Paradoxes of Culture and Globalization

by Martin J. Gannon

• ISBN13: 9781412940450
• ISBN10: 1412940451
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-06-29
• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc

Summary

"What is a paradox? Why are cross-cultural paradoxes essential for understanding the changes that are occurring because of globalization? Encompassing a wide variety of areas including leadership, cross-cultural negotiations, immigration, religion, economic development, and business strategy, Paradoxes of Culture and Globalization develops 93 cross-cultural paradoxes essential for understanding globalization." "This is a text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses such as International Management, International Business, Comparative Management, World Business Environment, Cross-Cultural Management, Cross-Cultural Communications, and Cultural Anthropology in the departments of business and management, communication, and anthropology. It is also appropriate for management training and education."--BOOK JACKET.

Table of Contents

Preface

A Third Perspective

Paradoxes, Education and Training

Exercise: Introducing the Book

A Note on Writing

Acknowledgements

Conceptual Foundations

Thinking Paradoxically

Essential Concepts

Limitations

Takeaways

Discussion Questions

Exercises

Conceptualizing and Perceiving Culture

Conceptualizing Culture

Why are there so many definitions of culture?

Can there be a very large and a very small number of cultures?

Can collectivists be self-centered and selfish?

Value paradoxes exist in all cultures. For example, how can a national culture value freedom and dependence simultaneously?

How are cultural values and cultural practices related?

Does culture matter?

Are demographics more important than culture?

Should we advocate only one perspective on culture?

Perceiving Culture

Do proper introductions and greetings simultaneously involve kissing, bowing, and shaking hands?

Are cultural stereotypes valid?

Are the distinctions between levels of culture relevant in a globalizing world?

Do insiders understand their own cultures better than outsiders?

Can global citizenship and the effects of root cultures exist simultaneously?

Can cultures change quickly?

Takeaways

Discussion Questions

Exercise

Exercise After Each Chapter

Behavioral Issues

Leadership, Motivation, And Group Behavior Across Cultures

Framing leadership: Is the essence of leadership being stuck on the horns of a dilemma?

Who is more effective: The instrumental/visionary/transformational leader or the Headman?

When should a leader involve subordinates in decision making?

Can an effective leader be someone who publicly humiliates subordinates?

Motivation

Is the relationship between motivation and ability additive or multiplicative in the prediction of individual success and performance?

Can an individually-based need hierarchy exist in a collectivistic culture?

Do effective executives attribute success to themselves or to others?

Group Behavior

Are there free riders or equally-responsible contributors in small groups?

Do the personalities of individuals primarily reflect the influence of culture both in general and in small groups?

Should multi-cultural groups be managed differently than single-culture groups?

Takeaways

Discussion Questions

Exercises

Answers

Communicating Across Cultures

Language

How can knowing the language of another culture be a disadvantage?

How can languages be rapidly dying while becoming more influential?

Critical words and phrases: How can there be immediate recognition by

Are proverbs effective descriptors of a culture?

Context and Beyond

Can a culture be simultaneously monochronic and polychronic?

Can a culture be simultaneously low-context and high-context?

Symbolism

Can a culture be simultaneously monochronic and polychronic?

Can a culture be simultaneously low-context and high-context?

Symbolism

How can the same phenomenon represent different symbolic meanings?

How can the same phenomenon represent different symbolic meanings?

Technology and Mediated Communication

Can face-to-face communication be functionally equivalent to mediated communication, either individually or in small groups?

Is the Internet integrating the world or creating wide differences?

Is colonization or communitarianism winning in the battle for the Internet?

Why is the information superhighway a poor metaphor for describing modern communication systems such as the Internet?

Takeaways

Discussion Questions

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