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.

Deux entreprises de deux pays différents fusionnent. Une filiale française importe un outil de gestion développé aux États-Unis. Des chercheurs travaillent ensemble au sein d’un consortium européen. Avec la mondialisation, les confrontations des cultures dans le milieu professionnel se multiplient, rendant nécessaire une approche interculturelle du management. Cet ouvrage montre comment le management a progressivement pris en compte la diversité des cultures et dresse un panorama des manières concrètes d’organiser leur rencontre dans le monde de l’entreprise qui évolue désormais dans un environnement multiculturel.

This edited volume strives to support leaders in successfully leading their teams, projects and organizations across borders in an increasingly boundaryless world. From both an academic’s and a practitioner’s perspective, the book focuses on international leaders and their potential to be or become enablers of international success, for and within their respective organizations. The authors are a curated selection of established experts, seasoned leaders, and new voices showcasing novel research, best practices, and business cases. The contributions are assigned to three sections, corresponding to the three core challenges of international leadership: Leading international organizations, leading international teams, and (self)leadership with intercultural excellence. An additional section is dedicated to case studies, exhibiting these challenges in practice. The Foundation of the Swiss Society for Organization and Management (SGO) as well as Innosuisse – Swiss Innovation Agency supported the creation of this book.

Given the global nature of business today and the increasing diversity within the workforce of so many industries and organisations, a cross-cultural component in management education and training has become essential. This is the case for every type of business education, whether it be for aspiring graduates at the start of their careers or senior managers wishing to increase their effectiveness or employability in the international market. The 4th edition of Understanding Cross-Cultural Management has been adapted in line with the feedback from our many readers, and boasts new case study material based on recent research, as well as a stronger focus on Asian cultures, thereby providing more non-Western examples.

International management and cultural diversity -- Sustainable development and business sustainability -- University governance and management -- Knowledge-based organization, intellectual capital, information and management documents -- Entrepreneurship, social enterprise and smes -- Leadership and human resources management -- Management of change, innovation and quality.