Global Diversity: Winning Customers and Engaging Employees within World Markets

Mastering global business requires that leaders and managers fully understand the differences that exist within countries as well as between them. To succeed in China, knowledge of the local culture is essential...but which culture? Many businesspeople are aware that considerable variety exists, but lack the knowledge and tools to leverage this insight. The most successful business strategies rely on embracing the depth and breadth of diversity in local customers, employees and suppliers. Drawing on the authors' years of hands-on experience, Global Diversity presents the key cultural variables relevant in eight major markets: China, Egypt, India, Japan, Mexico, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Each country is explored in depth, especially the culture within cultures, and recommendations are made for realizing local market opportunities as well as creating an inclusive workforce. Global Diversity takes into account the true variety that exists within each country while enabling every employee in a global enterprise to become an engaged and accountable contributor. Vital cultural insights are presented for: individual managers selling their products and services in foreign markets, expatriates working with headquarters and with subsidiary operations, leaders looking to leverage capabilities of their employees in key growth markets, and diversity professionals who aim to extend corporate diversity initiatives abroad. The final chapter provides a six-step approach to developing an effective global inclusion strategy for any region of the world.

About the Author :
Dr Ernest Gundling is a co-founder of MeridianEaton Global and is currently a senior Asia specialist and co-President of the company's operations and also coaches executives with global responsibilities and works with multicultural management teams. He is also a lecturer at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, and the author of two previous books, The 3M Way to Innovation and Working GlobeSmart. He lives in San Francisco. Anita Zanchettin is Director, Global Inclusion for MeridianEaton Global and has worked with companies such as Accenture, Amoco, Bayer, Caterpillar, Citibank, Dean Foods, Duracell, Ernst & Young, General Motors, Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, Panasonic, Procter & Gamble, Wal-Mart, and the World Bank. Ms. Zanchettin's areas of cultural expertise include Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East.

Review :
Global Diversity focuses adeptly on cultures within cultures. A must-read for anyone who wants to navigate successfully in the world market and is not satisfied with cursory descriptions. - Malini Janakiraman, Director, Corporate Learning, Honeywell An essential introduction to the intercultural world of the global manager. The authoritative and thoughtful contributors have produced sophisticated analyses as well as pragmatic recommendations that will be valued by both experienced and novice professionals. This book offers a unique approach to global diversity, one that goes beyond country-to-country communication, emphasizing the need - and tools - to understand the diversity within each country. Framing chapters expertly inform readers why this approach is effective and offer tips on how to use it, while the interior chapters present necessary information on the diversity within specific countries. It's quite an addition to the literature! Global Diversity: Winning Customers and Engaging Employees within World Markets charts a course for approaching diversity and inclusion within an organized context. The framework is pragmatic and provocative, helping evoke healthy discussion among senior leaders, colleagues and change facilitators. It is refreshing to have the authors work with diversity and inclusion as a change process and not simplify the complex topic. The thinking reflected in this book will help me, my global colleagues, and others broaden our perspectives of what is possible - and will help make the world smaller. This book takes the reader beyond the broad brush stroke and cultural "tip" sheets that may be interesting but largely ineffectual in building meaningful cultural understanding and competency. Global Diversity offers a nice balance between in-depth and practical information on each country profiled. The invitation to critically think about and discuss the diversity within cultures is implicit in the content and that approach is a refreshing one given the increased need for cross-cultural collaboration in a globally integrated world.