Managing effectively across national and cultural boundaries is critical to the success of today’s organizations, given the global environment of business and increasing diversity of workforces.  A keen awareness and a high degree of cross-cultural competence in management are therefore key to the career success of both present and aspiring managers/professionals.

Understanding Cross-Cultural Management explores the key themes and issues in one of the most challenging and fascinating areas of organizational life, and enables you to sharpen your insights and practical skills. It offers a selective but broad view of classic and contemporary thinking on cultural management and encourages you to apply theories and ideas to practice - and to relate them to your own experience - through various examples and cases from the business world, and a range of practical activities.

A number of features will help you to succeed in your studies or career, including:

·   Cross-cultural concepts, which explain key ideas from leading theorists, thinkers and practitioners.

·   Case studies, dilemmas and points for reflection which enable you to reflect internally and interact externally.

·    ‘Spotlights’ in every chapter which briefly illustrate the concepts being described.

·   Mini-cases with questions giving consistent application of theory to practice.

·   Activities at the end of each chapter, as well as at the end of each of the three Parts, provide a broader and more integrative perspective on the material in question, thereby encouraging you to develop your cross-cultural management skills.

The book has been written for undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as practising managers and professionals, who are studying cross-cultural and international management as part of either specialist international business programmes or general business-related qualifications.

Marie-Joëlle Browaeys and Roger Price are senior lecturers at Nyenrode Business University, The Netherlands.