Management Worldwide David Hickson & Derek Pugh

Management Worldwide by David Hickson and Derek Pugh

Business Book Review - 4 Stars

I had to read "Management Worldwide: The Impact Of Societal Culture On Organizations Around The Globe" as part of my MBA in the Organisational Behaviour module and I found it a fascinating read.

The book draws heavily on the work of Geert Hofstede (see Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimensions for a summary of the key points on my Business Coaching Blog)

As the world gets smaller and the impacts of globalisation are seen more extensively, it is easy to think that "everyone's just like me".

But they are not.

There are huge differences and they often go unnoticed because we tend not to be aware of the dominant cultural influences in our own values and beliefs. They just seem logical and if they are logical, then surely successful business people in other countries will have the same values.

No, the influence of the country's culture is pervasive.

This book, "Management Worldwide" helps to identify the different cultural aspects and while you have to be careful not to stereotype - "Paul is from the UK and therefore he will...", it gives you pointers to look for and perspectives to look through.

While Geert Hofstede's work looks across the five dimensions, "Managing Worldwide" is organised into geographical regions:

1. The Anglos across the continents - British, American and Canadians looked at in detail.
    
   
2. The Latins - Southern Europe and South America
    
   
3. Northern Europeans & Israel
    
   
4. The East-Central Europeans
    
   
5. The Asians
    
   
6. The Arabs of the Middle East
    
   
7. Developing Countries

The book then goes on to explain how you can become a cross cultural manager.

Review Rating for Management Worldwide by David Hickson and Derek Pugh

I rate "Management Worldwide" as a 4 star book which is a buy and read recommendation.

This is a very important book for:

• Anyone involved in selling outside your own culture
• Anyone managing in a foreign country

It helps you to see where you are and then makes sense of the differences you have noticed and will help you to see other important characteristics which you may have missed.

I thought about a 4.5 star rating but it's tone is quite academic. Readable certainly but if you are used to light management books, it could be hard going.

Do persevere and remember that you can afford to miss some of the chapters if you are not delaing with people from those cultures.

Management Worldwide is available from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk (affiliate links)