Managing cultural differences: Leadership strategies for a new world of business (4th ed.), by Philip R. Harris and Robert T. Moran. (1996). Houston: Gulf. 391 pp., $39.95 cloth
✍ Scribed by Kent Glenzer
- Book ID
- 102257941
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1997
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 199 KB
- Volume
- 8
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1044-8004
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
This book presents a relatively broad survey of cultural influences and their impacts on global management practices and organizational performance. Combining theory, case studies, and items selected from popular newspapers and magazines, the book aims to balance theory with practice. Underlylng the authors' message is that "cross-cultural competency is essential . . . for success as professionals, managers, and technicians" (p. xi). The book is divided into three units. The five chapters of Unit One focus on leadership in global, crosscultural settings and cover the role of leadership in five general areas of management: (1) globalization, (2) communication, (3) negotiation, (4) change, and (5) cultural synergy
The first chapter, on globalization, opens with a well-reasoned and perceptive argument for making cross-cultural management a priority. The argument is constructed from an array of secondary sources, including published surveys, interviews, and news articles. The chapter establishes the authors' definitions of culture, organizational culture, and cross-cultural learning. Chapter Two presents a relatively brief overview of communications theory, guidelines for becoming an effective cross-cultural communicator, and social and affect variables in the communication process. The strongest points in the book arguably can be found in Chapter Three, which reviews the subject of negotiations in cross-cultural settings. The authors provide a framework for international business negotiations, summarize and describe key skills for successful cross-cultural negotiations, discuss Hofstede's (1984) well-known research on the dimensions of national culture, and discuss the topic of building synergy between different management systems and philosophies. Chapter Four surveys the leader's role in managing cultural change in organizations. Unit One closes with a chapter on cultural synergy, which should be of interest to human resource development (HRD) professionals in that it shows two models of what organizations might look like in the future.
Unit Two addresses how to improve management effectiveness through cross-cultural awareness. The first chapter of the unit describes models for