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.

About the Author
Jean-Francois Chanlat is Professor of Management at the University of Paris IX Dauphine, France. His main domains of teaching and research are Organization Theory, Organizational Behaviour, Anthropology of Organizations, Sociology of Business Firms, Cultures and Organizations. He has published several books and numerous articles in French, English, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic and he is currently Associate Editor of Management International Eduardo Davel is Professor of Management at the University of Quebec at Montreal, Canada Jean-Pierre Dupuis is Professor of Management at HEC Montreal, Canada

Reviews

'The great strength of this volume is that, unlike most writings on cross-cultural management, it is grounded in a serious and sophisticated appreciation of anthropology. It moves beyond cliches and stereotypes to provide the reader with rich insights into cultural diversity from a distinguished group of contributors.'

Christopher Grey, Professor of Organization Studies, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK.

'In an increasingly pluralized world, business and management course leaders need to promote awareness of the challenges of working in multicultural business environments, ideally in ways that exploit the creative potential that such differences uncover. The authors of this textbook are recognized authorities on these subjects and I recommend this book accordingly.'

Maria Ester de Freitas, Professor of Organizational Studies, FGV-EAESP, Brazil

"In an increasingly globalized world, an "ambicultural" perspective has become a necessity for executives and scholars of management. The nomadic intelligence that one can develop from reading this excellent collection will help readers avoid the cultural myopia that can torpedo international business initiatives."

Danny Miller, Research Professor, HEC Montreal and Chair in Family Business and Strategy, University of Alberta, Canada

'Concepts of culture in international business have long been premised on reductionist grounds. In this volume, refreshingly, more sophisticated lenses are developed to address cultures as universes of meanings that have to be negotiated in international business encounters, within which, managers need to develop a 'nomadic intelligence' that enables them to uncouple themselves from the taken-for-granted aspects of their own cultures, as well as from the stereotypes concerning others. In a field dominated by a science of stereotypes in the mainstream of past contributions, this is indeed refreshing.'

Stewart Clegg, Professor of Management, University of Technology, Sydney.

'Combining theoretical and practical resources, this book facilitates analysis of diverse intercultural contexts. By addressing the complex interplay between global, national and local scales, its "intercultural immersions" expose readers to the skills needed to manage cross-cultural teams and businesses.'

Lucy Taksa, Professor of Management, Macquarie University, Australia

'Academics can expect a comprehensive synthesis from the book that may be useful for their own research. Cross-Cultural Management is also a valuable resource for teaching.'

Michael VIEGAS-PIRES, Universite de Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines

Book Information
ISBN 9780415688185
Author Jean-Francois Chanlat
Format Paperback
Page Count 298
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 558g