Schell Michael S. - Managing across cultures: the seven keys to doing business with a global mindset

MANAGING ACROSS CULTURES

The Seven Keys
to Doing Business
with a Global Mindset

CHARLENE M. SOLOMON MICHAEL S. SCHELL

Copyright 2009 by RW3 LLC. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a data base or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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From Michael: To my wife, Lynne Schell, without whose love and forbearance nothing would be possible, and to my grandchildren, Adalai and Asher, whom I hope will one day enjoy this book. To the memory of the Worlds Doctor, Allan Rosenfield.

From Charlene: To Alan for your continuing love, amazing emotional support, and never-ending encouragement to follow my heart, and to Elizabeth, Andrew, and Chris, who inspire me to keep learning and who keep me laughing.

PART I
INTRODUCTION

PART II
CULTURE BASICS: HOW CULTURE AND A GLOBAL MINDSET WORK

PART III
THE SEVEN KEYS TO MANAGING ACROSS CULTURES

PART IV
DOING BUSINESS WITH A GLOBAL MINDSET

Over the last several years there have been innumerable friends, colleagues, and clients who have shared their wisdom, experiences, and insights with us. Those generous individuals have talked with us, debated issues with us, sent us resources, and generally stimulated our own thought process, and we thank them. All of that thinking made this book possible.

First we would like to acknowledge the contributions of our key staff members:

Valerie Greenly, whose kind and positive perspective on everything that happens, coupled with her energy and attention to detail, have enriched lives and perfected our work. For the past 20 years, Valerie has helped make our work both fun and successful.

Paul Bailey, whose efforts on the other side of the Atlantic have made our endeavors in Europe fruitful and wonderfully enriching.

Joshua Sturtevant, who enthusiastically embraces new responsibilities and impresses us daily with his expertise and creative vision.

Carrie Shearer, who has made an enormous contribution to this book, is largely responsible for , Women Crossing Cultures, in which she shares her significant depth of experience and understanding of the international assignment experience. In addition, Carries tireless creative energy and remarkable resourcefulness have contributed significantly to the overall success of CultureWizard.

Wed also like to thank Annette Messler, who for the past 20 years has kept our financial lives in order, and to thank Sean Dubberke, Barbara Thorp, and Miranda Rowe, on whose unique energies we call everyday.

We give a special thank-you to Paula Caligiuri, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Human Resource Management at Rutgers University, School of Management and Labor Relations and Director of the Center for Human Resource Strategy. Paula, who is the creator of the SAGE (Self-Assessment for Global Endeavors), SAGE for Spouses, and SAGE for Global Business Leaders, has been a most valuable advisor and colleague for over the past decade. Weve learned so much from her about global leadership development. Her contribution was a critical component of our work in . Paulas ongoing support and direction allows us to continue to do cutting-edge research and bring significantly greater value to our clients and to our online content and community.

Yang Zhang, PhD., also eagerly supported our research initiatives and gave us a deeper understanding of the generational and cultural differences in emerging China. She was extremely helpful in our work on intercultural global teams as well as a variety of other areas.

We would also like to thank the following individuals who helped us continue to develop our thoughts and perspectives: Michael Bruck, previously the head of Intel China, who generously shared his significant experiences in China that allowed us to gain wisdom on that critically important part of the world; Milton Ives of Mars, Inc., previously with HSBC Bank, whose gentle prodding and questioning kept us reaching for continuous improvement; Franck Andreutti of Motorola, who shared his own depth of cultural appreciation to enrich our understanding; Gerry Rausnitz, CEO of Meopta-Optika, who frequently shared his tactical business appreciation of Eastern Europe; Geremie Sawadogo of The World Bank, who gave us a new perspective and depth of awareness about Africa; and Jan Jung-Min Sunoo of the International Labor Organization, who generously offered wisdom and expertise about Southeast Asia.