Managing Across Cultures: A Learning Framework

Managing Across Cultures: A Learning Framework

by Meena S. Wilson, Michael H. Hoppe, Leonard R. Sayles
Released November 1996
Publisher(s): Center for Creative Leadership
ISBN: 9781604918045

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Book description

Managing in a multicultural setting can be very challenging. Culture strongly influences how people behave and how they understand the behavior of others, and cultures vary in the behaviors they find proper and acceptable. This report--which integrates work done by experts in the fields of anthropology, cross-cultural psychology, and international business management with CCL's perspective on how executives learn from experience--describes the cultural values, often unconsciously held, that underlie work in the U.S. and provides managers in the U.S. with a structured way of learning about the value preferences of people from other cultures. Examples drawn from workplaces around the world aid in applying the framework.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Table of Contents
  6. Preface
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. Introduction
  9. Source of Identity: Individual-Collective
    1. At the Individual Pole
    2. At the Collective Pole
    3. In the Workplace
      1. Individual accountability
      2. Career progress
      3. Private offices and privacy
      4. Candor
      5. Loyalty to the company
      6. Loyalty to one’s family and clan
  10. Goals and Means of Achievement: Tough-Tender
    1. At the Tough Pole
    2. At the Tender Pole
    3. In the Workplace
      1. Competition and cooperation
      2. Modesty
      3. Separating family considerations from work life
  11. Orientation to Authority: Equal-Unequal
    1. At the Equal Pole
    2. At the Unequal Pole
    3. In the Workplace
      1. Hiring and promotion based on “achieved” versus “ascribed” status
      2. Deference
      3. Lack of delegation
  12. Response to Ambiguity: Dynamic-Stable
    1. At the Dynamic Pole
    2. At the Stable Pole
    3. In the Workplace
      1. Structure of work life
      2. “One best way” answers to problems
      3. Different people and ideas
  13. Means of Knowledge Acquisition: Active-Reflective
    1. At the Active Pole
    2. At the Reflective Pole
    3. In the Workplace
      1. Axiomatic versus pragmatic thinking
      2. Analytic approach to solving problems
      3. Strategic and long-term decisions
  14. Perspective on Time: Scarce-Plentiful
    1. At the Scarce Pole
    2. At the Plentiful Pole
    3. In the Workplace
      1. The precise use of time
      2. The linear use of time
      3. Past, present, and future
  15. Outlook on Life: Doing-Being
    1. At the Doing Pole
    2. At the Being Pole
    3. In the Workplace
      1. Commitment to work and economic values
      2. Optimism about the future
      3. Traditional religions and the world of work
  16. Using the Framework
    1. Use the Seven Dimensions
    2. Construct a Provisional Hypothesis
    3. Test and Modify the Hypothesis Continually
    4. Challenge Yourself to Grow Personally
  17. Conclusion
  18. References
  19. Appendix: Models of Cultural Difference

Product information

  • Title: Managing Across Cultures: A Learning Framework
  • Author(s): Meena S. Wilson, Michael H. Hoppe, Leonard R. Sayles
  • Release date: November 1996
  • Publisher(s): Center for Creative Leadership
  • ISBN: 9781604918045