Understanding Global Cultures: Metaphorical Journeys through 23 Nations

By Martin J. Gannon

Book Overview

This book describes a method, the cultural metaphor, for readily understanding the cultural mindset of a nation and comparing it to those of other nations. This method involves identifying some phenomenon, activity or institution of a nation′s culture that all or most of its members consider important with which they identify closely. Metaphors are not stereotypes; rather, they rely upon the features of one critical phenomenon in a society to describe the entire society. The characteristics of the metaphor then become the basis for describing and understanding the essential features of the society. For example, the Italians invented the opera and love it passionately. Five key characteristics of the opera are the overture, spectacle and pageantry, voice, exteriority, and the interaction between the lead singers and the chorus. These features are used to describe Italy and its cultural mindset. Thus the metaphor is a guide or map that helps the student of the foreigner understand quickly what members of a society consider important

What′s new:

A new organizational framework: In the first edition, there was no overriding framework into which parts of the book could be divided. In the new edition, the generic types of cultural frameworks developed by Triandis and Fiske and the torn and cleft culture framework developed by Huntington, organize the book. These frameworks allow the reader to gain new insight into various cultural metaphors and to address the challenging issue of integrating cultural and economic perspectives.

New nations covered in this edition include:

- The Thai Kingdom

- Saudi Arabia

- Brazil

- Poland

- Korea

- Malaysian

- Mexico

- Portugal

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0761913297
• ISBN13: 9780761913290
• Release Date: November 2000
• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc
• Length: 488 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Invaluable Academic Resource

I have now used Gannon's book at both the MBA and senior undergraduate level in courses on Cross-Cultural Management. It is the best approach I have found for synthesizing material from the sociological, anthropological and business disciplines in the education of the manager/student with regard to organizational design and its adaptation to the local characteristics of the market, the legislation, the fiscal regime, the socio-political system and the cultural system encountered in the international environment. Coupled with Gannon's other book of readings, research translations and commentary on cultural metaphors and his book of applications and exercises for working across cultures, the instructor has the most thorough framework and set of tools for dealing with the difficult issues encountered in understanding other cultures that I have seen to date. International students in my graduate courses have unanimously acknowledged that Gannon's metaphors for their cultures are perceptively and creatively right on the mark.

Best Bet

Gannon and his associates have written a delightful, must-read book for people who work across cultures. The cultural descriptions are easy to remember and provide much greater depth than most treatments of culture. The book provides many new insights, even for people who know these cultures well, and is very good at explaining why other cultures behave as they do. Gannon's book is so well-written and interesting that my MBA students complain that they have difficulty wrestling the book away from other family members who pick it up and get hooked. If someone asked me to recommend just one book to read on culture, Understanding Global Cultures would get my vote.