Latin Americans are culturally different from North Americans in ways that so far have been inaccurately portrayed in the management literature. In Culture and Management in the Americas, Alfredo Behrens argues that these differences merit a substantial overhaul of management theory and practice to make the best of the significantly untapped Latin American potential for creativity, innovation, and teamwork. This applies in organizations with North American ownership and management, whether they are based in the U.S. or Latin America. Behrens, a management consultant and academic who has studied, taught, and practiced in South and North America and Europe, explains why the use of traditional North American research methods to capture cultural traits in the multi-cultural workforce is inappropriate. This practice produces a false picture of the cultural attributes and capabilities of Latin American managers and key staff. And this, in turn, leads to serious shortcomings in the development of appropriate motivation and leadership strategies and of appraisal and control instruments. Rather than relying on standardized surveys for measuring cultural attributes to underpin and develop such strategies and tools, the author suggests that managers look to the arts—particularly literature and cinema—for a richer and more useful alternative. He illustrates his points by reference to literary icons such as Argentina's Martin Fierro, Brazil's Macunaima, and America's Captain Ahab. He uses a variety of case studies to demonstrate what we can learn from these iconographic characters and what we can expect of each other when we apply these lessons—whether we are leading, following, or working in self-directed teams. This readable and enjoyable book will be an invaluable, engaging, and practical tool for anyone charged with managing at any level in workforce that combines both North American and Latin American cultures.
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.
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.
This fourth edition has been revised and updated to explore the latest approaches to cross-cultural management, presenting strategies and skill-building for managing international assignments and global teams. Suitable for students taking courses on international management, cross-cultural management and HRM, as well as executive training programmes.
"Imagine a workplace where leaders lead with integrity, honesty, and transparency, setting directions that make sense and making decisions that are broadly supported. Imagine employees trusting management and management trusting employees. Imagine everyone coming to work each day to do only and exactly what each loves to do, and all the work gets done through the abundant diversity in interest, skill, and knowledge"--Page 4 of cover.
The emergence and functioning of two competing and sometimes conflicting cultures within police departments demonstrates how competition between street cops and "bosses" is at the heart of the organizational dilemma of modern urban policing. Unlike other works in this field that focus on the monolithic culture or familial quality of policing, this study demonstrates that which might look cohesive from the point of view of outsiders has its own internal dynamics and conflicts. The book shows that police departments are not immune to the conflict inherent in any large-scale bureaucracy, when externally imposed management schemes for increasing efficiency and effectiveness are imposed on an existing social organization. Based upon two years of extensive field work, in which the author covered every major aspect of policing at the precinct level in the New York City police department from manning the complaint desk to riding in squad cars. Ianni shows how the organized structure of the police department is disintegrating. The new "Management Cop Culture" is bureaucratically juxtaposed to the precinct level "Street Cop Culture," and bosses' loyalties to the social and political networks of management cops rather than to the men on the street causes a sharp division with grave consequences for the departments. The study concentrates on a series of dramatic events, such as the suicide of a police officer charged with corruption, a major riot, and the trial of an officer accused of killing a prisoner while in police custody. Ianni traces how these events affected relationships among fellow officers and between officers and "bosses."
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.
Management practices and processes frequently differ across national and regional boundaries. What may be acceptable managerial behaviour in one culture may be counterproductive or even unacceptable in another. As managers increasingly find themselves working across cultures, the need to understand these differences has become increasingly important. This book examines why these differences exist and how global managers can develop strategies and tactics to deal with them. The text draws on recent research in anthropology, psychology, and management, to explain the cultural and psychological underpinnings that shape managerial attitudes and behaviours, whilst introducing a learning model to guide in the intellectual and practical development of managers seeking enhanced global expertise. It offers user-friendly conceptual models to guide understanding and exploration of topics and summarizes and integrates the lessons learned in each chapter in applications-oriented 'Manager's Notebooks'. A companion website featuring comprehensive chapter-by-chapter PPT slides is available at www.cambridge.org/management_across_cultures.
The shifting influence of growing organizational cultures and individual standards has caused significant changes to modern organizations. By creating a better understanding of these influences, the quality of organizations can be improved. Exploring the Influence of Personal Values and Cultures in the Workplace is a pivotal reference source for the latest research on how culture and personal values shape and influence employees’ actions, behaviors, and leadership styles. Featuring extensive coverage on relevant areas such as psychological health, career management, and job satisfaction, this publication is an ideal resource for practitioners, professionals, managers, and researchers seeking innovative perspectives on the impact of personal values and cultures in the workplace.
