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The Culture Map
Book

The Culture Map

Decoding How People Think, Lead, and Get Things Done Across Cultures

Public Affairs, 2016 more...


Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

A German human resources manager arrives right on time for your meeting, but the Nigerian executive is 20 minutes late. Your Japanese hosts invite you out for a night of drinking – do you have to go in order to do business? Feedback from a candid French manager leaves you in tears, but feedback from an oblique English boss leaves you mystified as to what it means. Cultural differences often determine what someone views as acceptable workplace behavior. Knowing and respecting these differences is crucial in today’s global environment. International-business expert Erin Meyer dispels the confusion by providing a “culture map” for visualizing these differences. She smartly identifies eight pivotal problem areas marked by cultural disparities, creates a scaled continuum for each area and plots countries along each progression. Use the map to decode where cultures fall relative to each other and to your own; then adapt your behavior in these pivotal areas. getAbstract recommends Meyer’s clear structure and abundant examples as a must-read for anyone working with people from other countries or heading for the airport.

Take-Aways

  • Cultural differences greatly affect cooperative work and mutual understanding.
  • The “culture map” offers eight comparative scales to help you work more congenially and respectfully with people from other cultures:
  • “Low-context” communication is explicit; “high-context” communication is implicit.

About the Author

INSEAD professor Erin Meyer focuses on management skills for international businesses.


Comment on this summary or Start Discussion

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    C. F. 1 year ago
    Wonderful analysis
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    S. .. 3 years ago
    Excelente para tomar conciencia sobre las diferencias con nuestros interlocutores. Un mapa de 8 características que marcan la pauta de relacionamiento con otros.
  • Avatar
    V. Y. 6 years ago
    Good to read