Book review, Cross‐Cultural Management: Essential Concepts (2E)

Citation

Ng, E.S.W. (2011), "Book review, Cross‐Cultural Management: Essential Concepts (2E)", Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 122-124. https://doi.org/10.1108/13527601111104331

With so many titles in the market for a book on Cross‐Cultural Management, I had a difficult time selecting a title for my undergraduate and graduate MBA international management class. I needed a text that meets my three criteria: comprehensive (I do not want to have several supplemental texts, plus the thought of creating my own coursepack is just daunting), concise (on point, not tedious to read), and engaging (my students will actually read it). I was fortunate to have come across David Thomas' updated title (2E) of his first book, Essentials of International Management: A Cross‐Cultural Perspective, which I found to be eminently suitable. Let me explain.

First, let me start with comprehensive. Although this volume was titled as an “Essentials” text (meaning Reader's Digest version) it was anything but. I was delighted to discover a full complement of topics that are ordered logically, starting from a macro‐view of globalization and telescoping into what global managers do. The book is segmented into three sections, beginning with four chapters on defining and understanding culture; followed by three chapters on managerial competencies such as decision‐making, cross‐cultural communication, and negotiation and leadership; and concluding with four topical chapters on current challenges facing individuals, managers, and organizations. A quick survey of some other cross‐cultural and international management textbooks (and course syllabi) will give you an idea that these topics are fairly standard for a cross‐cultural course: understanding and working with different cultures, cross‐cultural competencies, cross‐cultural communication, cross‐cultural negotiations, motivation and rewards systems, staffing and training for international assignments, as well as ethics and social responsibility concerns. In this sense, I have everything I needed from a single text to put together a semester‐long course in international management.

The author, David Thomas, is a Professor of International Management at Simon Fraser University. He is known for his works on cultural intelligence and has lectured extensively around the world, including the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and France. In the preface, the author indicated that he approached the book from a psychological perspective. I felt that this gives the book its strength. One of the most frequent comments I hear from graduate MBA students is that the treatment of cross‐cultural concepts are based on stereotypes and anecdotes. By infusing familiar theories and reporting research studies throughout the book, I find students are better able to accept and articulate the underlying concepts during classroom discussions.

Here, I feel compelled to tease you with the contents of the book. The opening chapter (Chapter 1) introduces globalization and its consequences on nations and organizations. I particularly liked the section on evaluating cross‐cultural studies, which I alluded to earlier, as readers are invited to bring a critical eye to cross‐cultural research. The next three chapters (Chapters 2‐4) dealt with defining culture, including a presentation of Hofstede's work at IBM and the GLOBE project, a discussion of values, and relating culture to psychological frameworks such as cognitive categorization, similarity and attraction, stereotyping, and attribution theories. The author accurately pointed out that such familiarity would reinforce students' learning by relating existing theories to new environments. The next three chapters (Chapters 5‐7) are devoted to thinking and acting like a manager. As with earlier chapters, I found the treatment on decision‐making (Chapter 5) backed by psychological theories such as heuristics and biases and motivational theories have a lot of “street cred” with critically inclined students who are ready to dismiss anecdotes and casual observations. I was also glad to see a section which discuses ethical dilemmas and moral development in cultural relativity terms. One chapter (Chapter 6) was devoted entirely to communication and negotiation and another chapter (Chapter 7) focused on leadership, including Western and non‐Western leadership styles. The last four chapters (Chapters 8‐11) of the book offer current challenges facing organizations, with particular focus on “managing.” The topics included here are managing multicultural groups (Chapter 8), managing organizational structures for multinational firms (Chapter 9), staffing and managing expatriate assignments (Chapter 10), as well as managing the new economy (Chapter 11). The final chapter is particularly noteworthy as it serves to sensitize readers to changes in the environment and adaptations that are necessary for the future of work and organizations. Each chapter also opens with a quote and ends with a summary. I was also tickled to see the author, being culturally mindful, explained his metaphoric use of an “Oreo cookie” (footnoted at the end of Chapter 4). Overall, I found the chapters build on one another, and by the end of the book, I am confident that my students will be well‐sensitized and well‐equipped to take on international assignments.

Next, I also needed a text that is concise. Given that it would be difficult to compete with multiple sources of distractions (the usual Facebook, MSN messaging, and finance exams), I know I needed a book that is on point and delivers key concepts in a succinct manner, without having to refer students to three different journal articles. Here, I have to commend the author for delivering a “handbook” in just 300 pages, without the readers (and students in particular) noticing this. All of the concepts were very easy to comprehend and well articulated.

And for my final criteria, I needed a book that is “Engaging” so that my students will actually read it. From my experience with multicultural organizational behavior textbooks, students gloss over each chapter, yawn, and cry out “but this is common sense!” This book is quite the opposite. I find combining familiar theories with new concepts to be appealing to students. I also thought the materials chosen were challenging enough that no one felt it was “common sense.” The author clearly did a tremendous job balancing challenge with appeal without losing the readers.

Given the depth and complexity of the materials covered in the book, I agree with Dr Thomas that the title is most suitable for an advanced course in international or cross‐cultural management. Dr Thomas also recommends that the book be used in conjunction with cases and experiential exercises. I also agree with him on this point. The readings, while engaging, can be difficult to relate to or applied in the absence of stories, simulations, and role‐plays. I felt that the book would also be more complete if the author had chosen to include end of chapter exercises, discussion questions and case studies. I should also add that while the volume is intended as a textbook, it would also serve as a good research companion given the extensive studies that have been cited throughout the volume.