Managing Across Cultures

As more and more companies gain a global reach, managing cultural differences is an increasingly important part of every job. This book demonstrates how culture affects management practice, from organisational structure to strategy and human resource management. Drawing upon evidence from the authors' research, it encourages managers to reconsider, explore and transfer alternative practices across national boundaries. As well as providing an insight into other cultures, this text provides readers with an increased awareness of their own. The third edition of this book serves to expand the discussion of the impact of culture on effective management and on utilising differences to create competitive advantage. Employing tools of observation, questioning and interpretation, the book challenges assumptions and encourages critical reflection on the influences of culture in business. Managing Across Cultures will appeal to both managers and executives working within an international business environment, as well as to students on a growing number of MBA and other undergraduate, postgraduate and post-experience courses. Key features * New and updated examples interspersed throughout the chapters * Strong theoretical foundations are linked to highly practical application * Expanded coverage of geographical perspectives - especially from the powerful emerging economies * Focus on the emergence of diversity as a strategic priority * Exploration of the impact of culture on 'virtual teams' * Improved design, layout and 'sign-posting' of content Susan C. Schneider is Professor Emeritus of Human Resource Management at HEC University of Geneva, Switzerland. She has been Visiting Professor at INSEAD and ESSEC (France), NOVA University (Portugal) and Zhejiang University (China). As well as her research into cross-cultural management, she has actively worked to internationalise the 'mindsets' of managers and companies. Her current research focuses on diversity and corporate responsibility. Jean-Louis Barsoux is Senior Research Fellow at IMD, Switzerland. He is the author of several books on culture and diversity in management, and has written for Harvard Business Review and Financial Times. Gunter K. Stahl is Professor of International Management at Vienna University of Economics & Business (WU Vienna). Prior to joining WU Vienna, he served for eight years as a faculty member at INSEAD and held visiting appointments at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, the D'Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Hitotsubashi University. He has published in lead-ing aca-demic and practitioner-oriented journals and has designed and taught cross-cultural management courses at the Masters, MBA, and Executive MBA levels for universities and business schools around the world.Preface Acknowledgements PART 1: THE MEANING OF CULTURE 1 The undertow of culture 2 Discovering culture 3 Interacting spheres of culture PART 2: CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT PRACTICE 4 Culture and organisation 5 Culture and strategy 6 Culture and human resource management PART 3: MANAGING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES 7 The 'international' manager 8 The 'multicultural' team 9 The 'global' organisation 10 Citizens of the world: on the road to responsible leadership Index