Cultural Change From A Business Anthropology Perspective

This book offers keen insight and useful lessons underscoring the value of practice to theory. Conceived by two anthropologists who lead consulting practices, McCabe and Briody selected contributors to explore how cultural change happens in a variety of consumer and organizational contexts. The 12 case studies illustrate the explanatory potential and the problem-solving strengths of assemblage theory, and the role of human agency in provoking cultural change. The case studies are compelling due to connections between the case narratives and graphics, and researcher engagement in the pragmatics of implementation—both of which shape and encourage learning. This volume will be markedly useful to practitioners engaged in research and implementation. It will also appeal to students and faculty in a variety of fields including anthropology, business management, marketing, sociology, cultural studies, and industrial design.

Using a set of case studies conducted in the United States, China, India, Nigeria, and Cambodia, Maryann McCabe and Elizabeth K. Briody examine cultural change in everyday life, or more specifically, the process of human perception and action in the instigation of change.

Now in its ninth edition, The Cultural Dimension of Global Business continues to provide an essential foundation for understanding the impact of culture on global business and global business on culture. The highly experienced authors demonstrate how the theory and insights of cultural anthropology can positively influence the conduct of global business, examining a range of issues that individuals, teams, and organizations face as they work globally and across cultures. The cross-cultural scenarios presented at the end of each chapter allow students of business, management, and anthropology alike to explore cultural differences while gaining valuable practice in thinking through a variety of complex and thorny cultural issues. The fully updated ninth edition offers: • An expanded focus on international perspectives, and greater insight into China and its emergence as a global economic power • Consideration of team interactions in complex global environments, including virtually, while recognizing that individuals have critical influence on business processes and outcomes • New methodological tools with reflections and exercises to inspire readers to begin thinking and acting globally, offering guidance on identifying salient features of an international business or partnership, adjusting to novel or unexpected circumstances, and capturing the perceptions and behaviors of global businesspeople • New chapters on understanding one’s own organizational culture as a precursor to conducting business globally, additional material to enhance business partnership interactions, and strategies for integrating the global into local operations • Discussion of the wide-ranging disruptions facing people and business around the world and the ways in which the global pandemic affected business processes and practices • Further resources via the Instructor & Student Resource, www.routledge.com/cw/ferraro2, including links, blogs, and videos, an instructor’s resource manual, and a section on relevant cultural sources.

This book demonstrates how the theories and insights of anthropology have positively influenced the conduct of global business and commerce, providing a foundation for understanding the impact of culture on global business, and global business on culture.

Women are the world’s most powerful consumers, yet they are largely marketed to erroneously through misconceptions and patriarchal views that distort the reality of women’s lives, bodies, and work. This book examines the contradictions and mismatches between women’s everyday experiences and market representations. It considers how women themselves exhibit paradoxical behaviour in both resisting and supporting conflicting messages. The volume emphasizes paradox as a form of agency and negotiation through which women develop dialogical meanings. The contributions highlight the ways in which women transform inconsistencies and contradictions in advertising and marketing, global consumption practices, and material consumption into positive practices for living. The rich range of ethnographic accounts, drawn from countries including the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Denmark, Japan, and China, provide readers with a valuable perspective on consumer behaviour.

Viewed as a breakthrough in applied anthropology, Business Anthropology was the first concise work to juxtapose, compare, and integrate anthropological methods and theories with those of contemporary business practices and theories. In this latest edition, Jordan retains enduring, illustrative examples and adds fresh insights to familiarize readers with anthropological techniques and show their ever-growing utility in a variety of organizational and consumer settings. Business Anthropology explains how anthropologists distinctive training and skills equip them to address issues ranging from work processes, diversity, and globalization to product design and consumer behavior, in both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Anthropologists use a holistic approach to gather and analyze data. They get to know people both inside and outside the organization, understand diverse perspectives from an objective viewpoint, gain in-depth knowledge about local wants and needs, and see old realities in new ways.

This book provides an essential foundation for understanding the impact of culture on global business and global business on culture. The authors demonstrate how the theory and insights of cultural anthropology can positively influence the conduct of global business. Consideration is given to the individual and intercultural communication as well as to the issues that organizations face as they work globally. The cross-cultural scenarios presented in each chapter allow students of business, management and anthropology to explore cultural difference and gain valuable practice in thinking through a variety of complex and thorny cultural issues.

No challenge is entirely new. In 60,000 years of human existence, nearly every problem we face in modern business has already been seen...and solved. We just have to figure out how to apply that age-old tribal wisdom to our current circumstances. The Corporate Tribe will take you on a journey to discover the essence of culture and the secret to successful change programs. Along the way, it will introduce you to the cultural traditions of different people across the globe and provide you with the practical tools you need to apply what you find to today’s organizations. Through thirty compelling stories, The Corporate Tribe will reveal what, deep down, you already know. At turns unfamiliar and disruptive, illuminating and inspirational, The Corporate Tribe offers a powerful paradigm and skillset for tackling organizational and leadership challenges in the twenty-first century and beyond. It is a book for leaders, consultants and advisors who are looking for a fresh perspective and proven solutions, for those who want to build strong communities that are safe for diversity and ready for change. Danielle Braun and Jitske Kramer are corporate anthropologists. They look at organizations as tribes, organizational charts as kinship systems, leaders as chiefs and mission documents as totem poles. Travel with them to places where spirits linger after death, magic is real and rituals are the key to maintaining order and facilitating transition. You will never look at your organization—or approach its problems—the same way again.