Understanding Cross Cultural Management

Given the global nature of business today and the increasing diversity within the workforce of so many industries and organisations, a cross-cultural component in management education and training has become essential. This is the case for every type of business education, whether it be for aspiring graduates at the start of their careers or senior managers wishing to increase their effectiveness or employability in the international market. The 4th edition of Understanding Cross-Cultural Management has been adapted in line with the feedback from our many readers, and boasts new case study material based on recent research, as well as a stronger focus on Asian cultures, thereby providing more non-Western examples.

A text in cross-cultural management which presents the key themes and issues in managing people and organisations across national and cultural boundaries, this title offers a selective but broad view of thinking on culture linked to management, organisation and communication.

The internationalization of business via the process of globalization has brought issues of culture to the forefront of management thinking. Although culture is by no means a new area of study in business schools, it remains frustratingly elusive and misunderstood. This textbook gives business students - or future managers - an understanding of the multitude of frameworks available to them to make sense of the cultural contexts they will encounter in their managerial careers. Starting from a general introduction to ‘culture’ and its role in businesses, Taran Patel encourages readers to shed a critical eye on the commonly accepted frameworks. She compels readers to ask three questions: Can I only make sense of the variety of cultures around me by categorizing people into static categories based on their geo-ethnic identities? Is it valid to make sense of people’s behaviours by categorizing them as ‘French’, ‘Indian’, ‘German’ or ‘American’? What other ways are there to make sense of people and their behaviours? Students studying from this textbook will benefit from a variety of conceptual tools that can be used to navigate the world of culture and its intersection with business and management. Taran Patel's unique textbook will be core reading for students of cross-cultural management / intercultural communication and essential reading for all those studying or researching international business and management.

All cultures appear to share the belief that they do things ‘correctly’, while others, until proven otherwise, are assumed to be ignorant or barbaric. When people from different cultures work together and cannot take shared meanings for granted, managers face serious challenges. An individual’s parsing of an experience and its meaning may vary according to several cultural scales – national, professional, industrial and local. Awareness of cultural differences and the willingness to view them as a positive are therefore crucial assets. This edited textbook sets itself apart from existing cross-cultural management texts by highlighting to the reader the need to avoid both ethnocentrism and the belief in the universality of his or her own values and ways of thinking: the success of international negotiations and intercultural management depends on such openness and acceptance of real differences. It encourages the development of ‘nomadic intelligence’ and the creative use of a culture’s resources, according to a symbolic anthropology perspective. Through the essays and case studies in the chapters, readers will become aware of the intercultural dimension of business activities and better understand how they affect work. Cross-Cultural Management will help interested parties – students of business management, international relations and other disciplines, and business managers and other professionals – develop their ability to interact, take action and give direction in an intercultural context.

Cross-Cultural Management: Essential Concepts, Fourth Edition introduces readers to the fundamentals of cross-cultural management by exploring the influence of culture on interpersonal interactions in organizational settings and examining the ever-increasing number of cross-cultural management challenges that global managers face in today’s workplace. Instead of taking a country specific approach, authors David C. Thomas and Mark F. Peterson offer a predominantly psychological perspective—focusing on the interactions of people from different cultures in organizational settings. This approach shows readers the effects culture has on a wide variety of cross-cultural interactions across organizational contexts.

ÔPrimecz, Romani, and Sackmann provide managers and educators with a powerful framework that goes beyond simple categorization of national and cultural differences in business. Their framework of negotiated meaning systems, and the rich cases that illustrate the Òin-the-momentÓ experiences of global managers as they conduct business in culturally unfamiliar milieus provide managers and educators with a powerful tool for developing global managerial skills. This is a book every global manager and cross-cultural educator should have on his or her bookshelf.Õ Ð Mark E. Mendenhall, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, US ÔThis is a unique, alternative view of culture that has both practical and theoretical significance. The creative analysis of cases from around the world moves the field beyond the sophisticated stereotyping that can result from relying solely on cultural value dimensions to decode interactions. The cases address significant cross-cultural issues, providing useful lessons and richer perspectives on culture.Õ Ð Joyce Osland, San JosŽ State University, US ÔThis book is an excellent collection of practical and useful cases in cross-cultural management, with some that are very different from what we would call ÒtraditionalÓ cases in cross-cultural management. They are excellent teaching material with an introduction and a conclusion that show students and practitioners how meanings are negotiated in diverse and complex cross-cultural situations.Õ Ð Marie-Therese Claes, Louvain School of Management, Belgium ÔA fascinating book for both the diversity of cultures that are touched upon (from Asia and Africa to Europe and America) and the cultural analyses that are made of various management situations resulting from the transfer of management techniques across countries or the encountering of those embedded in different cultures.Õ Ð Philippe dÕIribarne, CNRS, France ÔA group of multidisciplinary authors from various countries and cultures bring rich experience to this volume. The focus on real-life situations offers a fresh perspective on culture in organizations and management through in-depth case studies including both academic and pedagogical sides. It addresses multi-level cross-cultural issues of international strategic importance for globalizing workplaces. This insightful book is excellent reading for practitioners as well as scholars and students interested in applications in the field of cross-cultural management.Õ Ð Cordula Barzantny, Toulouse Business School, France ÔThis volume offers an insightful introduction to qualitative field research aiming to understand the dynamics in intercultural business interactions. Based on the findings provided in ten rich cases from Asia, Europe, North Africa, USA and Latin America, the editors also propose strategies for more effective collaboration in challenging multiple-cultures contexts. The authors and editors have succeeded in transforming the field studies into cases that are stimulating and thought provoking readings, both for practitioners and students of cross-cultural management.Õ Ð Anne-Marie S¿derberg, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark Based on the view that culture is dynamic and negotiated between actors, this groundbreaking book contains a collection of ten cases on cross-cultural management in practice. The cases draw on field research revealing challenges and insights from working across nations and cultures. Each case provides recommendations for practitioners that are developed into a framework for effective intercultural interactions as well as offering illustrations and insights on how to handle actual cross-cultural issues. This enriching book covers various topics including international collaborations across and within multinational companies, organizational culture in international joint ventures and knowledge transfer. Based on empirical fieldwork and qualitative analyses, this path-breaking book will appeal to graduate and postgraduate students in international management as well as practitioners.

Managing effectively across national and cultural boundaries is critical to the success of today’s organisations, given the global environment of business and the increasing diversity of workforces. A keen awareness and a high degree of cross-cultural competence in management are therefore key to the career success of both present and aspiring managers/professionals. This edition of Understanding Cross-Cultural Management, has been adapted in line with the feedback from our many readers. The book explores the key themes and issues in one of the most challenging and fascinating areas of business, organisational and social life. It does so in a manner that enables you to sharpen your insights and practical skills. The full text downloaded to your computer With eBooks you can: search for key concepts, words and phrases make highlights and notes as you study share your notes with friends eBooks are downloaded to your computer and accessible either offline through the Bookshelf (available as a free download), available online and also via the iPad and Android apps. Upon purchase, you'll gain instant access to this eBook. Time limit The eBooks products do not have an expiry date. You will continue to access your digital ebook products whilst you have your Bookshelf installed.

Academics worldwide need empirically developed, concise ideas to make their cross-cultural teams and organizations productive. This invaluable reference tool provides an essential resource for academics to develop their understanding and professional practice in working across cultural boundaries. It considers the fundamental theories and frameworks of cross-cultural management and deepens our understanding of how they can be applied to management knowledge. Managers, researchers, students, HRM practitioners, and specialists in international business and cross-cultural affairs, will find this book a valuable reference source. Chapters suggest how frameworks can be further developed and how managers and employees can put them to use so as to build cross-cultural understanding and productive cross-functional teams.