Cross-Cultural Business Behavior : A Guide for Global Management

Intro -- Cross-Cultural Business Behavior -- Copyright -- Table of Contents -- Cases -- Foreword to the Fifth Edition -- Part One -- Introduction -- The Sources -- Part Two -- 1. Patterns of Cross-Cultural Business Behavior -- Two Iron Rules of International Business -- Brief Introduction to the Patterns -- Deal-Focused vs Relationship-Focused Business Behavior -- Direct (low-context) vs Indirect (high-context) Communication -- Informal (egalitarian) vs Formal (hierarchical) Business Behavior -- Rigid-Time (monochronic) vs Fluid-Time (polychronic) Cultures -- Emotionally Expressive vs Emotionally Reserved Business Behavior -- 2. The Great Divide Between Business Cultures -- Relationship-Focus vs Deal-Focus -- Making Initial Contact -- The Indirect Approach -- Pulling Guanxi -- But What If You Are the Buyer? -- 3. Deal First or Relationship First? -- Getting to Know Each Other -- You Need to Develop a Personal Relationship -- Bureaucracy in RF Markets -- The Importance of Face-to-Face Contact -- The Role of the Contract -- 4. Communicating Across The Great Divide -- Direct vs Indirect Language -- Harmony vs Clarity -- Nonverbal Negatives -- The Myth of the "Inscrutable Oriental" -- Communication and "Face" -- Miscommunication Across Cultures -- "Low-Context" and "High-Context" Communication -- "Telling It Like It Is" vs "Saving Face" -- 5. Hierarchical (Formal) and Egalitarian (Informal) Business Cultures -- Status, Power and Respect -- Culture Clash in Germany -- Showing Respect to the Customer -- Hierarchies and Status in Asia -- Showing Respect in Asia -- Nonverbal Ways of Showing Respect -- Status Barriers -- The Gender Barrier -- The Youth Barrier -- How to Overcome the Youth Barrier with Hierarchical Buyers -- Other Status Factors -- 6. Time and Scheduling -- Rigid-Time vs Fluid-Time Cultures -- Europe: The North/South Divide.