Cross-Cultural Competence

Why are cultural differences significant? How can understanding them contribute to business success? Cross-cultural management is a crucial challenge for the successful development of international business, yet it is often badly understood and poorly implemented. Misunderstandings arise because culture affects both individuals and organisations, yet attempts to understand, explain and interpret these differences have often been hidden between a welter of conflicting theories and paradigms. This book aims to provide much-needed guide to both the theory and practice of cross-cultural management. Using an innovative approach combining theory, tool-kits and applications, this book takes a fresh look at this complex topic. It is about recognizing cross-cultural differences, accounting for them in managerial communications and bridging them in a variety of negotiations.
Each section within the book explores its themes within a common framework, comprising an exploration of dominant and alternative theoretical approaches, a research-based tool-kit exploring responses, and finally a real-life case of a multicultural situation of clashing values with a critical description of an attempted solution. At the end of the book, the author has developed an innovative approach to teaching cultural sensitivity via exploration of a number of classic film masterpieces. As a crucial part of the global business environment and as essential aspect of organisational understanding, this book will be welcomed by masters-level students of international business, HRM and organisational behaviour, as well as executives and consultants involved in cross-border negotiations and management.

Author Biography

Slawomir Magala is Professor of Cross-cultural Management at the University of Erasmus, Rotterdam.