European Business Cultures

"A very clever management book." - John Cleese Praised by Business Week as "invaluable political and psychological profiles of each nationality ... a wonderfully entertaining view of others as well a ourselves" and named a Financial Times Business Book of the Year, Mind Your Manners has become a 50,000-copy bestseller and the standard guide to European business cultures for over a decade. Now in a fully expanded and updated third edition, this practical guide contains a further fifteen country chapters including all the additional countries - from the Baltics to the Balkans - becoming a members of the European Union, the world's biggest global market. This major new edition comprehensively covers no fewer than thirty-three different business cultures including non-EU Norway, Switzerland, Russia and America.

This book explores the way that culture and societal values impact the economies of eight European countries, focussing on businesses and their organisation and management processes. With contributions from skilled authors that cover Central, Eastern and Northern Europe, and particularly Russia, Germany, and Scandinavia, this collection provides a broad understanding of how business is conducted within the different countries of peripheral Europe. The book seeks to examine the influence of culture on business, and more specifically the interaction between national and corporate cultures. It will be of great interest to researchers interested in international business, cross-cultural management, and business organisation.

Major changes which have occurred since this book was first published have been included in this edition. In particular, the chapter on Germany has been substantially revised and now includes a separate section on easter Germany. The other five countries covered in the book have also witnessed changes in their business culture and these have been taken into consideration. This book examines the background to business practice in Europe of six major countries: Germany, France, Italy, the UK, Spain and the Netherlands. Each chapter tracks the commercial development of that country in the late 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, focusing on the business environment, special features affecting business, and the response to the EC's single market. The business culture section in each is divided further into business and government, business and the economy, business and the law, business and finance, business and the labour market, business and trade unions and business training, education and development. The test is organized in such a manner to enable cross-referencing between countries, and maps have been included in the new edition.

Introduction : the transition towards the market economy / Milford Bateman -- The business culture in the Czech Republic / Martin Dangerfield -- The business culture in Hungary / Vincent Edwards -- The business culture in Poland / George Blazyca -- The business culture in Croatia and Slovenia / Will Bartlett and Milford Bateman -- The business culture in Russia / Marta Bruno -- The business culture in Kazakhstan / Martin Taylor --Compartive analysis of Eastern European business cultures / Milford Bateman.

The social, economic and political perspectives of selected countries in East and West Europe are examined in this volume. It analyses the cultural differences between countries, their origins and the impact they have on the conduct of business.

Cultural customs and business practices in 49 European countries.