Transcultural Management: A New Approach for Global Organizations / Edition 1

by Atsushi Funakawa

Overview

A framework for transforming business cultural clashes intocultural synergy.

As the global economy continues to expand, the need forcross-cultural understanding is a key component to businesssuccess. In the U.S. and Japan alone, more than two millionbusiness people are directly involved in cross-cultural businesssituations.

Atsushi Funakawa, a native of Japan who has studied and workedextensively in both the U.S. and Japan, outlines his innovativemodel for managing people across cultures. This comprehensive guideshows how the two cultures have very different ways ofcommunicating that often lead to conflicts in which each blames theother for problems. Funakawa's framework 'Intercultural Business Management? has proven to be effective for transcAnding differencesand breaking down communication barriers to form a constructivedialogue across cultures. By applying this revolutionary model,companies can remake themselves into truly geocentricorganizations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780787903237
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	05/13/1997
Series:	The Jossey-Bass Business and Management Series
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.29(h) x 0.98(d)

About the Author

ATSUSHI FUNAKAWA is program director of organizational learning and global development at Globis Corporation in Tokyo. His seminars on global organizational management have assisted thousands of professionals throughout Asia, the United States, Russia, and Europe in their quest to build cultural synergy across their organizations. He brings seventeen years of multicultural corporate experience to the writing of this book.

Table of Contents

Part One: The Impact of Culture on Global Business.

1. The Tragedy of Ignorance.

2. Why Culture?.

3. Language Matters.

Part Two: Transcultural Management for Individuals andOrganizations.

4. Globalization and Cultural intervention.

5. Enabling Global Organizations: Five Core Competencies.

6. Achieving Competency: Seven Mental Disciplines.

7. Managing Cultural Context.

8. High-Context, High-Content Management: The Direction of GlobalOrganizations.

Part Three: The United States And Japan.

9. Root Causes of Cross-Cultural Business Conflict.

10. American Companies in Japan.

11. Japanese Companies in the United States.

12. United States—Japan Alliance Management.

Part Four: Moving Forward Across Cultures.

13. Embracing Bridge Persons.

14. Searching for a New Identity for the 21st Century.

Appendix: Interventions for Transcultural Organizaions.

Editorial Reviews

"Highly recommended for anyone interested in the theory or practiceof global business relationships, particularly between Japanese andAmericans. Full of excellent examples and applications." (Robert T.Moran, Ph.D., professor of international studies, ThunderbirdAmerican Graduate School of International Management)

"This book brings a new identity to business based on a culturalintervention for adapting, surviving, and prospering in a new age."(Hiroyuki Sawada, president, Gemini Consulting (Japan), Inc)

"This is the first business management book based on a trulymulticultural perspective. Only a multilingual, multicultural,multiorganization consultant can render such keen insights intomanaging today's multicultural organizations. Funakawa offers solidtheories, realistic strategies, and crucial communication methods.I highly recommend this book to any manager who wants to take on agenuine global perspective." (T. Todd Imahori, Ph.D., associateprofessor, San Francisco State University)

"This is a rare book of great importance. It provides comprehensiveperspectives and guidelines on cultural aspects of global businessmanagement that are critically important to business success buttoo often neglected by international managers." (Masazumi Ishii,managing director, AZCA, Inc)

"This book presents the best Japanese-American cultural paradigm Ihave seen for business. Funakawa respects and carefully explainsthe relevant differences in the cultures while providing anexcellent blAnd of theory and the facts. If your task is to developa new organizational culture in Japan, reading this book is thebest way to gain the needed understanding and at the same time avery practical place to start." (Rex Valentine, general manager,Diabetes Health Care, Nippon Becton Dickinson Company, Ltd.)

"As an international business consultant I highly recommend thisbook, not only to anyone doing business with Japan, but also to keypeople in companies doing international business anywhere."(William T. Grubb, managing director, InterContinental MarketingSystems)

"Transcultural Management provides the critical linkage of suchsoft issues as culture and communication and hard corporatestrategies. Funakawa has proved the importance of the convergencefor practitioners." (Hisataka Takasugi, managing director, DentsuBurson-Marsteller Co., Ltd.)

From the Publisher

The author, a corporate global organizational management professional, outlines strategies for promoting transcultural cooperation in corporations using the paradigm of US-Japanese business relations. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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