International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior

by Nancy J. Adler

Book Overview

This book takes the view that culture does effect the organization and that it has its most significant impact at the micro level - the level of people communicating, working and negotiating with... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0324360746
• ISBN13: 9780324360745
• Release Date: June 2007
• Publisher: Cengage Learning
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 1.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.5" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

A must-read - especially for Americans!

I bought the first edition of this in 1991 & it is brilliant - and accurate. I have spent much of my career working for US companies that continue to make the most basic mistakes when dealing with "aliens", such as the need to exert power & control, authoritation vs persuasion. One of the basics - which I'd like to see Dr Adler cover - is the assumption that because some other countries also speak English that American behaviours & assumptions apply in those countries. The book also has a secondary advantage that it could be read as a "how to do foreign policy" book for the US, given Gulf 2 issues with say Europe. Essential reading for anyone that really wants to be global & not just multi-national.

Great

This book is very scientific, deep and practical. Simply great. I'm a Psychologist, Business Consultant for Multinational Corporations and is absolutely useful

Good overview, nicely written

Nancy Adler presents a good overview on the topics in international HR Management. It is great as a textbook for class and a perfect starting point for novices who want to get into inter. HRM. The book is not overwhelmingly deep, but it is concise and has an efficient way of conveying the main concepts of culture and communication, synergy, teams, leadership, negotiations. Adler writes well making it easy to understand what she means and a fast read. She uses small cases to illustrate each problem she addresses, which are sometimes a little bit too simplistic for non-students. For me, a great advantage of the book is the comprehensive lists of references per chapter. This makes it easy to go further in topics I am especially interested in. The critique a have with almost all "international version" textbooks is, that it explicitly addresses Americans.

Great Textbook About International Management

I have had the pleasure of using Adler's book for several years now. Simply put, it is far more enjoyable to read than the average textbook and is packed with useful information for those wanting to learn.Adler does a superb job of addressing the various dimensions of culture. She explains culture quite clearly and makes many connections to management practice. But maybe what I like best is that Adler goes beyond explaining. Each chapter contains vignettes discussing different cultural experiences. The short descriptions are interesting and lively. I have also noticed that the quantity and quality of vignettes has improved in the fourth edition. Overall, the scope of this book seems quite thorough. National culture, workplace behavior across cultures, communication differences across cultures, creating synergy, multicultural teamwork and negotiation, global leadership, and the expat experience are all discussed. My favorite chapters tend to be early in the book (culture, teamwork, and synergy). It appears that these areas represent the author's greatest strength. The research informing each chapter is thorough and quite up-to-date. Maybe the weakest chapter, in my view, is chapter three which deals with communication. I suspect that maybe the author steps a bit beyond her expertise and is not able to touch on the deeper issues of cross-cultural communication (as she touches on the deeper issues in teamwork or other chapters). The result is a good chapter and sound discussion that maybe lacks the richness found in other parts of the book. She sets the standard so high in other chapters and I was hoping for the same here. I have used this text for several years in intercultural management courses for undergraduate business students. The students seem to enjoy the book and encourage me to keep using it. I guess that is the highest praise we can give any text--students like it.

Extremely Useful

As a cross-cultural trainer based in the United States, I needed to find a pragmatic book that both students and sophisticated business people would find helpful. At the same time, it had to provide a lot of solid information in an easy-to-read format. Dr. Adler's book is it at ERUdyne! Actually, we have had to replace our copies many times as they keep disappearing after positive reviews from our clients!My copy is dog-eared. I recommend it to anyone who needs to understand how culture impacts global business organizations today. It contains excellent questions for reflection, charts, summaries and references. Dr. Adler's book makes a positive difference in one's perception and understanding of the real challenges facing global businesses. It also provides good case studies with a step-by-step guide for addressing global organizational behavior issues. I couldn't ask for more in one text.