looked upon from various perspectives in terms of using metaphors. Three major aspects of the problem can be observed in French scientific literature. The following areas can be outlined according to the English to French Translator cooperative: the purpose of metaphors from a linguistic perspective, the use of metaphor in competitive strategy and the use of metaphors in changing organizations. Usually, a metaphor offers models of interrelationships which are imaginary, i.e., it bridges the gap between two different and separate conceptual realms. They express a logical contradiction and a thorough examination of the problem proves that. What increases the value of the metaphor by bringing in new concepts is exactly these contradictions, which also motivate new product development, innovation and new ideas. It is quite agreeable to point out to the abstract concepts triggered by the subconscious processes that metaphors mirror. In addition, by using metaphorical analysis we make sense of the abstract perceptions that are derived from a reformulation of concrete perceptions as the source of conceptual metaphors is traced by them in order to image culture bound schemes.
A conceptual metaphor produces a process of collective cultural models of ideas and provides the conceptual glue that keeps a system of culture together with a view to creating another one. In Italy, metaphorical analyses were not exclusively used in linguistic and literary studies, but after being translated by an English to Italian Translation school, they have evolved recently into an important part of business and social science literature. One of the means to provide valuable insights into organizations, which has been quickly recognized by strategists and analysts, is the value of using metaphors and metaphorical language. Various arguments have been inspired by the purpose, interpretation and use of metaphor, but its impact is indisputable in all branches of business studies today. One of the most clear-cut methods in an organizational change settings, which is used to simplify the complex description of an organization, is metaphor. Its various functions within the organization can be limited to the following: information technology, organizational culture, decision-making, leadership, organization design, production management, organization development, policy and strategy. Understanding organizational problems and practices as well as describing and conveying big chunks of information is what metaphor usage can be restricted to.
Metaphors provide the theoretical framework for the four of the most frequently used concepts in the German competitive strategy literature. The German Translation branch, who deserves all credits for his renditions directed to larger circles of readers, argues that the dominant motifs of using metaphors in strategic literature are present in all of the evolutionary market and strategic alliance frameworks. Competitive strategy metaphors use language to convey ideas and for management researchers it is a way of perceiving the world, which is not easily expressed as it can be turned into implicit knowledge. The inability to explain the separate symbol systems is the deficit that a metaphor captures in most cases. A strategic metaphor helps to achieve homogeny of purpose and development of associations with the organization, when it tries to deal with cross-cultural communication in an international context with multiple shareholders. The organization’s center values and strategic target are best expressed through the fine selection of words that finds expression in a well-balanced linguistic constructions. Different or similar meanings from the strategic metaphor are derived by the stakeholders of an organization owing to their different cognitive perspectives.