Archive for the ‘Cross-Cultural’ Category
Meshing Chinese and Western business cultures
There was an interesting column by Joe Nocera in the New York Times business section a few days ago. It started by looking at the relative lack of MBA-type skills among Chinese managers, but then diverted into an examination of Chinese and Western business cultures and the difficulties that companies have in meshing the two. An excerpt: [...]
Relationship-building and emerging markets
There was an article in the NY Times this week about the challenges and the allure of doing business in emerging markets around the globe. Or, more accurately, “emerging emerging markets.” Buried within the story was a fascinating account of just how business gets transacted in some cultures. First, the overview of these markets: Forget [...]
Cultural lessons, from Peru to Iraq
Cultural lessons also apply to the military, as evidenced by this interesting piece in Newsweek, which shows how one soldier took cultural lessons learned as a youngster in Peru and applied them to some of his dealings with locals in Iraq. For Capt. Jim Marckwardt, coming to Iraq in 2005 was like being a kid again. [...]
Can women leaders move beyond war?
Interesting story in the Christian Science Monitor about female leaders from 45 countries who met in India last week to mark International Women’s Day and to discuss a feminine style of leadership that they believe could help move the world beyond war. She is one of several hundred prominent female leaders from 45 countries who [...]
Working with the Japanese
It’s always a challenge for an individual to fit into the work culture of a new country. The NY Times recently profiled Heidi Manheimer and asked about her experiences as an American working for the Japanese cosmetics company Shiseido. Here is some of what she had to say: Shiseido is a large, old, conservative Japanese company [...]
Entrepreneurialism in Russia, but also corruption
There was just a three-part series about Russia in the Christian Science Monitor. It focused on the young people who are part of what has been dubbed the “Putin Generation” – those who have come of age in a Russia that is more stable and prosperous, but still tightly-controlled politically and beset by corruption in business. [...]
The Dharma of Dow Jones
Here’s an interesting confluence of religion and business – the Dow Jones Dharma for faith-based investing. Business Week has the story. Back in India, a new generation of gurus is promoting the latest thing to hit the Indian stock market: values investing. Not to be confused with Warren Buffett-style value investing, values-based investing draws on [...]
Japanese cellphone novels
A few weeks ago, I saw an article in the NY Times about the exploding popularity of “cellphone novels” in Japan. Until recently, cellphone novels — composed on phone keypads by young women wielding dexterous thumbs and read by fans on their tiny screens — had been dismissed in Japan as a subgenre unworthy of [...]
Spirits and mystics in Indonesia
There was a fascinating article a few days ago in the NY Times, just prior to the death of former Indonesian President Suharto, which discussed the power of local beliefs in spirits and black magic. The story focused on mystical explanations as to why Suharto was clinging to life, but in the process it also illuminated [...]
The role of tribal identity in Kenya
A few weeks ago, I had some posts (here and here) about the Kenyan elections and the influence of tribalism in that country’s politics. Now, the Washington Post has an excellent article that explores that topic in more depth and examines the role of tribal identity in shaping the political and world views of many Kenyans. A key [...]
Confucian Communism
Staying with Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” issue (yesterday’s post was from the same magazine and covered a road trip through Russia), today’s topic looks at Time‘s portrait of Chinese President Hu Jintao. Specifically, at the way Hu is trying to blend the ancient Chinese wisdom of Confucianism with modern economics and a Communist governing philosophy. [...]
The idea of Russia
It’s been two weeks since Time magazine named Vladimir Putin its “Person of the Year.” Now that the holiday craziness has ended, I finally got around to reading that issue of the magazine. In it, there is a fascinating portrait of Putin, but also an intriguing article about Russia itself (“In Search of Russia’s Big Idea”), which is the [...]
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Bob Riel is a writer and a traveler. Go here to read more about Bob, his work and the Travels in the Riel World blog.
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