Synopses & Reviews
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
Synopsis
This book, a best-seller in its first edition, uses cultural metaphors to help students and managers understand, describe, and compare national cultures. In adding countries covered, the author introduces new conceptual frameworks for classifying cultures based on the works of Triandis, Fiske, and Huntington. These frameworks support students as they develop an increased awareness of various cultures and begin the challenging process of integrating cultural and economic perspectives.
New nations in the edition include: Thailand Saudi Arabia Brazil Poland Korea Malaysia Mexico Portugal