Food for thought: Book review of bridging the culture gap

Penny Carté and Chris Fox, published by Kogan Page

Being able to communicate with people of various cultures is the cornerstone of any international business. In our work, we have to be able to meet with, make presentations to and make deals with people of very different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. What may work perfectly well in, say Denmark, might go down very badly in China.

This book is reassuringly unspectacular. It does not pretend there are magic tricks or easily templatable behaviours that will suddenly transform your business fortunes. What it does, however, is two things: it shows that there ways to read and interpret different behaviours, and it also comes up with a number of practical hints about what might and might not work.

In order to read and interpret different behaviours, the authors use a set of cultural preference scales which is inspired by the gurus in the field (Hall, Hofstede and Trompenaars). These scales are useful to understand one's own preferences, as well as to understand those of others.

The chapters have a clear construction, starting with the conclusions. The many examples in the book are short, to the point and use clear language. The summaries at the end of each chapter are excellent. I particularly recommend the chapter on Offshore English, the common language of international business.

To sum it up, for those new to the subject, this book is pragmatic and jargon-free. For those with international experience, there is sufficient new and interesting material in the book to make it worth your while to take it with you on your next business trip. It's happily down-to-earth and this reviewer believes it may increase your chances - next time you meet with a potential customer.

By Robert Fonteijn, Director of Elevation Learning and Visiting Professor in International Business at the Iseg business school in Paris