Understanding Cultural Differences: Germans, French, and Americans (Paperback)

by Edward Twitchell Hall (Author) "In physics today, so far as we know, the galaxies that one studies are all controlled by the same laws..." (more)
Key Phrases: polychronic people, monochronic time, polychronic time, United States, West Germany, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Based on interviews with German, French and American executives and on extensive research into intercultural relations, this book provides insights and practical advice on day-to-day transactions in international business. It is designed to help Americans, Germans and the French better understand one another's psychology and behaviour. The authors emphasize the behaviour one can expect in the business culture of each and offer advice for avoiding the misunderstandings and miscommunications that can occur.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Intercultural Press (March 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1877864072
• ISBN-13: 978-1877864070
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #267,485 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very useful and intriguing book, February 24, 1998

By A Customer

The authors try hard not to generalize, and use specific examples to illustrate cultural differences. I read this book while working for a company in the US that was jointly owned by a French company and a German company. Our 'bosses' were very much typical of that described in the book. I found this to be fascinating and used the information in the book to improve communications and information flow between the different groups. I would highly recommend this book to anyone working with any of these 3 cultures!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Must for anybody dealing with one of these three cultures, July 10, 2000

By A Customer

Anybody dealing with any of those three cultures in business should read this book. It is simple, handy and quite accurate. I am myself French and have been living and working in Germany for ten years now in an international environment. I also spent three years of my life in the US. The book - already ten years old - does need some up-dating as far as the political and economic situations in each of these three countries are concerned and I found a few inaccuracies in the French part (probably due to the fact that the French culture is more difficult to grasp for an American than the German one), but all in all it is a highly recommendable book. The key notions of "monochronic" and "polychronic", of "high context" and "low context" cultures are extremely useful. This is not only a book for Americans doing business with Europeans : as far as I am concerned it helped me understanding and being more patient with my American colleagues.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Truly Useful Book, March 29, 2006

By	Adam T. Himmel (California, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I read this book several years ago, in large part due to the fact that I had married a French woman and was having quite a bit of difficulty understanding the culture during my visits to France. Granted, this book largely focuses on the business aspects of the cultural divide, but I found it incredibly accurate as it relates to the culture as a whole. Especially useful was the description of a "polychronic" culture as opposed to a "monochronic" one like the U.S.
If you want to get to the root of the differences and gain an ability to work with others of France, Germany, or Japan, I highly recommend this book.