Cross-cultural management

Author: (Switzerland) Schneider
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-01-01
Features: This is a book on cross-cultural management, elaborating on the challenges and opportunities, existing problems, and feasible solutions in this field. The author explores how national culture affects the efficiency of managers and companies, and how national culture interacts with corporate culture or industry culture to create competitive advantages. Culture encompasses both clear and unclear aspects. This book serves as a map and guide to discover such culture. Through methods like observation, questioning, and translation, the author identifies the intrinsic reasons behind the differences in cross-cultural management behaviors. The book focuses on how culture influences management practices (including structure, strategy, and human resource management). It challenges the premise of a "one-size-fits-all" approach, encouraging managers to reconsider the value of applying their home country's methods overseas. It also encourages managers to try other management methods and consider applying those used in distant regions. Those interested in cross-cultural management are no longer just the elite who travel the world. International interactions and responsibilities within companies are expanding. Handling cross-cultural differences is increasingly becoming a part of management work. The challenge for globally-oriented companies is how to manage cultural differences—both between individuals, within teams, and within organizations. Ultimately, international managers and companies, in their efforts to make the world a better place through economic development, must consider their role as global citizens, their ethical and social responsibilities.