Fish Can''t See Water - How National Culture Can Make Or Break Your Corporate Strategy

Zusatztext "This is a thought-provoking read for anyone working across cultures." (The CA, August 2013)"With case studies from Asia, Europe and the US, the book offers a thorough insight into how even the smallest of cultural traits can affect businesses immensely.' (GulfBusiness.com, September 2013)"The book offers a readable tour through organisational culture..." (Professional Manager, September 2013)"...in focusing on culture they are clearly onto something important...Fish Can't See Water is full of interesting insights into modern business." (The Economist, October 2013)"The real challenge this book provides is that companies need to recognise that cultural change does not happen simply by chance or desire, but requires real management focus throughout the organisation. The opportunity that awaits those organisations that achieve this is extraordinary and creates long-term sustainable businesses." (Financial Advisor, April 2014) Informationen zum Autor Kai Hammerich, MBA (Kellogg Business School with Distinction), MSc. is Danish and an international leadership and talent consultant with Korn Ferry, living in London. He has been nominated by Business Week as one of the most influential headhunters worldwide. He advises boards and leadership teams of global corporations on talent, succession and cross cultural transformations that accelerate corporate performance. Richard D. Lewis is a well renowned British linguist who created Richard Lewis Communications - a language school for executives as well as a company that advises on cross-cultural issues facing business executives. Richard has written a number of books including the bestselling When Cultures Collide. Klappentext The message of this book is simple: national culture, through its influence on corporate culture, has a powerful but often-invisible impact on the success of global companies. What's more, the very same national traits that accelerate growth at one stage of the corporate life cycle may derail that growth at a different stage or when an inevitable crisis hits. How did Samsung Electronics become the world's largest consumer electronics company in less than 20 years, unseating dominant Sony Corporation in the process? What pivotal role did the national heritage of both companies play in this? How did Toyota create a sustainable competitive advantage for almost 25 years, by adapting a global business philosophy deeply rooted in Japanese culture? How did the Finnish roots of Nokia and the American roots of GM first help both companies, only later to derail their success? In a global world where most processes and products can and will be copied, culture matters more than ever, and as this book shows, can be a source of sustainable competitive advantage! As they say: 'Culture eats Strategy for lunch!'  Through case examples that include: Toyota, Austin Motor Company (later British Leyland), Samsung, Sony, Nokia, and P&G, Hammerich and Lewis provide a new conceptual framework and 10 vital tools for analyzing corporate culture and diagnosing the dynamics that drive  the success of global companies. 'With case studies from Asia, Europe and the US, the book offers a thorough insight into how even the smallest of cultural traits can affect businesses immensely.' (GulfBusiness.com, September 2013) Zusammenfassung How national culture impacts organizational culture and business success Using extensive case studies of successful global corporations, this book explores the impact of national culture on the corporate strategy and its execution, and through this ultimately business success or failure. Inhaltsverzeichnis Preface xiii Acknowledgements xv Introduction 1 What is "culture"? 4 The water that we couldn't see when analyzing culture 6 The long-term view: corporate lifecycles and corporate culture 9 ...

List of contents

Preface xiii
 
Acknowledgements xv
 
Introduction 1
 
What is "culture"? 4
 
The water that we couldn't see when analyzing culture 6
 
The long-term view: corporate lifecycles and corporate culture 9
 
The innovation phase 10
 
The geographic expansion 10
 
Product-line expansion 11
 
Efficiency and scale focus 11
 
Consolidation 12
 
Interruptions of the lifecycle - when the crisis hit 13
 
"Global" companies 15
 
Summary 17
 
A brief chapter overview 19
 
Part I Developing the Cultural Dynamic Model(r) 23
 
1 Corporate Culture, Strategy and Business Results 25
 
What is corporate culture? 26
 
The three levels of culture 26
 
How leaders embed their values, beliefs and assumptions early on 28
 
Reinforced by the daily work practices in the mature organization 28
 
The six dimensions of corporate culture 29
 
Corporate culture and strategy: the cultural dynamic model(r) 30
 
Results come from work that gets done: "the work practices" 31
 
Work practices infl uenced by . . . 31
 
The water people don't see: the national influencers 41
 
The three levels of culture 44
 
The time lag of culture and cultural agility as a competitive advantage 45
 
Chapter summary 47
 
2 The Lewis Model - Setting the Scene 49
 
Linear-active cultures 57
 
Multi-active cultures 58
 
Reactive cultures 60
 
Getting things done 64
 
3 Nation-State Traits and how they affect Corporate Cultures in Seven Countries 69
 
The United States 70
 
Key nation-state traits 70
 
Historical background 70
 
Expression of nation-state traits within corporate culture 71
 
Potential advantages/disadvantages of US nation-state traits 73
 
Summary 76
 
Sweden 77
 
Key nation-state traits 77
 
Historical background 77
 
Expression of nation-state traits within corporate culture 78
 
Potential advantages/disadvantages of Swedish national traits 79
 
Summary 80
 
France 80
 
Key nation-state traits 80
 
Historical background 81
 
Expression of nation-state traits within corporate culture 81
 
Potential advantages/disadvantages of French national traits 82
 
Summary 83
 
Japan 84
 
Key nation-state traits 84
 
Historical background 84
 
Expression of nation-state traits within corporate culture 85
 
Potential advantages/disadvantages of Japanese national traits 86
 
Summary 90
 
Italy 90
 
Key nation-state traits 90
 
Historical background 90
 
Expression of nation-state traits within corporate culture 91
 
Potential advantages/disadvantages of Italian national traits 94
 
Summary 94
 
Germany 95
 
Key nation-state traits 95
 
Historical background 95
 
Expression of nation-state traits within corporate culture 95
 
Potential advantages/disadvantages of German national traits 96
 
Summary 98
 
Great Britain 98
 
Key nation-state traits 98
 
Historical background 98
 
Expression of nation-state traits within corporate culture 99
 
Potential advantages/disadvantages of British national traits 100
 
Summary 102
 
4 The Cultural Dynamic Model(r) and the Austin Motors Case 105
 
Introduction 105
 
The static cultural dynamic model(r) - bringing it all together 106
 
The embedded values and beliefs from the business

Report

"This is a thought-provoking read for anyone working across cultures." (The CA, August 2013)
"With case studies from Asia, Europe and the US, the book offers a thorough insight into how even the smallest of cultural traits can affect businesses immensely.' (GulfBusiness.com, September 2013)
 
"The book offers a readable tour through organisational culture..." (Professional Manager, September 2013)
 
"...in focusing on culture they are clearly onto something important...Fish Can't See Water is full of interesting insights into modern business." (The Economist, October 2013)
"The real challenge this book provides is that companies need to recognise that cultural change does not happen simply by chance or desire, but requires real management focus throughout the organisation. The opportunity that awaits those organisations that achieve this is extraordinary and creates long-term sustainable businesses." (Financial Advisor, April 2014)

Product details

• Authors: K Hammerich, Kai Hammerich, Kai Lewis Hammerich, Hammerich Kai, Richard D Lewis, Richard D. Lewis, Lewis Richard D.
• Publisher: Wiley, John and Sons Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 23.08.2013
• EAN: 9781118608562
• ISBN: 978-1-118-60856-2
• No. of pages: 312
• Dimensions: 180 mm x 250 mm x 24 mm
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Business > Management; Strategisches Management, Business & management, Strategic management, Wirtschaft u. Management