Working Across Cultures

A guide to adapting and thriving within unfamiliar cultural settings challenges the notion that professional life interacts with culture only at the etiquette level, distinguishing between rule-based and relationship-based cultures while considering the roles of such factors as competition, security, and lifestyle. (Social Science)

The 71 exercises in this book can help you provide students and trainees with the practical experience and knowledge needed to succeed in real-world situations. Drawing from over 15 years of cross-cultural training experience, the author has assembled a diverse number of engaging exercises that can be quickly implemented with minimal effort. Self-administered questionnaires, case studies, culture-focused interviews, and pro and con debates are just a few of the wide range of activities you can use to enrich the classroom.

The Market Leader specialist titles extends the scope of the Market Leader series and allows teachers to focus on the reading skills and vocabulary development required for specific areas of business.

Drawing on research from 30,000 individuals and their practical experience as intercultural management consultants, the authors provide insights into the broader landscape of intercultural management through their exploration of 4 competencies: Intercultural Sensitivity, Intercultural Communication, Building Commitment and Managing Uncertainty.

An international business expert helps you understand and navigate cultural differences in this insightful and practical guide, perfect for both your work and personal life. Americans precede anything negative with three nice comments; French, Dutch, Israelis, and Germans get straight to the point; Latin Americans and Asians are steeped in hierarchy; Scandinavians think the best boss is just one of the crowd. It's no surprise that when they try and talk to each other, chaos breaks out. In The Culture Map, INSEAD professor Erin Meyer is your guide through this subtle, sometimes treacherous terrain in which people from starkly different backgrounds are expected to work harmoniously together. She provides a field-tested model for decoding how cultural differences impact international business, and combines a smart analytical framework with practical, actionable advice.

Whether traveling abroad or working at home, businesspeople routinely face challenges when it comes to understanding the culture of others. When misunderstandings occur, relationships suffer. The good news is that cultivating cultural intelligence is a skill that can be learned, and Brooks Peterson tells you how. Packed with dozens of engaging stories, case examples and humorous contemporary catoons, Culture Intelligence is the perfect antidote for overcoming cross-cultural differences, improving workplace communication, building solid business relationships and contributing positively to your organization's bottem line. More than 15,000 people have used the Peterson Cultural Style Indicator. Here, Dr. Peterson defines what cultural intelligence is and explores the skills and characteristics required to work effectively with international clients, customers and business partners--or inside any team, department or organization with a rich mix of cultural perspectives. Using a set of twenty business-oriented dimensions, the author helps you examine your own cultural style and determine that of others in six vital areas: management, strategy, planning, personnel, commucation and reasoning. The crowning piece is a powerful set of key action steps for increasing your own cultural intelligence.

As technology erodes the impact of time and distance, more and more people live and work across cultures. This book equips readers with the tools to embrace the richness and beauty brought by cultural diversity, and ultimately engage with the key skills for thriving in today’s fast-paced, highly interconnected and interdependent world.

People in other cultures don't always think and act the way you do. If you try to do business your way in their culture, you will make mistakes. And mistakes have consequences. Some will be merely embarrassing, others will be deeply frustrating, and still others will cost you dearly. This book describes 50 common cultural mistakes made in business settings in the form of short (8-10 line) conversations and shows you, 1) that there's always a reason why people do the strange things they do, 2) the reason is almost never to upset you, and 3) there's always a way forward - The Fix. Craig Storti, a nationally known figure in the field of intercultural communications, and author of 7 books, presents and deconstructs conversations between Americans and citizens of 10 of the world's largest economies, the Arab Middle East, Brazil, China, England, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, and Russia. He also provides five easily applicable steps to cultural competence - a framework readers can apply to identify cultural differences and communicate and act more effectively and appropriately. If you are an American doing business in any of the ten locations featured, if you come from one of these countries and work with Americans, or if you do business with any of these folks, this book will save you a great deal of confusion and frustration.