International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior textbook by Desautels Prof. Nancy Adler now available in Japanese

Abstract

World leaders . . . are rightly worried by the problem of finding the key to ensure the survival of a civilization that is global and multicultural. . . . The central . . . task of … this century … is the creation of a new model of co-existence among the various cultures, peoples, races, and religious spheres within a single interconnected civilization. . . . --Vaclav Havel, President of the Czech Republic, 1993-2003

Havel’s appreciation of the world situation certainly challenges us as managers, leaders, and human beings. The world has gotten smaller. World business now dominates societal dynamics. It is only as we recognize the extent to which we are culture bound that we can go beyond the limitations of our own necessarily narrow perspectives. It is only as we work globally that we can reap the benefits, and avoid the pitfalls, in a world economy. We have entered an era in which global organizations, companies, and alliances determine our economic and social well-being. To the extent that organizations respect individual cultural differences, they allow each of us to contribute based on our uniqueness. To the extent they transcend national boundaries, they encourage a world, otherwise fraught with wars and animosities, to collaborate and to cooperate. If we fail to recognize cultural differences and choose to maintain limited ethnocentric domestic approaches, we condemn the world to divisiveness and ultimately to its own demise.

In the past, multinational corporations have not been celebrated for their contributions to world peace, understanding, or stability. Perhaps it is only today, as we recognize that worldwide cooperation has become critical for our very survival, that the pervasive influence of global companies is becoming apparent. Governments reflect national boundaries; global companies transcend national boundaries and national definitions. Global companies can use their transnational status, their creative public-private partnerships, and their ever-expanding networks of alliances in ways that either benefit and enrich the planet or that impoverish us all. The challenge is immediate and immense. The importance is inestimable. International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior invites managers, students, and leaders alike to engage in this most important 21st-century discussion.