Harboe Case Study International Communication

Abstract
Considering the attractive nature of becoming an international firm, this project explores the difficulty of communication and how it may be facilitated regardless of global challenges. A case study on Harboe Bryggeri A/S’s international office has been chosen to uncover context-dependent knowledge. Data has been collected through interviews with employees and also observations of Harboe’s International office in Copenhagen. Looking at the office as a “community of practice”, where sensemaking is used to understand the employees’ actions, this project critically assesses Harboe’s international communication practices. It will conclude that Harboe has developed a set of tools to deal with the difficulties that internationality presents.

Weick argues that individuals have a need for a sense of identity, as this assists the person in understanding how to act within a given situation. An identity is shaped by how others perceive the individual, or how they wish to be perceived; which will in turn also affect the way in which individuals make sense of their surroundings (Weick, 1995: 22-23). The second property is retrospect that states that reflection on a situation happens after it has been experienced. Individuals make sense of past experiences to give it meaning, and this may affect future behavior (Weick, 1995: 24). The third property is enactment that entails individuals structuring the environments, as the environments structure them. Individuals organize their own constraints depending on what they presume is correct. Thereby, they enact what they expect the environment to consist of. The fourth property is that of social. Weick argues that individuals do not make sense of reality alone, but that interaction with others assists sensemaking. By sharing opinions, people affect the way in which others make sense of situations and experiences (Weick, 1995: 38). The fifth property is ongoing, and is based on the assumption that people shape and react to their environment at the same time. Reflection can only be done from one point in time, even though reality keeps moving. Therefore it is important to consider the context of the sensemaking process, as well as

According to Wenger a high degree of trust is an indicator of a high level of social capital. In this case trust includes the certainty that members of the community have the skills to contribute to the common goal (Wenger, 2000: 230). Employees at Harboe are given autonomy depending on their alignment with the common goal and their capability to fulfill their responsibilities. A high amount of decision-making power requires less communication within Harboe. Having a high amount of autonomy seems efficient and popular with regards to the process of communication, however there is always a risk concerning the employees’ alignment to the community. Wenger emphasizes that in order to belong to a community of practice there is a need for alignment, which could be supervised by a leader. Though, such internal leadership may be distributed between various amounts of people, Wenger’s (2000: 231) essential point is that it will help a community