Doing Business Internationally: The Guide to Cross-Cultural Success (Hardcover)

~ (Author), (Author), Thomas Walker (Author)

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.

Product Description

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.

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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 (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #402,703 in Books (See Bestsellers 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 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, Dot-Connect http:www.dot-connect.com (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.

1 of 1 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)

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.