Cross-cultural Management ― Towards Alternative Tools for Cultural Sensemaking

The internationalization of business via the process of globalization has brought issues of culture to the forefront of management thinking. Although culture is by no means a new area of study in business schools, it remains frustratingly elusive and misunderstood.

This textbook gives business students - or future managers - an understanding of the multitude of frameworks available to them to make sense of the cultural contexts they will encounter in their managerial careers. Starting from a general introduction to ‘culture’ and its role in businesses, Taran Patel encourages readers to shed a critical eye on the commonly accepted frameworks. She compels readers to ask three questions:

• Can I only make sense of the variety of cultures around me by categorizing people into static categories based on their geo-ethnic identities?
• Is it valid to make sense of people’s behaviours by categorizing them as ‘French’, ‘Indian’, ‘German’ or ‘American’?
• What other ways are there to make sense of people and their behaviours?

Students studying from this textbook will benefit from a variety of conceptual tools that can be used to navigate the world of culture and its intersection with business and management. Taran Patel's unique textbook will be core reading for students of cross-cultural management / intercultural communication and essential reading for all those studying or researching international business and management.

Taran Patel is Associate Professor in People, Organization, and Society at Grenoble Ecole de Management, France.