Business across Cultures

Citation

(2004), "Business across Cultures", International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol. 53 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijppm.2004.07953gae.001

Business across Cultures

Business across Cultures

Fons Trompenaars and Peter WoolliamsCapstoneISBN: 1-84112-474-5£12.99

This is a “keystone book” for a set of other books in a series under the general heading of Culture for Business. As such, it provides an overview of all the subjects tackled in the other books of the series. The aims of this overview (expanded in the series addressing particular countries/cultures) are to recognise that in a global economy, recognition of cultural differences and dissonances is essential if business is to be effective, and to provide executives with a cross-cultural perspective on how companies (can) meet the diverse needs of customers, investors and employees – though processes of recognition, respect and reconciliation. Of particular interest are the sections on: managing human resources issues across different cultures and how to make marketing and accounting work across cultural boundaries (and regulatory regimes, of course).

Fons Trompenaars and Peter Woolliams – along with Charles Hampden-Turner have been the leading proponents that value is not added but rather value is created by reconciling values of contrasts and conflict. This has been referred to as dilemma theory, and was first argued in Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business (Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner, 1998) and expanded in Building Cross-Cultural Competence (Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner, 2000).

This book builds on this past body of thought and adds a dimension of practical realism to ensure that global executives can face the dilemnnas and challenges of multiculturalism with a degree of both competence and confidence.