How should a Western company manage cross-culturally corporate values in its foreign subsidiaries? Do these values make sense everywhere and can they assumed to be universal or, on the contrary, are they culturally Western specific? Philippe d’Iribarne provides answers to these timely and urgent questions, based on research carried out in the subsidiaries of a leading global company, Lafarge, in the contrasting cultural environments of China, the United States, France and Jordan. It appears that, in a large part of the world, people's expectations are similar; they expect from a good employer clear and decisive leadership, and fair and compassionate treatment, helping them to live a good life. But treating these expectations as the ‘same’ could be misleading. Western companies with a humanistic orientation are well positioned to fulfil them, provided they are willing, in each and every geography, to take into account the local vision of the right way to achieve a good life. By following the example presented in this book, companies who care can deliver economic efficiency as well as progressive people management in the countries in which they operate.

Since the early 2000s, storytelling as a means of managerial communication has been increasingly advocated, with a focus on the management practices of leadership, change and organizational culture. Most research on storytelling in management practice derives from practitioner experience, but little is known about the specific dynamics behind storytelling as a tool for managerial communication. This book derives from one of the first research studies into storytelling in management practice, which sought to evaluate the assumed, but not necessarily proven, effectiveness of storytelling as a management tool. Building on existing theories of narrative and storytelling in organizations, the book explores how managers use storytelling in their daily practice, revealing that it can be employed both, purposively - like a tool, and perceptively - spontaneously and intuitively. The book explains that storytelling has different functions in management practice at different levels of the organization, such as: Creating direction for the organization Translating strategic messages into operational ones and supporting the professional development of staff Shaping the organization’s social fabric through the sharing of personal stories Aided by a wealth of interviews and case studies, Storytelling in Management Practice reveals an analysis of the dynamic relationship between story, storyteller, audience and organizational context. As such, it will be useful for students and researchers working across a variety of sub-disciplines, including: leadership, organizational behaviour and business communication.

Offers qualitative studies of collaboration processes conducted in globalising companies based in Denmark and with subsidiaries in Asia. It addresses the specific contexts of collaboration and studies how people with different cultural backgrounds work together, both face-to-face and in the virtual workplace.

After the financial collapse of 2008 and the bailing out of banks in the US and the UK, the long-term viability of the neoliberal doctrine has come under new scrutiny. The elimination of regulatory control, the financialization of the economy including the growth of increasingly complex financial innovations, and the dominance of a rentier class have all been subject to thorough criticism. Despite the unexpected meltdown of the financial system and the substantial costs for restoring the finance industry, critics contend that the same decision-makers remain in place and few substantial changes to regulatory control have been made. Even though neoliberal thinking strongly stresses the role of the market and market-based transactions, the organization theory and management literature has been marginally concerned with neoliberalism as a political agenda and economic policy. This book examines the consequences of neoliberalism for management thinking and management practice. Managerial practices in organizations are fundamentally affected by a political agenda emphasizing competition and innovation. Concepts such as auditing, corporate social responsibility, shareholder value, and boundariless careers are some examples of managerial terms and frameworks that are inextricably entangled with the neoliberal agenda. This book introduces the literature on neoliberalism, its history and controversies, and demonstrates where neoliberal thinking has served to rearticulate managerial practice, including in the areas of corporate governance, human resource management, and regulatory control of organizations.

This ground breaking textbook looks at the issue of managing across cultures: the difficulties and opportunities it brings and the competencies needed to handle situation and create solutions. Applying a constructive approach, Intercultural Management demonstrates how cultural diversity can be used as a resource to demonstrate synergy and complementarity. Taking a case-based approach, its innovative case studies examine a wide range of topics in international management, helping students to explore theory in the context of real-life situations. Taking the form of an edited collection, it offers a fascinating range of perspectives from a global panel of experts in the discipline. This will be the ideal companion to students taking courses on intercultural, cross-cultural, and international management at undergraduate, postgraduate and MBA level. It will also be valuable reading for organisations seeking to improve their intercultural management strategies.

Pierre Bourdieu, the French sociologist, philosopher, and anthropologist, has been widely studied and analyzed in academic circles, particularly in sociology, where his ideas about power relations in social life helped to define the contemporary field. While many other sociological theories and figures have been extensively discussed and analyzed within the contexts of organization studies and management, Bourdieu’s ideas have, until recently, been largely ignored. Offering an authoritative evaluation of Bourdieu’s work, this book provides readers with conceptual frameworks, empirical examples, and methodological considerations for advancing theory and research in management and organization studies. This book presents an in-depth review of the relevance of Bourdieu’s social theory for organization and management studies, outlining the key aspects of Bourdieu’s approach and situating his work in its historical and intellectual context of the time. An outline of the treatment of Bourdieuan theory by management and organization scholars and a critique of the selective reception of his work are offered. The first edited collection to explore the benefits of Bourdieuan sociology for a management audience, this book is relevant for theory, research, and practice, and will appeal to an international scholarly audience of academics and research students.

Over the past two decades the use of flexible employment relations has increased in most developed countries. The growth of temporary agency work constitutes a significant component of this development. Organizations are now facing the challenges of managing a ‘blended workforce’, i.e. a workforce consisting of both direct hires and contractors. At a time when Europe, as well as the rest of the world, is facing enhanced global competition and a severe labor market crisis, an understanding of temporary employment practices becomes all the more acute. With the evolution of the use of agency work in the Western world over the past decade, the chapters in this volume show how a focus on the management and organization of temporary agency work can be helpful to see possibilities and pitfalls for the use of temporary employment in the wake of changed employment practices and challenges to labor market stability and welfare structures. Together, the new case studies presented in this volume provide a wide scope of analysis of the organization and management of temporary agency work, offering a much-needed contribution to the discussion of issues and priorities that guide and shape organizational practices today. Its particular uniqueness lies in the empirical richness and variety of local case studies and the way in which these are related to wider policy aims, ideological shifts, and the dynamics of organizational practice, with a particular focus on the organization and management of ‘blended workforces’.