Doing Business Internationally: The Guide to Cross-Cultural Success [Hardcover]

Terence Brake (Author), Danielle Medina Walker (Author), Thomas Walker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1994

Offering profitable insights into working with and managing people in global organizations, Doing Business Internationally provides guidelines for developing a solid grounding in cross-cultural competence. Starting with an overview of six cultural regions in the world-Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and North America--the authors build the framework for organizing cross-cultural experiences and identifying and working with key principles of communication and negotiation across cultural lines. Doing Business Internationally identifies the dynamics and scope of today's global workforce--and defines the core success factors for managing effectively in the global environment. This guide includes all the information necessary to: analyze key global trends and their impact on current business practices; recognize the impact of cultural differences on business practices; adapt key business skills to achieve better results when working with different cultures; identify the critical success factors needed by managers operating across borders.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Designed as a training program for those engaged in international business operations and academics, this book addresses the impact of cultural diversity on international business and expresses the necessity for developing "cultural competence" by international business operators. Drawing both from the literature of cross-cultural studies and from the experience of their practice, the authors (who are business consultants) take the fascinating approach of breaking the complexities of cultural differences into value orientations, put in the context of ten variables: environment, time, action, communication, space, power, individualism, competitiveness, structure, and thinking. The resulting framework offers readers systematic guidance on how to put in perspective the many factors and variations of cross-cultural issues. This work, which cites additional useful resources, is recommended for all business collections.
Ali D Abdulla, East Carolina Univ., Greenville, N.C.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Back Cover

A Lucid and Logical Guidebook to Understanding Foreign Cultures­­and Conducting Successful Cross-Cultural Business

In addition to knowing what to expect when operating in other nations and cultures, businesspeople today must also be keenly aware of their own unseen and often unrecognized cultural feelings and biases. The stakes are too high­­and mistakes too costly­­to risk cultural misunderstandings.

Doing Business Internationally, second edition, is an insightful and hands-on introduction to the prevalent practices, behaviors, and attitudes of cultures and people around the world. Revised, restructured, and refocused from its classic first edition, this ground-breaking book provides:

• In-depth analyses of 6 important global regions
• The 4 basic skills necessary for becoming culturally competent
• The Cultural Orientations Inventory (COI)­­A powerful tool for identifying and correcting one's cultural skills gaps

The key to global business success is preparation, but a new century has brought new rules of preparation. Let Doing Business Internationally show you how to increase your interpersonal effectiveness in virtually any global setting, seamlessly transfer your operational and communication skills from one culture to the next, and dramatically improve your cross-cultural business performance.

More than at any time in history, today's world is characterized by the continuous movement of people across international orders, increased globalization of business via the Internet and other technological factors, and widespread social, economic, and political upheaval. Empathy and understanding of other cultures is important to the interpersonal success of individuals­­and essential to the business success of multinational corporations and their executives.

Doing Business Internationally represents an ideal introduction to achieving that vital understanding. From the economic, societal, and organizational trends that define the phenomenon of globalization to the actual practices necessary for functioning effectively in the increasingly interconnected yet still diverse world, this focused yet wide-ranging report presents

• Techniques for minimizing the impact of cultural differences in a business setting
• Models for understanding the hidden forces that guide institutions, behaviors, and interactions
• Strategies for leveraging culture to establish and maintain competitive advantage

Along with innovative products and processes, global market leaders today must have effective cross-cultural communication skills. The revised and updated edition of the international classic Doing Business Internationally is the most comprehensive "user's manual" available for developing those skills. This important book examines the essentials of cross-cultural understanding through the prism of today's demanding corporate environment, and creates a template for succeeding in a business world that has completely rewritten the rules of interpersonal communication and performance.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 225 pages
• Publisher: Irwin Professional Publishing (September 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786301171
• ISBN-13: 978-0786301171
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,521,481 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Valuable guide to building a successful worldwide company., October 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Doing Business Internationally: The Guide to Cross-Cultural Success (Hardcover)

This book should be on the desk of every marketing and human resources manager involved in foreign trade. It is not only for larger companies that have already built a global sales network. It is also for beginners who should consider these cross-cultural factors BEFORE they start selling their goods and services in overseas markets. John R. Jagoe, Director, Export Institute.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for learning more about managing multicultural organisations., August 28, 2006

By 

Rana Sinha (Finland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Doing Business Internationally, Second Edition: The Guide To Cross-Cultural Success (Hardcover)

This is an excellent book for learning more about managing multicultural organisations. Already in its second edition after being first published in 1995, it has improved. The COM or Cultural Orientation Model integrates all the cultural dimensions of famous authors Hofstede, Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars, Stewart and Bennett/Rhinesmith, Kluckhohn and Strondtbeck/Hall and Edwart Hall into a cartwheel.

Though the authors are very much pro-convergence (even claiming in Chapter 1 that Global harmonization of consumer buying preferences will dominate certain industry-goods and services-sectors.) as to Globalization they manage to build up a comprehensive argument about the high role of culture in the process of organizational globalization.

Busy international managers could find the approach of breaking the complexities of cultural differences into value orientations a bit theoretical in the absence of case examples and critical incidents. There are some good case studies in chapter 4:A Survey of Cultural Patterns but there are too few of them in the whole book. In fact more of these would have helped in getting a vital point accross that cultural boundaries are not national boundaries. For people involved in designing performance management systems and strategic planning in multicultural organisations this book is highly recommended reading. HR-practitioners in multicultural organizations would also benefit from reading this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Practical guide to understanding other culture, July 13, 2009

By 

Antoine J. Bruguier "Tony" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Doing Business Internationally, Second Edition: The Guide To Cross-Cultural Success (Kindle Edition)

The book starts slowly and it has some useless information. It basically tries to convince the reader that understanding other cultures is important. Well, if I didn't think so, I wouldn't have bought the book in the first place.

Then, there is some generalities about business, wrapped up in a lot of business/MBA BS. But it gets better.

Then, they lay out a method of classifying cultures with several measures that do make sense. Then, there is a quick survey of several cultures. This section is extremely useful. I grew up in France but I have now lived in the US for 6 years. Their analysis is true, but it also puts a structure on the observations I made. Working with Chinese, Japanese, and Korean folks, I agree with their presentation.

Form inside or outside a culture, it helps understanding how you react, and how other people react. The book doesn't make value judgments on cultures peculiarities, just gives the information.

I would say it's a must read, especially when it is below 20 bucks. Just skip the beginning.