A wealth of information, 13 Sep 2008
This book is a must for anybody looking for, buying or renovating a property in France. It contains a treasure chest of information and tips on every aspect of purchasing, planning, budgeting, renovating and maintaining French property and includes suppliers websites, addresses and telephone numbers.
What this book does not contain is DIY instructions for doing the work itself.

Of the three books on this subject I have purchased to date this one is by far the most useful.

Very helpful book, 17 May 2008
I found this book really helpful and full of practical information and warnings to help you avoid pitfalls. The glossary of building terms at the back is particularly useful.

A wealth of information, 13 Sep 2008
This book is a must for anybody looking for, buying or renovating a property in France. It contains a treasure chest of information and tips on every aspect of purchasing, planning, budgeting, renovating and maintaining French property and includes suppliers websites, addresses and telephone numbers.
What this book does not contain is DIY instructions for doing the work itself.

Of the three books on this subject I have purchased to date this one is by far the most useful.

Very helpful book, 17 May 2008
I found this book really helpful and full of practical information and warnings to help you avoid pitfalls. The glossary of building terms at the back is particularly useful.

A pioneering work that can be improved, 16 Apr 2008
I am a cross-cultural trainer and have over the last twenty years trained thousands of EU business people, who were preparing to do business in China, using the cultural model developed by "culture guru" Geert Hofstede in his bestseller Culture's Consequences in 1980. The model asserts, based on analysis of responses of Westerners and Asians to questions designed by the author, that Westerners and Asians (including the Chinese) are characterised by individualism and collectivism respectively.

This model was subsequently reinforced by Fons Trompenaars in his cultural "masterpiece" (according to Tom Peters, who triggered the growth of the management guru industry in the early 1980s) Riding the Waves of Culture in 1993, based on analyses of an even bigger database consisting of responses to questionnaire surveys.

Even in leading psychologist Richard Nisbett's latest book Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently ... and Why, Professor Nisbett concludes that "The ecology of China ... favoured agriculture. ... Agricultural peoples need to get along with one another ... The ecology of Greece, on the other hand ... favoured hunting, herding and fishing ... [which] require relatively little cooperation with others."

After visiting China a few times, I began to feel that the Chinese are not collectivists at all. The most obvious evidence is that even when there are only two people at the airport, they are unlikely to queue at a service point. It is even harder to secure people's cooperation when you want to get a bigger task done. I was puzzled by my first-hand feelings, which were clearly against the cultural model I have been relying on in my training job over the years.

Following a friend's recommendation, I bought The China Executive, which completely resolves my puzzle. Dr Wang has shown that the difference between Westerners and the Chinese does not lie in the difference between individualism and collectivism. Instead, their difference lies in the fact that Westerners rely on ideas, rules and ideologies to organise themselves whereas the Chinese rely on their human feelings to each other to organise themselves. We may say that one relies on something external whereas the other relies on something internal.

What a great discovery!

But the greatness of the book does not stop here. In my cross-cultural training, I tend to adopt an analytical mindset, which seeks to develop deeper and deeper understanding of the differences between cultures. I have always thought that this is what my trainees have wanted. After reading The China Executive, I have realised that my approach was not practical because, as Dr Wang says, "a lot of these cultural analyses tend to overload" those who come to my class. What is needed is a pool of methods that practising business people can choose depending on the nature of the difference. To master Dr Wang's ground-breaking idea of "harmonising cultural differences at three levels - ignoring and tolerating, communicating and balancing, and training and learning", buy the book immediately.

In fact, with The China Executive in your hands, you won't be puzzled wherever you go in the world because there are only two things on earth that relate human beings to each other: abstract ideas and human feelings. They are really the two sides of the same coin - one cannot exist without the other - if we look at them in an even bigger context, but the challenge for us human beings is to balance them appropriately, as Dr Wang advises those globally-minded business people!

Understanding and Managing Diversity, 30 Jun 2006
I knew I'd like this book when I read the first paragraph - "It is our belief that you can never understand other cultures. Those who are married know that it is impossible ever completely to understand even people of your own culture". And that, pretty much, is the theme of the book. That said, the authors use seven dimensions of culture to help us understand how and why people might think in different ways. This I found enlightening and even entertaining, though spending nearly 150 pages examining these dimensions is perhaps overcooking it a little. The book certainly does give you a different perspective, a new way of thinking about diversity, but it doesn't provide any easy answers. There are no miracle formulae or quick fixes to managing diversity. The conclusion is more to be open, and stay in a positive frame of mind. Take time to consider different people's needs and priorities from different angles. Inspirational stuff, if a little stodgy in parts.

First rate, readable introduction to "why they do things", 26 Feb 2005
Peppering the book with anecdotes, Trompenaars and Hampden Turner take a logical, cogent and clear approach to how people are different when they conduct business.

This goes far beyond simple stereotypes of "Northern Europeans are colder than Southern Europeans" and attempts to explain why these differences come about. They then suggest alternate approaches to interactions between different cultures.

The book is general in approach and teaches skills that are relevant globally. This means that if you're after specifics of (say) how rural Korean cultures interact with the Japanese, you'll find the book a bit thin!

However: I wish I'd had this book when I started working in a European team.

Fantastic, 23 Mar 2004
If you are doing a business course read this. I read it as part of my studies, then read it again for pleasure- you learn so much!

good range of coverage, 13 Aug 2003
Was needing advice for a cross-cultural project between American and British teams. Good insights, though chose a more specific book, "Working with Americans" (Stewart-Allen, Denslow) which told me more about how Americans do business, and their orientation and values in a very accessible, friendly and humourous way... Trompenaars knows his stuff, but doesn't get the chance to focus on the US as much as I'd have liked.

A wealth of information, 13 Sep 2008
This book is a must for anybody looking for, buying or renovating a property in France. It contains a treasure chest of information and tips on every aspect of purchasing, planning, budgeting, renovating and maintaining French property and includes suppliers websites, addresses and telephone numbers.
What this book does not contain is DIY instructions for doing the work itself.

Of the three books on this subject I have purchased to date this one is by far the most useful.

Very helpful book, 17 May 2008
I found this book really helpful and full of practical information and warnings to help you avoid pitfalls. The glossary of building terms at the back is particularly useful.

A pioneering work that can be improved, 16 Apr 2008
I am a cross-cultural trainer and have over the last twenty years trained thousands of EU business people, who were preparing to do business in China, using the cultural model developed by "culture guru" Geert Hofstede in his bestseller Culture's Consequences in 1980. The model asserts, based on analysis of responses of Westerners and Asians to questions designed by the author, that Westerners and Asians (including the Chinese) are characterised by individualism and collectivism respectively.

This model was subsequently reinforced by Fons Trompenaars in his cultural "masterpiece" (according to Tom Peters, who triggered the growth of the management guru industry in the early 1980s) Riding the Waves of Culture in 1993, based on analyses of an even bigger database consisting of responses to questionnaire surveys.

Even in leading psychologist Richard Nisbett's latest book Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently ... and Why, Professor Nisbett concludes that "The ecology of China ... favoured agriculture. ... Agricultural peoples need to get along with one another ... The ecology of Greece, on the other hand ... favoured hunting, herding and fishing ... [which] require relatively little cooperation with others."

After visiting China a few times, I began to feel that the Chinese are not collectivists at all. The most obvious evidence is that even when there are only two people at the airport, they are unlikely to queue at a service point. It is even harder to secure people's cooperation when you want to get a bigger task done. I was puzzled by my first-hand feelings, which were clearly against the cultural model I have been relying on in my training job over the years.

Following a friend's recommendation, I bought The China Executive, which completely resolves my puzzle. Dr Wang has shown that the difference between Westerners and the Chinese does not lie in the difference between individualism and collectivism. Instead, their difference lies in the fact that Westerners rely on ideas, rules and ideologies to organise themselves whereas the Chinese rely on their human feelings to each other to organise themselves. We may say that one relies on something external whereas the other relies on something internal.

What a great discovery!

But the greatness of the book does not stop here. In my cross-cultural training, I tend to adopt an analytical mindset, which seeks to develop deeper and deeper understanding of the differences between cultures. I have always thought that this is what my trainees have wanted. After reading The China Executive, I have realised that my approach was not practical because, as Dr Wang says, "a lot of these cultural analyses tend to overload" those who come to my class. What is needed is a pool of methods that practising business people can choose depending on the nature of the difference. To master Dr Wang's ground-breaking idea of "harmonising cultural differences at three levels - ignoring and tolerating, communicating and balancing, and training and learning", buy the book immediately.

In fact, with The China Executive in your hands, you won't be puzzled wherever you go in the world because there are only two things on earth that relate human beings to each other: abstract ideas and human feelings. They are really the two sides of the same coin - one cannot exist without the other - if we look at them in an even bigger context, but the challenge for us human beings is to balance them appropriately, as Dr Wang advises those globally-minded business people!

Understanding and Managing Diversity, 30 Jun 2006
I knew I'd like this book when I read the first paragraph - "It is our belief that you can never understand other cultures. Those who are married know that it is impossible ever completely to understand even people of your own culture". And that, pretty much, is the theme of the book. That said, the authors use seven dimensions of culture to help us understand how and why people might think in different ways. This I found enlightening and even entertaining, though spending nearly 150 pages examining these dimensions is perhaps overcooking it a little. The book certainly does give you a different perspective, a new way of thinking about diversity, but it doesn't provide any easy answers. There are no miracle formulae or quick fixes to managing diversity. The conclusion is more to be open, and stay in a positive frame of mind. Take time to consider different people's needs and priorities from different angles. Inspirational stuff, if a little stodgy in parts.

First rate, readable introduction to "why they do things", 26 Feb 2005
Peppering the book with anecdotes, Trompenaars and Hampden Turner take a logical, cogent and clear approach to how people are different when they conduct business.

This goes far beyond simple stereotypes of "Northern Europeans are colder than Southern Europeans" and attempts to explain why these differences come about. They then suggest alternate approaches to interactions between different cultures.

The book is general in approach and teaches skills that are relevant globally. This means that if you're after specifics of (say) how rural Korean cultures interact with the Japanese, you'll find the book a bit thin!

However: I wish I'd had this book when I started working in a European team.

Fantastic, 23 Mar 2004
If you are doing a business course read this. I read it as part of my studies, then read it again for pleasure- you learn so much!

good range of coverage, 13 Aug 2003
Was needing advice for a cross-cultural project between American and British teams. Good insights, though chose a more specific book, "Working with Americans" (Stewart-Allen, Denslow) which told me more about how Americans do business, and their orientation and values in a very accessible, friendly and humourous way... Trompenaars knows his stuff, but doesn't get the chance to focus on the US as much as I'd have liked.

Can capitalism ever be truly sustainable?, 03 Oct 2008
In a consumer society slowly eating itself, there's no more pressing question than whether or not capitalism and sustainability can ever go together. Johnathon Porritt sets out here to prove that they can. On the one hand, "global capitalism as we know it today would appear to be inherently incompatible with the pursuit of either ecological sustainability or social justice." On the other hand, "capitalism is now the only economic game in town."

Capitalism has been effective in providing goods and services, in creating wealth and raising standards of living. It has also created gross inequality and laid waste to the planet. Business as usual will lead to ecological suicide, quite simply.

In its place, Porritt argues for better regulation, costings for externalities, better metrics than GNP alone. He questions our fixation with growth, and tests the limits of corporate responsibility.

Porritt has got in trouble with some environmentalists for working a little too closely with big business, and he explores some of these initiatives in some detail here - business excellence, business aimed at the poor, experimental corporate reporting. It's easy to see why he's been accused of selling out as he sings the praises of Dow Chemicals, but the corporation aren't going anywhere any time soon, so I applaud him for working alongside them to develop better business models.

For all its problems, capitalism is what we have to work with right now. Although it could do with an extra chapter after the events of summer 2008, this book is still a useful guidebook to the changes already underway, and a roadmap for more responsible capitalism.

A revelation, 03 Jun 2007
A revelation. Really an excellent book. It should be read by all political and business leaders. It really should be read by everyone who is literate. Whether you think he's soft on capitalism or not, he recognises that the only solution is to work with it. And how.

A bold new vision for capitalism, 04 Apr 2007
Activist Jonathon Porritt offers the startling proposal that capitalism may provide the best solution to poverty and global environmental degradation, though his solution requires reshaping capitalism. Porritt is aware that conventional environmental activists, greens and political academics favor socialism more than capitalism. However, he takes them to task for ignoring the power and potential of such capitalist mechanisms as markets and property rights and for their naïveté in expecting voters or political leaders to embrace their dismal vision of environmental responsibility as asceticism. We find his book more suggestive than programmatic. It meanders like a river and is sometimes directionless. The author makes his passions apparent, including anti-Americanism and scathing criticism of certain forms of Christianity. Though Porritt does not offer a detailed description of his vision or the practical steps needed to realize it, he does suggest a path toward a utopian ideal; for that hope, he deserves appropriate attention.

Important and Impressive, 23 Feb 2007
A hugely important and passionate book written by someone who has real gravitas in this field. The messages are profound and they are pragmatic.The weight of Porritts intellect, based on 40 years of engagement in the environmental cause, is staggering and stretches into economics, business, psychology and ecology.
Read it. Then read it again. And then get engaged in the debates that it raises. It matters.

The Definitive Message for the Future, 24 Aug 2006
Porritt is THE leading environmental crusader in the UK and now vitally close to both governments and large corporations. Here is a man who has been working every minute god gives him for the last 40 years to promote social and environmental change. His knowledge of this subject is unequalled, all the major environmental analyses over the past 20 years are distilled within this elegant summary. His message is clear; -- Sure we could do with total social change but this isn't going to happen in the next 10 years and watching climate change in action we don't have longer - so we have to adapt our current system (capitalism) and use it to deliver the better world that we all long for. If you buy one book this year make sure this is it!

A wealth of information, 13 Sep 2008
This book is a must for anybody looking for, buying or renovating a property in France. It contains a treasure chest of information and tips on every aspect of purchasing, planning, budgeting, renovating and maintaining French property and includes suppliers websites, addresses and telephone numbers.
What this book does not contain is DIY instructions for doing the work itself.

Of the three books on this subject I have purchased to date this one is by far the most useful.

Very helpful book, 17 May 2008
I found this book really helpful and full of practical information and warnings to help you avoid pitfalls. The glossary of building terms at the back is particularly useful.

A pioneering work that can be improved, 16 Apr 2008
I am a cross-cultural trainer and have over the last twenty years trained thousands of EU business people, who were preparing to do business in China, using the cultural model developed by "culture guru" Geert Hofstede in his bestseller Culture's Consequences in 1980. The model asserts, based on analysis of responses of Westerners and Asians to questions designed by the author, that Westerners and Asians (including the Chinese) are characterised by individualism and collectivism respectively.

This model was subsequently reinforced by Fons Trompenaars in his cultural "masterpiece" (according to Tom Peters, who triggered the growth of the management guru industry in the early 1980s) Riding the Waves of Culture in 1993, based on analyses of an even bigger database consisting of responses to questionnaire surveys.

Even in leading psychologist Richard Nisbett's latest book Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently ... and Why, Professor Nisbett concludes that "The ecology of China ... favoured agriculture. ... Agricultural peoples need to get along with one another ... The ecology of Greece, on the other hand ... favoured hunting, herding and fishing ... [which] require relatively little cooperation with others."

After visiting China a few times, I began to feel that the Chinese are not collectivists at all. The most obvious evidence is that even when there are only two people at the airport, they are unlikely to queue at a service point. It is even harder to secure people's cooperation when you want to get a bigger task done. I was puzzled by my first-hand feelings, which were clearly against the cultural model I have been relying on in my training job over the years.

Following a friend's recommendation, I bought The China Executive, which completely resolves my puzzle. Dr Wang has shown that the difference between Westerners and the Chinese does not lie in the difference between individualism and collectivism. Instead, their difference lies in the fact that Westerners rely on ideas, rules and ideologies to organise themselves whereas the Chinese rely on their human feelings to each other to organise themselves. We may say that one relies on something external whereas the other relies on something internal.

What a great discovery!

But the greatness of the book does not stop here. In my cross-cultural training, I tend to adopt an analytical mindset, which seeks to develop deeper and deeper understanding of the differences between cultures. I have always thought that this is what my trainees have wanted. After reading The China Executive, I have realised that my approach was not practical because, as Dr Wang says, "a lot of these cultural analyses tend to overload" those who come to my class. What is needed is a pool of methods that practising business people can choose depending on the nature of the difference. To master Dr Wang's ground-breaking idea of "harmonising cultural differences at three levels - ignoring and tolerating, communicating and balancing, and training and learning", buy the book immediately.

In fact, with The China Executive in your hands, you won't be puzzled wherever you go in the world because there are only two things on earth that relate human beings to each other: abstract ideas and human feelings. They are really the two sides of the same coin - one cannot exist without the other - if we look at them in an even bigger context, but the challenge for us human beings is to balance them appropriately, as Dr Wang advises those globally-minded business people!

Understanding and Managing Diversity, 30 Jun 2006
I knew I'd like this book when I read the first paragraph - "It is our belief that you can never understand other cultures. Those who are married know that it is impossible ever completely to understand even people of your own culture". And that, pretty much, is the theme of the book. That said, the authors use seven dimensions of culture to help us understand how and why people might think in different ways. This I found enlightening and even entertaining, though spending nearly 150 pages examining these dimensions is perhaps overcooking it a little. The book certainly does give you a different perspective, a new way of thinking about diversity, but it doesn't provide any easy answers. There are no miracle formulae or quick fixes to managing diversity. The conclusion is more to be open, and stay in a positive frame of mind. Take time to consider different people's needs and priorities from different angles. Inspirational stuff, if a little stodgy in parts.

First rate, readable introduction to "why they do things", 26 Feb 2005
Peppering the book with anecdotes, Trompenaars and Hampden Turner take a logical, cogent and clear approach to how people are different when they conduct business.

This goes far beyond simple stereotypes of "Northern Europeans are colder than Southern Europeans" and attempts to explain why these differences come about. They then suggest alternate approaches to interactions between different cultures.

The book is general in approach and teaches skills that are relevant globally. This means that if you're after specifics of (say) how rural Korean cultures interact with the Japanese, you'll find the book a bit thin!

However: I wish I'd had this book when I started working in a European team.

Fantastic, 23 Mar 2004
If you are doing a business course read this. I read it as part of my studies, then read it again for pleasure- you learn so much!

good range of coverage, 13 Aug 2003
Was needing advice for a cross-cultural project between American and British teams. Good insights, though chose a more specific book, "Working with Americans" (Stewart-Allen, Denslow) which told me more about how Americans do business, and their orientation and values in a very accessible, friendly and humourous way... Trompenaars knows his stuff, but doesn't get the chance to focus on the US as much as I'd have liked.

Can capitalism ever be truly sustainable?, 03 Oct 2008
In a consumer society slowly eating itself, there's no more pressing question than whether or not capitalism and sustainability can ever go together. Johnathon Porritt sets out here to prove that they can. On the one hand, "global capitalism as we know it today would appear to be inherently incompatible with the pursuit of either ecological sustainability or social justice." On the other hand, "capitalism is now the only economic game in town."

Capitalism has been effective in providing goods and services, in creating wealth and raising standards of living. It has also created gross inequality and laid waste to the planet. Business as usual will lead to ecological suicide, quite simply.

In its place, Porritt argues for better regulation, costings for externalities, better metrics than GNP alone. He questions our fixation with growth, and tests the limits of corporate responsibility.

Porritt has got in trouble with some environmentalists for working a little too closely with big business, and he explores some of these initiatives in some detail here - business excellence, business aimed at the poor, experimental corporate reporting. It's easy to see why he's been accused of selling out as he sings the praises of Dow Chemicals, but the corporation aren't going anywhere any time soon, so I applaud him for working alongside them to develop better business models.

For all its problems, capitalism is what we have to work with right now. Although it could do with an extra chapter after the events of summer 2008, this book is still a useful guidebook to the changes already underway, and a roadmap for more responsible capitalism.

A revelation, 03 Jun 2007
A revelation. Really an excellent book. It should be read by all political and business leaders. It really should be read by everyone who is literate. Whether you think he's soft on capitalism or not, he recognises that the only solution is to work with it. And how.

A bold new vision for capitalism, 04 Apr 2007
Activist Jonathon Porritt offers the startling proposal that capitalism may provide the best solution to poverty and global environmental degradation, though his solution requires reshaping capitalism. Porritt is aware that conventional environmental activists, greens and political academics favor socialism more than capitalism. However, he takes them to task for ignoring the power and potential of such capitalist mechanisms as markets and property rights and for their naïveté in expecting voters or political leaders to embrace their dismal vision of environmental responsibility as asceticism. We find his book more suggestive than programmatic. It meanders like a river and is sometimes directionless. The author makes his passions apparent, including anti-Americanism and scathing criticism of certain forms of Christianity. Though Porritt does not offer a detailed description of his vision or the practical steps needed to realize it, he does suggest a path toward a utopian ideal; for that hope, he deserves appropriate attention.

Important and Impressive, 23 Feb 2007
A hugely important and passionate book written by someone who has real gravitas in this field. The messages are profound and they are pragmatic.The weight of Porritts intellect, based on 40 years of engagement in the environmental cause, is staggering and stretches into economics, business, psychology and ecology.
Read it. Then read it again. And then get engaged in the debates that it raises. It matters.

The Definitive Message for the Future, 24 Aug 2006
Porritt is THE leading environmental crusader in the UK and now vitally close to both governments and large corporations. Here is a man who has been working every minute god gives him for the last 40 years to promote social and environmental change. His knowledge of this subject is unequalled, all the major environmental analyses over the past 20 years are distilled within this elegant summary. His message is clear; -- Sure we could do with total social change but this isn't going to happen in the next 10 years and watching climate change in action we don't have longer - so we have to adapt our current system (capitalism) and use it to deliver the better world that we all long for. If you buy one book this year make sure this is it!

Excellent, 30 Jul 2005
This is an excellent book. From its marketing, I thought that "When Cultures Collide: Managing Successfully Across Cultures" pertained specifically to dealing with people of different nationalities in the business place. And indeed, it is a most useful book for that purpose. However, I was struck by how much one could apply Lewis' analyses to other situations, for example, dealing with people of other nationalities on a social level. Indeed, I have many aquaintances, and some close friends, from diverse backgrounds, and this book sometimes occupies us for entire evenings, discussing our experiences with one another. The chapter on Hungarians I found particularly accurate, and entertaining. I believe that Lewis would have enjoyed hearing some of these discussions (and arguments). My point is: don't dismiss this book thinking it is a businessman's tool. It's a good read for anybody who encounters people of other nationalities and cultures, irrespective of the context.

Great for anyone working in multi-cultural environments, 14 Dec 2004
I've travelled, competed in sport and worked in over 55 countries for over 25 years. The fascination of different cultures grows as I learn more.

This book can be used before embarking on life in a new country or life alongside someone who comes from a different culture to yours, whether the relationship is personal or work based.

Whilst the book provides an excellent appreciation of cultural differences, it is a fascinating and sometimes humourous read. It has made for some fun and interesting conversation with people from other cultures or those who are experiencing other cultures.

For any manager working in an international environment, this is a 'must-read'.

insightful, but thin on the US culture, 13 Aug 2003
I was expecting this book to give me deeper insights about Americans with whom I work extensively. Having read this and "Working with Americans" (Stewart-Allen, Denslow) at the same time, I did think Lewis could have provided more examples and more real-life answers to "what should I do when..." like the other book does. In any case, his style is good and the structure straightforward.

A modern classic for achieving inter-cultural competence, 22 Mar 2001
Lewis' book is a must read for global managers and students of international business alike. Explainations for global variations in perception, contrasting leadership styles and relation to time are highlighted with several good examples. 3 categories of culture are defined and both verbal and non-verbal communication techniques are extremely valid. The last third of the book is donated to specific countries, where the east-west contrasts are very helpful. Finally, the chapter on empathy puts everything together to give the reader a excellent standpoint from which to manage interculturally.

A wealth of information, 13 Sep 2008
This book is a must for anybody looking for, buying or renovating a property in France. It contains a treasure chest of information and tips on every aspect of purchasing, planning, budgeting, renovating and maintaining French property and includes suppliers websites, addresses and telephone numbers.
What this book does not contain is DIY instructions for doing the work itself.

Of the three books on this subject I have purchased to date this one is by far the most useful.

Very helpful book, 17 May 2008
I found this book really helpful and full of practical information and warnings to help you avoid pitfalls. The glossary of building terms at the back is particularly useful.

A pioneering work that can be improved, 16 Apr 2008
I am a cross-cultural trainer and have over the last twenty years trained thousands of EU business people, who were preparing to do business in China, using the cultural model developed by "culture guru" Geert Hofstede in his bestseller Culture's Consequences in 1980. The model asserts, based on analysis of responses of Westerners and Asians to questions designed by the author, that Westerners and Asians (including the Chinese) are characterised by individualism and collectivism respectively.

This model was subsequently reinforced by Fons Trompenaars in his cultural "masterpiece" (according to Tom Peters, who triggered the growth of the management guru industry in the early 1980s) Riding the Waves of Culture in 1993, based on analyses of an even bigger database consisting of responses to questionnaire surveys.

Even in leading psychologist Richard Nisbett's latest book Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently ... and Why, Professor Nisbett concludes that "The ecology of China ... favoured agriculture. ... Agricultural peoples need to get along with one another ... The ecology of Greece, on the other hand ... favoured hunting, herding and fishing ... [which] require relatively little cooperation with others."

After visiting China a few times, I began to feel that the Chinese are not collectivists at all. The most obvious evidence is that even when there are only two people at the airport, they are unlikely to queue at a service point. It is even harder to secure people's cooperation when you want to get a bigger task done. I was puzzled by my first-hand feelings, which were clearly against the cultural model I have been relying on in my training job over the years.

Following a friend's recommendation, I bought The China Executive, which completely resolves my puzzle. Dr Wang has shown that the difference between Westerners and the Chinese does not lie in the difference between individualism and collectivism. Instead, their difference lies in the fact that Westerners rely on ideas, rules and ideologies to organise themselves whereas the Chinese rely on their human feelings to each other to organise themselves. We may say that one relies on something external whereas the other relies on something internal.

What a great discovery!

But the greatness of the book does not stop here. In my cross-cultural training, I tend to adopt an analytical mindset, which seeks to develop deeper and deeper understanding of the differences between cultures. I have always thought that this is what my trainees have wanted. After reading The China Executive, I have realised that my approach was not practical because, as Dr Wang says, "a lot of these cultural analyses tend to overload" those who come to my class. What is needed is a pool of methods that practising business people can choose depending on the nature of the difference. To master Dr Wang's ground-breaking idea of "harmonising cultural differences at three levels - ignoring and tolerating, communicating and balancing, and training and learning", buy the book immediately.

In fact, with The China Executive in your hands, you won't be puzzled wherever you go in the world because there are only two things on earth that relate human beings to each other: abstract ideas and human feelings. They are really the two sides of the same coin - one cannot exist without the other - if we look at them in an even bigger context, but the challenge for us human beings is to balance them appropriately, as Dr Wang advises those globally-minded business people!

Understanding and Managing Diversity, 30 Jun 2006
I knew I'd like this book when I read the first paragraph - "It is our belief that you can never understand other cultures. Those who are married know that it is impossible ever completely to understand even people of your own culture". And that, pretty much, is the theme of the book. That said, the authors use seven dimensions of culture to help us understand how and why people might think in different ways. This I found enlightening and even entertaining, though spending nearly 150 pages examining these dimensions is perhaps overcooking it a little. The book certainly does give you a different perspective, a new way of thinking about diversity, but it doesn't provide any easy answers. There are no miracle formulae or quick fixes to managing diversity. The conclusion is more to be open, and stay in a positive frame of mind. Take time to consider different people's needs and priorities from different angles. Inspirational stuff, if a little stodgy in parts.

First rate, readable introduction to "why they do things", 26 Feb 2005
Peppering the book with anecdotes, Trompenaars and Hampden Turner take a logical, cogent and clear approach to how people are different when they conduct business.

This goes far beyond simple stereotypes of "Northern Europeans are colder than Southern Europeans" and attempts to explain why these differences come about. They then suggest alternate approaches to interactions between different cultures.

The book is general in approach and teaches skills that are relevant globally. This means that if you're after specifics of (say) how rural Korean cultures interact with the Japanese, you'll find the book a bit thin!

However: I wish I'd had this book when I started working in a European team.

Fantastic, 23 Mar 2004
If you are doing a business course read this. I read it as part of my studies, then read it again for pleasure- you learn so much!

good range of coverage, 13 Aug 2003
Was needing advice for a cross-cultural project between American and British teams. Good insights, though chose a more specific book, "Working with Americans" (Stewart-Allen, Denslow) which told me more about how Americans do business, and their orientation and values in a very accessible, friendly and humourous way... Trompenaars knows his stuff, but doesn't get the chance to focus on the US as much as I'd have liked.

Can capitalism ever be truly sustainable?, 03 Oct 2008
In a consumer society slowly eating itself, there's no more pressing question than whether or not capitalism and sustainability can ever go together. Johnathon Porritt sets out here to prove that they can. On the one hand, "global capitalism as we know it today would appear to be inherently incompatible with the pursuit of either ecological sustainability or social justice." On the other hand, "capitalism is now the only economic game in town."

Capitalism has been effective in providing goods and services, in creating wealth and raising standards of living. It has also created gross inequality and laid waste to the planet. Business as usual will lead to ecological suicide, quite simply.

In its place, Porritt argues for better regulation, costings for externalities, better metrics than GNP alone. He questions our fixation with growth, and tests the limits of corporate responsibility.

Porritt has got in trouble with some environmentalists for working a little too closely with big business, and he explores some of these initiatives in some detail here - business excellence, business aimed at the poor, experimental corporate reporting. It's easy to see why he's been accused of selling out as he sings the praises of Dow Chemicals, but the corporation aren't going anywhere any time soon, so I applaud him for working alongside them to develop better business models.

For all its problems, capitalism is what we have to work with right now. Although it could do with an extra chapter after the events of summer 2008, this book is still a useful guidebook to the changes already underway, and a roadmap for more responsible capitalism.

A revelation, 03 Jun 2007
A revelation. Really an excellent book. It should be read by all political and business leaders. It really should be read by everyone who is literate. Whether you think he's soft on capitalism or not, he recognises that the only solution is to work with it. And how.

A bold new vision for capitalism, 04 Apr 2007
Activist Jonathon Porritt offers the startling proposal that capitalism may provide the best solution to poverty and global environmental degradation, though his solution requires reshaping capitalism. Porritt is aware that conventional environmental activists, greens and political academics favor socialism more than capitalism. However, he takes them to task for ignoring the power and potential of such capitalist mechanisms as markets and property rights and for their naïveté in expecting voters or political leaders to embrace their dismal vision of environmental responsibility as asceticism. We find his book more suggestive than programmatic. It meanders like a river and is sometimes directionless. The author makes his passions apparent, including anti-Americanism and scathing criticism of certain forms of Christianity. Though Porritt does not offer a detailed description of his vision or the practical steps needed to realize it, he does suggest a path toward a utopian ideal; for that hope, he deserves appropriate attention.

Important and Impressive, 23 Feb 2007
A hugely important and passionate book written by someone who has real gravitas in this field. The messages are profound and they are pragmatic.The weight of Porritts intellect, based on 40 years of engagement in the environmental cause, is staggering and stretches into economics, business, psychology and ecology.
Read it. Then read it again. And then get engaged in the debates that it raises. It matters.

The Definitive Message for the Future, 24 Aug 2006
Porritt is THE leading environmental crusader in the UK and now vitally close to both governments and large corporations. Here is a man who has been working every minute god gives him for the last 40 years to promote social and environmental change. His knowledge of this subject is unequalled, all the major environmental analyses over the past 20 years are distilled within this elegant summary. His message is clear; -- Sure we could do with total social change but this isn't going to happen in the next 10 years and watching climate change in action we don't have longer - so we have to adapt our current system (capitalism) and use it to deliver the better world that we all long for. If you buy one book this year make sure this is it!

Excellent, 30 Jul 2005
This is an excellent book. From its marketing, I thought that "When Cultures Collide: Managing Successfully Across Cultures" pertained specifically to dealing with people of different nationalities in the business place. And indeed, it is a most useful book for that purpose. However, I was struck by how much one could apply Lewis' analyses to other situations, for example, dealing with people of other nationalities on a social level. Indeed, I have many aquaintances, and some close friends, from diverse backgrounds, and this book sometimes occupies us for entire evenings, discussing our experiences with one another. The chapter on Hungarians I found particularly accurate, and entertaining. I believe that Lewis would have enjoyed hearing some of these discussions (and arguments). My point is: don't dismiss this book thinking it is a businessman's tool. It's a good read for anybody who encounters people of other nationalities and cultures, irrespective of the context.

Great for anyone working in multi-cultural environments, 14 Dec 2004
I've travelled, competed in sport and worked in over 55 countries for over 25 years. The fascination of different cultures grows as I learn more.

This book can be used before embarking on life in a new country or life alongside someone who comes from a different culture to yours, whether the relationship is personal or work based.

Whilst the book provides an excellent appreciation of cultural differences, it is a fascinating and sometimes humourous read. It has made for some fun and interesting conversation with people from other cultures or those who are experiencing other cultures.

For any manager working in an international environment, this is a 'must-read'.

insightful, but thin on the US culture, 13 Aug 2003
I was expecting this book to give me deeper insights about Americans with whom I work extensively. Having read this and "Working with Americans" (Stewart-Allen, Denslow) at the same time, I did think Lewis could have provided more examples and more real-life answers to "what should I do when..." like the other book does. In any case, his style is good and the structure straightforward.

A modern classic for achieving inter-cultural competence, 22 Mar 2001
Lewis' book is a must read for global managers and students of international business alike. Explainations for global variations in perception, contrasting leadership styles and relation to time are highlighted with several good examples. 3 categories of culture are defined and both verbal and non-verbal communication techniques are extremely valid. The last third of the book is donated to specific countries, where the east-west contrasts are very helpful. Finally, the chapter on empathy puts everything together to give the reader a excellent standpoint from which to manage interculturally.

great resource, 22 Aug 2007
Bought this book to try and get to grips with international business theory - as due to start an MBA after 20 years out of formal education. Thought I might find it a bit boring - but it's so interesting - in general. Of course, I'm old enough to decipher the opinion from the fact so can take what's relevant. Well laid out and edited. Great buy - learnt a lot.

Informative, 01 Jul 2002
A very informative business book. Usefull in many business and marketing subjects. It comes with a useful world map and CD rom. Split into sections this book evaluates companies in the market place, recent changes in business or company laws and covers many valued topics such as the economy, politics, technological innovations, social factors and other barries opposing new businesses. A worthwhile read and a great resource!

A wealth of information, 13 Sep 2008
This book is a must for anybody looking for, buying or renovating a property in France. It contains a treasure chest of information and tips on every aspect of purchasing, planning, budgeting, renovating and maintaining French property and includes suppliers websites, addresses and telephone numbers.
What this book does not contain is DIY instructions for doing the work itself.

Of the three books on this subject I have purchased to date this one is by far the most useful.

Very helpful book, 17 May 2008
I found this book really helpful and full of practical information and warnings to help you avoid pitfalls. The glossary of building terms at the back is particularly useful.

A pioneering work that can be improved, 16 Apr 2008
I am a cross-cultural trainer and have over the last twenty years trained thousands of EU business people, who were preparing to do business in China, using the cultural model developed by "culture guru" Geert Hofstede in his bestseller Culture's Consequences in 1980. The model asserts, based on analysis of responses of Westerners and Asians to questions designed by the author, that Westerners and Asians (including the Chinese) are characterised by individualism and collectivism respectively.

This model was subsequently reinforced by Fons Trompenaars in his cultural "masterpiece" (according to Tom Peters, who triggered the growth of the management guru industry in the early 1980s) Riding the Waves of Culture in 1993, based on analyses of an even bigger database consisting of responses to questionnaire surveys.

Even in leading psychologist Richard Nisbett's latest book Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently ... and Why, Professor Nisbett concludes that "The ecology of China ... favoured agriculture. ... Agricultural peoples need to get along with one another ... The ecology of Greece, on the other hand ... favoured hunting, herding and fishing ... [which] require relatively little cooperation with others."

After visiting China a few times, I began to feel that the Chinese are not collectivists at all. The most obvious evidence is that even when there are only two people at the airport, they are unlikely to queue at a service point. It is even harder to secure people's cooperation when you want to get a bigger task done. I was puzzled by my first-hand feelings, which were clearly against the cultural model I have been relying on in my training job over the years.

Following a friend's recommendation, I bought The China Executive, which completely resolves my puzzle. Dr Wang has shown that the difference between Westerners and the Chinese does not lie in the difference between individualism and collectivism. Instead, their difference lies in the fact that Westerners rely on ideas, rules and ideologies to organise themselves whereas the Chinese rely on their human feelings to each other to organise themselves. We may say that one relies on something external whereas the other relies on something internal.

What a great discovery!

But the greatness of the book does not stop here. In my cross-cultural training, I tend to adopt an analytical mindset, which seeks to develop deeper and deeper understanding of the differences between cultures. I have always thought that this is what my trainees have wanted. After reading The China Executive, I have realised that my approach was not practical because, as Dr Wang says, "a lot of these cultural analyses tend to overload" those who come to my class. What is needed is a pool of methods that practising business people can choose depending on the nature of the difference. To master Dr Wang's ground-breaking idea of "harmonising cultural differences at three levels - ignoring and tolerating, communicating and balancing, and training and learning", buy the book immediately.

In fact, with The China Executive in your hands, you won't be puzzled wherever you go in the world because there are only two things on earth that relate human beings to each other: abstract ideas and human feelings. They are really the two sides of the same coin - one cannot exist without the other - if we look at them in an even bigger context, but the challenge for us human beings is to balance them appropriately, as Dr Wang advises those globally-minded business people!

Understanding and Managing Diversity, 30 Jun 2006
I knew I'd like this book when I read the first paragraph - "It is our belief that you can never understand other cultures. Those who are married know that it is impossible ever completely to understand even people of your own culture". And that, pretty much, is the theme of the book. That said, the authors use seven dimensions of culture to help us understand how and why people might think in different ways. This I found enlightening and even entertaining, though spending nearly 150 pages examining these dimensions is perhaps overcooking it a little. The book certainly does give you a different perspective, a new way of thinking about diversity, but it doesn't provide any easy answers. There are no miracle formulae or quick fixes to managing diversity. The conclusion is more to be open, and stay in a positive frame of mind. Take time to consider different people's needs and priorities from different angles. Inspirational stuff, if a little stodgy in parts.

First rate, readable introduction to "why they do things", 26 Feb 2005
Peppering the book with anecdotes, Trompenaars and Hampden Turner take a logical, cogent and clear approach to how people are different when they conduct business.

This goes far beyond simple stereotypes of "Northern Europeans are colder than Southern Europeans" and attempts to explain why these differences come about. They then suggest alternate approaches to interactions between different cultures.

The book is general in approach and teaches skills that are relevant globally. This means that if you're after specifics of (say) how rural Korean cultures interact with the Japanese, you'll find the book a bit thin!

However: I wish I'd had this book when I started working in a European team.

Fantastic, 23 Mar 2004
If you are doing a business course read this. I read it as part of my studies, then read it again for pleasure- you learn so much!

good range of coverage, 13 Aug 2003
Was needing advice for a cross-cultural project between American and British teams. Good insights, though chose a more specific book, "Working with Americans" (Stewart-Allen, Denslow) which told me more about how Americans do business, and their orientation and values in a very accessible, friendly and humourous way... Trompenaars knows his stuff, but doesn't get the chance to focus on the US as much as I'd have liked.

Can capitalism ever be truly sustainable?, 03 Oct 2008
In a consumer society slowly eating itself, there's no more pressing question than whether or not capitalism and sustainability can ever go together. Johnathon Porritt sets out here to prove that they can. On the one hand, "global capitalism as we know it today would appear to be inherently incompatible with the pursuit of either ecological sustainability or social justice." On the other hand, "capitalism is now the only economic game in town."

Capitalism has been effective in providing goods and services, in creating wealth and raising standards of living. It has also created gross inequality and laid waste to the planet. Business as usual will lead to ecological suicide, quite simply.

In its place, Porritt argues for better regulation, costings for externalities, better metrics than GNP alone. He questions our fixation with growth, and tests the limits of corporate responsibility.

Porritt has got in trouble with some environmentalists for working a little too closely with big business, and he explores some of these initiatives in some detail here - business excellence, business aimed at the poor, experimental corporate reporting. It's easy to see why he's been accused of selling out as he sings the praises of Dow Chemicals, but the corporation aren't going anywhere any time soon, so I applaud him for working alongside them to develop better business models.

For all its problems, capitalism is what we have to work with right now. Although it could do with an extra chapter after the events of summer 2008, this book is still a useful guidebook to the changes already underway, and a roadmap for more responsible capitalism.

A revelation, 03 Jun 2007
A revelation. Really an excellent book. It should be read by all political and business leaders. It really should be read by everyone who is literate. Whether you think he's soft on capitalism or not, he recognises that the only solution is to work with it. And how.

A bold new vision for capitalism, 04 Apr 2007
Activist Jonathon Porritt offers the startling proposal that capitalism may provide the best solution to poverty and global environmental degradation, though his solution requires reshaping capitalism. Porritt is aware that conventional environmental activists, greens and political academics favor socialism more than capitalism. However, he takes them to task for ignoring the power and potential of such capitalist mechanisms as markets and property rights and for their naïveté in expecting voters or political leaders to embrace their dismal vision of environmental responsibility as asceticism. We find his book more suggestive than programmatic. It meanders like a river and is sometimes directionless. The author makes his passions apparent, including anti-Americanism and scathing criticism of certain forms of Christianity. Though Porritt does not offer a detailed description of his vision or the practical steps needed to realize it, he does suggest a path toward a utopian ideal; for that hope, he deserves appropriate attention.

Important and Impressive, 23 Feb 2007
A hugely important and passionate book written by someone who has real gravitas in this field. The messages are profound and they are pragmatic.The weight of Porritts intellect, based on 40 years of engagement in the environmental cause, is staggering and stretches into economics, business, psychology and ecology.
Read it. Then read it again. And then get engaged in the debates that it raises. It matters.

The Definitive Message for the Future, 24 Aug 2006
Porritt is THE leading environmental crusader in the UK and now vitally close to both governments and large corporations. Here is a man who has been working every minute god gives him for the last 40 years to promote social and environmental change. His knowledge of this subject is unequalled, all the major environmental analyses over the past 20 years are distilled within this elegant summary. His message is clear; -- Sure we could do with total social change but this isn't going to happen in the next 10 years and watching climate change in action we don't have longer - so we have to adapt our current system (capitalism) and use it to deliver the better world that we all long for. If you buy one book this year make sure this is it!

Excellent, 30 Jul 2005
This is an excellent book. From its marketing, I thought that "When Cultures Collide: Managing Successfully Across Cultures" pertained specifically to dealing with people of different nationalities in the business place. And indeed, it is a most useful book for that purpose. However, I was struck by how much one could apply Lewis' analyses to other situations, for example, dealing with people of other nationalities on a social level. Indeed, I have many aquaintances, and some close friends, from diverse backgrounds, and this book sometimes occupies us for entire evenings, discussing our experiences with one another. The chapter on Hungarians I found particularly accurate, and entertaining. I believe that Lewis would have enjoyed hearing some of these discussions (and arguments). My point is: don't dismiss this book thinking it is a businessman's tool. It's a good read for anybody who encounters people of other nationalities and cultures, irrespective of the context.

Great for anyone working in multi-cultural environments, 14 Dec 2004
I've travelled, competed in sport and worked in over 55 countries for over 25 years. The fascination of different cultures grows as I learn more.

This book can be used before embarking on life in a new country or life alongside someone who comes from a different culture to yours, whether the relationship is personal or work based.

Whilst the book provides an excellent appreciation of cultural differences, it is a fascinating and sometimes humourous read. It has made for some fun and interesting conversation with people from other cultures or those who are experiencing other cultures.

For any manager working in an international environment, this is a 'must-read'.

insightful, but thin on the US culture, 13 Aug 2003
I was expecting this book to give me deeper insights about Americans with whom I work extensively. Having read this and "Working with Americans" (Stewart-Allen, Denslow) at the same time, I did think Lewis could have provided more examples and more real-life answers to "what should I do when..." like the other book does. In any case, his style is good and the structure straightforward.

A modern classic for achieving inter-cultural competence, 22 Mar 2001
Lewis' book is a must read for global managers and students of international business alike. Explainations for global variations in perception, contrasting leadership styles and relation to time are highlighted with several good examples. 3 categories of culture are defined and both verbal and non-verbal communication techniques are extremely valid. The last third of the book is donated to specific countries, where the east-west contrasts are very helpful. Finally, the chapter on empathy puts everything together to give the reader a excellent standpoint from which to manage interculturally.

great resource, 22 Aug 2007
Bought this book to try and get to grips with international business theory - as due to start an MBA after 20 years out of formal education. Thought I might find it a bit boring - but it's so interesting - in general. Of course, I'm old enough to decipher the opinion from the fact so can take what's relevant. Well laid out and edited. Great buy - learnt a lot.

Informative, 01 Jul 2002
A very informative business book. Usefull in many business and marketing subjects. It comes with a useful world map and CD rom. Split into sections this book evaluates companies in the market place, recent changes in business or company laws and covers many valued topics such as the economy, politics, technological innovations, social factors and other barries opposing new businesses. A worthwhile read and a great resource!

Careful Documentation of What Companies Based in Emerging Markets Are Doing to Compete Everywhere, 04 Sep 2008

Globality is an excellent book for corporate executives, business unit leaders, and entrepreneurs. If you are an investor or want to read about the culture of world business, this isn't going to be your cup of tea.

We are in the middle of the great business convergence, an event so epochal that it will be written about as one of the great turning points in world history over the next several hundred years. What's it all about? Simply, every organization will complete with virtually every other organization on the planet. In the process, the dominant companies of the 21st century will be built.

In Globality, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) partners Harold Sirkin, James Hemerling, and Arindam Bhattacharya take the view primarily from enterprises founded in China, India, Brazil, and Mexico to show how those with the fewest resources, least skills, but lowest costs, are building important global positions in major industries. I compared this writing to what BCG founder Bruce D. Henderson used to write in the 1960s about Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese companies being poised to deflate profits for companies in the U.S. and Europe, and I was pleased to see that Globality is much more articulate, better defined, and easier to understand.

Although the book is very much about the evidence brought by the challengers, the information is presented neutrally in terms of describing opportunities available for anyone. In addition, there are specific suggestions for what well established companies in developed countries might do to best take advantage of these opportunities.

For me, the best parts were the case histories of companies in China and India that I don't know much about. You'll find many interesting stories.

In terms of analyzing the opportunities, the major themes are:

(1) Minding the Cost Gap

(2) Growing Human Capabilities

(3) Reaching Deeper into Markets

(4) Geographically Pinpointing Resources and Capabilities

(5) Thinking Big

(6) Acting Fast

(7) Getting Help from Outside

(8) Innovating the Business Model

(9) Embracing Global Diversity

(10) Being Prepared to Attack Everywhere and Be Attacked from Everywhere

The chapter titles in the book aren't quite this clear. You'll have to read the material to grasp the key concepts, but you'll get it.

I liked that the book has strategic, organizational, and tactical dimensions. If you want to get a quick look at the overall themes, head to page 239 to read the Nokia story and to page 249 to read the Emerson story.

How to thrive in an ecosystem of business opportunity, 19 Jun 2008

With regard to the title, Harold Sirkin, James Hemerling, and Arindam Bhattacharya explain that "globality [is] the name for a new and different reality in which we'll all be competing with everyone, from everywhere, for everything." In a global business environment that Thomas Friedman characterizes as having become "flat," it is also possible (albeit theoretically) for companies to forge a strategic alliance with anyone, anywhere. They go on to suggest that as a new era emerges, "we call it globality, a different kind of environment, in which business flows in every direction. Companies have no centers. The idea of foreignness is foreign. Commerce swirls and market dominance shifts. Western business orthodoxy entwines with eastern business philosophy and creates a whole new mind-set that embraces profit and competition as well as sustainability and collaboration. Globality is a blockbuster new script - action, drama, suspense, and road picture all packed into one - with a sprawling cast of characters and locations in every corner of the world."

Sirkin, Hemerling, and Bhattacharya explain why and how a "tsunami" wave of competition from global challengers (i.e. rapidly developing companies) has risen up and challenged established players, what they call "incumbents." In fact, developed companies now find themselves struggling to compete successfully in terms of cost differentials; "growing people" and then positioning them in proper alignment; market penetration; "pinpointing" (i.e. connecting with customers, distributing complexity, and reinventing the business model); rapid growth (by scaling up, building brands, filling capability gaps, and bartering); innovating with ingenuity; and embracing "manyness" (i.e. many countries, economies, markets, locations, and facilities but no centers, no home markets, no foreignness, or hierarchy of location). New mind-sets are needed if incumbents are to respond effectively to these and other challenges.

Each of the co-authors is a senior-level executive with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and, together, they have dozens of years of close association and direct involvement with a number of companies - and have accumulated extensive research data on many other companies - among the "BCG Challenger 100." Thirty-four of these companies provide industrial goods, 17 are resource extractors, 14 make consumer durables, another 14 offer food, beverage, and cosmetic products, four make technical equipment. The remaining 17 operate in a wide variety of fields that include pharmaceuticals, mobile communication services, shipping, and infrastructure. For me, the most important material in this book is provided as the co-authors examine specific challenger companies and suggest what lessons can be learned from their initiatives. They include BYD, Johnson Electric, Wipro, ICICI Bank, Embraer, Barat Forge, Cipla, Tata Consulting Services, and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M). As I read about them, I was reminded of Jack Welch's remarks during a GE annual meeting years ago when he explained the competitive advantages of such challenger companies:

"For one, they communicate better. Without the din and prattle of bureaucracy, people listen as well as talk; and since there are fewer of them they generally know and understand each other. Second, small companies move faster. They know the penalties for hesitation in the marketplace. Third, in small companies, with fewer layers and less camouflage, the leaders show up very clearly on the screen. Their performance and its impact are clear to everyone. And, finally, smaller companies waste less. They spend less time in endless reviews and approvals and politics and paper drills. They have fewer people; therefore they can only do the important things. Their people are free to direct their energy and attention toward the marketplace rather than fighting bureaucracy." Welch could well have been describing the mind-sets at ZTE, a challenger that competes successfully with incumbents that include Ericsson, Nokia, Alcatel, Siemens, and Motorola. Ten thousand of its 31,000 employees are engineers and their average age is 30. Like so many other challenger companies, ZTE is outgrowing the imitation stage, investing heavily in 14 research and development centers in China, the U.S. India, France, and Sweden. Its leaders are determined to participate in global standard setting, with ZTE having already applied for more than 5,000 national and international patents. If the cycle continues, ZTE will eventually become an incumbent and then struggle to compete successfully with challengers who may not even be in business today.

When concluding their book, Sirkin, Hemerling, and Bhattacharya assert (and I wholly agree) that however much the global business community has changed and will continue to change, essentially the measures of success will remain the same. Business leaders will continue to think about their place in the world, about sustainability and scarce resources. Those the co-authors interviewed "always talk about their dreams. They speak about people they have known, in their factories and boardrooms, retail outlets, and warehouses. They talk about their companies as if they were families. Above all, they say they want their personal and professional lives to be meaningful and rich journeys. They want to build something. And they want it to endure."

Meanwhile, the "tsunami" continues to surge....

Those who share my high regard for this volume are urged to check out Friedman's aforementioned The World Is Flat 3.0 and The Quest for Global Dominance by Anil K. Gupta, Vijay Govindarajan, and Haiyan Wang as well as Victor Fung, William Fung, and Yoram (Jerry) Wind's Competing in a Flat World, C.K. Prahalad's The Borderless World (Revised Edition) and The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, Kenichi Ohmae's The Next Global Stage, and Vijay Mahajan and Kamini Banga's The 86 Percent Solution.

A wealth of information, 13 Sep 2008
This book is a must for anybody looking for, buying or renovating a property in France. It contains a treasure chest of information and tips on every aspect of purchasing, planning, budgeting, renovating and maintaining French property and includes suppliers websites, addresses and telephone numbers.
What this book does not contain is DIY instructions for doing the work itself.

Of the three books on this subject I have purchased to date this one is by far the most useful.

Very helpful book, 17 May 2008
I found this book really helpful and full of practical information and warnings to help you avoid pitfalls. The glossary of building terms at the back is particularly useful.

A pioneering work that can be improved, 16 Apr 2008
I am a cross-cultural trainer and have over the last twenty years trained thousands of EU business people, who were preparing to do business in China, using the cultural model developed by "culture guru" Geert Hofstede in his bestseller Culture's Consequences in 1980. The model asserts, based on analysis of responses of Westerners and Asians to questions designed by the author, that Westerners and Asians (including the Chinese) are characterised by individualism and collectivism respectively.

This model was subsequently reinforced by Fons Trompenaars in his cultural "masterpiece" (according to Tom Peters, who triggered the growth of the management guru industry in the early 1980s) Riding the Waves of Culture in 1993, based on analyses of an even bigger database consisting of responses to questionnaire surveys.

Even in leading psychologist Richard Nisbett's latest book Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently ... and Why, Professor Nisbett concludes that "The ecology of China ... favoured agriculture. ... Agricultural peoples need to get along with one another ... The ecology of Greece, on the other hand ... favoured hunting, herding and fishing ... [which] require relatively little cooperation with others."

After visiting China a few times, I began to feel that the Chinese are not collectivists at all. The most obvious evidence is that even when there are only two people at the airport, they are unlikely to queue at a service point. It is even harder to secure people's cooperation when you want to get a bigger task done. I was puzzled by my first-hand feelings, which were clearly against the cultural model I have been relying on in my training job over the years.

Following a friend's recommendation, I bought The China Executive, which completely resolves my puzzle. Dr Wang has shown that the difference between Westerners and the Chinese does not lie in the difference between individualism and collectivism. Instead, their difference lies in the fact that Westerners rely on ideas, rules and ideologies to organise themselves whereas the Chinese rely on their human feelings to each other to organise themselves. We may say that one relies on something external whereas the other relies on something internal.

What a great discovery!

But the greatness of the book does not stop here. In my cross-cultural training, I tend to adopt an analytical mindset, which seeks to develop deeper and deeper understanding of the differences between cultures. I have always thought that this is what my trainees have wanted. After reading The China Executive, I have realised that my approach was not practical because, as Dr Wang says, "a lot of these cultural analyses tend to overload" those who come to my class. What is needed is a pool of methods that practising business people can choose depending on the nature of the difference. To master Dr Wang's ground-breaking idea of "harmonising cultural differences at three levels - ignoring and tolerating, communicating and balancing, and training and learning", buy the book immediately.

In fact, with The China Executive in your hands, you won't be puzzled wherever you go in the world because there are only two things on earth that relate human beings to each other: abstract ideas and human feelings. They are really the two sides of the same coin - one cannot exist without the other - if we look at them in an even bigger context, but the challenge for us human beings is to balance them appropriately, as Dr Wang advises those globally-minded business people!

Understanding and Managing Diversity, 30 Jun 2006
I knew I'd like this book when I read the first paragraph - "It is our belief that you can never understand other cultures. Those who are married know that it is impossible ever completely to understand even people of your own culture". And that, pretty much, is the theme of the book. That said, the authors use seven dimensions of culture to help us understand how and why people might think in different ways. This I found enlightening and even entertaining, though spending nearly 150 pages examining these dimensions is perhaps overcooking it a little. The book certainly does give you a different perspective, a new way of thinking about diversity, but it doesn't provide any easy answers. There are no miracle formulae or quick fixes to managing diversity. The conclusion is more to be open, and stay in a positive frame of mind. Take time to consider different people's needs and priorities from different angles. Inspirational stuff, if a little stodgy in parts.

First rate, readable introduction to "why they do things", 26 Feb 2005
Peppering the book with anecdotes, Trompenaars and Hampden Turner take a logical, cogent and clear approach to how people are different when they conduct business.

This goes far beyond simple stereotypes of "Northern Europeans are colder than Southern Europeans" and attempts to explain why these differences come about. They then suggest alternate approaches to interactions between different cultures.

The book is general in approach and teaches skills that are relevant globally. This means that if you're after specifics of (say) how rural Korean cultures interact with the Japanese, you'll find the book a bit thin!

However: I wish I'd had this book when I started working in a European team.

Fantastic, 23 Mar 2004
If you are doing a business course read this. I read it as part of my studies, then read it again for pleasure- you learn so much!

good range of coverage, 13 Aug 2003
Was needing advice for a cross-cultural project between American and British teams. Good insights, though chose a more specific book, "Working with Americans" (Stewart-Allen, Denslow) which told me more about how Americans do business, and their orientation and values in a very accessible, friendly and humourous way... Trompenaars knows his stuff, but doesn't get the chance to focus on the US as much as I'd have liked.

Can capitalism ever be truly sustainable?, 03 Oct 2008
In a consumer society slowly eating itself, there's no more pressing question than whether or not capitalism and sustainability can ever go together. Johnathon Porritt sets out here to prove that they can. On the one hand, "global capitalism as we know it today would appear to be inherently incompatible with the pursuit of either ecological sustainability or social justice." On the other hand, "capitalism is now the only economic game in town."

Capitalism has been effective in providing goods and services, in creating wealth and raising standards of living. It has also created gross inequality and laid waste to the planet. Business as usual will lead to ecological suicide, quite simply.

In its place, Porritt argues for better regulation, costings for externalities, better metrics than GNP alone. He questions our fixation with growth, and tests the limits of corporate responsibility.

Porritt has got in trouble with some environmentalists for working a little too closely with big business, and he explores some of these initiatives in some detail here - business excellence, business aimed at the poor, experimental corporate reporting. It's easy to see why he's been accused of selling out as he sings the praises of Dow Chemicals, but the corporation aren't going anywhere any time soon, so I applaud him for working alongside them to develop better business models.

For all its problems, capitalism is what we have to work with right now. Although it could do with an extra chapter after the events of summer 2008, this book is still a useful guidebook to the changes already underway, and a roadmap for more responsible capitalism.

A revelation, 03 Jun 2007
A revelation. Really an excellent book. It should be read by all political and business leaders. It really should be read by everyone who is literate. Whether you think he's soft on capitalism or not, he recognises that the only solution is to work with it. And how.

A bold new vision for capitalism, 04 Apr 2007
Activist Jonathon Porritt offers the startling proposal that capitalism may provide the best solution to poverty and global environmental degradation, though his solution requires reshaping capitalism. Porritt is aware that conventional environmental activists, greens and political academics favor socialism more than capitalism. However, he takes them to task for ignoring the power and potential of such capitalist mechanisms as markets and property rights and for their naïveté in expecting voters or political leaders to embrace their dismal vision of environmental responsibility as asceticism. We find his book more suggestive than programmatic. It meanders like a river and is sometimes directionless. The author makes his passions apparent, including anti-Americanism and scathing criticism of certain forms of Christianity. Though Porritt does not offer a detailed description of his vision or the practical steps needed to realize it, he does suggest a path toward a utopian ideal; for that hope, he deserves appropriate attention.

Important and Impressive, 23 Feb 2007
A hugely important and passionate book written by someone who has real gravitas in this field. The messages are profound and they are pragmatic.The weight of Porritts intellect, based on 40 years of engagement in the environmental cause, is staggering and stretches into economics, business, psychology and ecology.
Read it. Then read it again. And then get engaged in the debates that it raises. It matters.

The Definitive Message for the Future, 24 Aug 2006
Porritt is THE leading environmental crusader in the UK and now vitally close to both governments and large corporations. Here is a man who has been working every minute god gives him for the last 40 years to promote social and environmental change. His knowledge of this subject is unequalled, all the major environmental analyses over the past 20 years are distilled within this elegant summary. His message is clear; -- Sure we could do with total social change but this isn't going to happen in the next 10 years and watching climate change in action we don't have longer - so we have to adapt our current system (capitalism) and use it to deliver the better world that we all long for. If you buy one book this year make sure this is it!

Excellent, 30 Jul 2005
This is an excellent book. From its marketing, I thought that "When Cultures Collide: Managing Successfully Across Cultures" pertained specifically to dealing with people of different nationalities in the business place. And indeed, it is a most useful book for that purpose. However, I was struck by how much one could apply Lewis' analyses to other situations, for example, dealing with people of other nationalities on a social level. Indeed, I have many aquaintances, and some close friends, from diverse backgrounds, and this book sometimes occupies us for entire evenings, discussing our experiences with one another. The chapter on Hungarians I found particularly accurate, and entertaining. I believe that Lewis would have enjoyed hearing some of these discussions (and arguments). My point is: don't dismiss this book thinking it is a businessman's tool. It's a good read for anybody who encounters people of other nationalities and cultures, irrespective of the context.

Great for anyone working in multi-cultural environments, 14 Dec 2004
I've travelled, competed in sport and worked in over 55 countries for over 25 years. The fascination of different cultures grows as I learn more.

This book can be used before embarking on life in a new country or life alongside someone who comes from a different culture to yours, whether the relationship is personal or work based.

Whilst the book provides an excellent appreciation of cultural differences, it is a fascinating and sometimes humourous read. It has made for some fun and interesting conversation with people from other cultures or those who are experiencing other cultures.

For any manager working in an international environment, this is a 'must-read'.

insightful, but thin on the US culture, 13 Aug 2003
I was expecting this book to give me deeper insights about Americans with whom I work extensively. Having read this and "Working with Americans" (Stewart-Allen, Denslow) at the same time, I did think Lewis could have provided more examples and more real-life answers to "what should I do when..." like the other book does. In any case, his style is good and the structure straightforward.

A modern classic for achieving inter-cultural competence, 22 Mar 2001
Lewis' book is a must read for global managers and students of international business alike. Explainations for global variations in perception, contrasting leadership styles and relation to time are highlighted with several good examples. 3 categories of culture are defined and both verbal and non-verbal communication techniques are extremely valid. The last third of the book is donated to specific countries, where the east-west contrasts are very helpful. Finally, the chapter on empathy puts everything together to give the reader a excellent standpoint from which to manage interculturally.

great resource, 22 Aug 2007
Bought this book to try and get to grips with international business theory - as due to start an MBA after 20 years out of formal education. Thought I might find it a bit boring - but it's so interesting - in general. Of course, I'm old enough to decipher the opinion from the fact so can take what's relevant. Well laid out and edited. Great buy - learnt a lot.

Informative, 01 Jul 2002
A very informative business book. Usefull in many business and marketing subjects. It comes with a useful world map and CD rom. Split into sections this book evaluates companies in the market place, recent changes in business or company laws and covers many valued topics such as the economy, politics, technological innovations, social factors and other barries opposing new businesses. A worthwhile read and a great resource!

Careful Documentation of What Companies Based in Emerging Markets Are Doing to Compete Everywhere, 04 Sep 2008

Globality is an excellent book for corporate executives, business unit leaders, and entrepreneurs. If you are an investor or want to read about the culture of world business, this isn't going to be your cup of tea.

We are in the middle of the great business convergence, an event so epochal that it will be written about as one of the great turning points in world history over the next several hundred years. What's it all about? Simply, every organization will complete with virtually every other organization on the planet. In the process, the dominant companies of the 21st century will be built.

In Globality, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) partners Harold Sirkin, James Hemerling, and Arindam Bhattacharya take the view primarily from enterprises founded in China, India, Brazil, and Mexico to show how those with the fewest resources, least skills, but lowest costs, are building important global positions in major industries. I compared this writing to what BCG founder Bruce D. Henderson used to write in the 1960s about Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese companies being poised to deflate profits for companies in the U.S. and Europe, and I was pleased to see that Globality is much more articulate, better defined, and easier to understand.

Although the book is very much about the evidence brought by the challengers, the information is presented neutrally in terms of describing opportunities available for anyone. In addition, there are specific suggestions for what well established companies in developed countries might do to best take advantage of these opportunities.

For me, the best parts were the case histories of companies in China and India that I don't know much about. You'll find many interesting stories.

In terms of analyzing the opportunities, the major themes are:

(1) Minding the Cost Gap

(2) Growing Human Capabilities

(3) Reaching Deeper into Markets

(4) Geographically Pinpointing Resources and Capabilities

(5) Thinking Big

(6) Acting Fast

(7) Getting Help from Outside

(8) Innovating the Business Model

(9) Embracing Global Diversity

(10) Being Prepared to Attack Everywhere and Be Attacked from Everywhere

The chapter titles in the book aren't quite this clear. You'll have to read the material to grasp the key concepts, but you'll get it.

I liked that the book has strategic, organizational, and tactical dimensions. If you want to get a quick look at the overall themes, head to page 239 to read the Nokia story and to page 249 to read the Emerson story.

How to thrive in an ecosystem of business opportunity, 19 Jun 2008

With regard to the title, Harold Sirkin, James Hemerling, and Arindam Bhattacharya explain that "globality [is] the name for a new and different reality in which we'll all be competing with everyone, from everywhere, for everything." In a global business environment that Thomas Friedman characterizes as having become "flat," it is also possible (albeit theoretically) for companies to forge a strategic alliance with anyone, anywhere. They go on to suggest that as a new era emerges, "we call it globality, a different kind of environment, in which business flows in every direction. Companies have no centers. The idea of foreignness is foreign. Commerce swirls and market dominance shifts. Western business orthodoxy entwines with eastern business philosophy and creates a whole new mind-set that embraces profit and competition as well as sustainability and collaboration. Globality is a blockbuster new script - action, drama, suspense, and road picture all packed into one - with a sprawling cast of characters and locations in every corner of the world."

Sirkin, Hemerling, and Bhattacharya explain why and how a "tsunami" wave of competition from global challengers (i.e. rapidly developing companies) has risen up and challenged established players, what they call "incumbents." In fact, developed companies now find themselves struggling to compete successfully in terms of cost differentials; "growing people" and then positioning them in proper alignment; market penetration; "pinpointing" (i.e. connecting with customers, distributing complexity, and reinventing the business model); rapid growth (by scaling up, building brands, filling capability gaps, and bartering); innovating with ingenuity; and embracing "manyness" (i.e. many countries, economies, markets, locations, and facilities but no centers, no home markets, no foreignness, or hierarchy of location). New mind-sets are needed if incumbents are to respond effectively to these and other challenges.

Each of the co-authors is a senior-level executive with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and, together, they have dozens of years of close association and direct involvement with a number of companies - and have accumulated extensive research data on many other companies - among the "BCG Challenger 100." Thirty-four of these companies provide industrial goods, 17 are resource extractors, 14 make consumer durables, another 14 offer food, beverage, and cosmetic products, four make technical equipment. The remaining 17 operate in a wide variety of fields that include pharmaceuticals, mobile communication services, shipping, and infrastructure. For me, the most important material in this book is provided as the co-authors examine specific challenger companies and suggest what lessons can be learned from their initiatives. They include BYD, Johnson Electric, Wipro, ICICI Bank, Embraer, Barat Forge, Cipla, Tata Consulting Services, and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M). As I read about them, I was reminded of Jack Welch's remarks during a GE annual meeting years ago when he explained the competitive advantages of such challenger companies:

"For one, they communicate better. Without the din and prattle of bureaucracy, people listen as well as talk; and since there are fewer of them they generally know and understand each other. Second, small companies move faster. They know the penalties for hesitation in the marketplace. Third, in small companies, with fewer layers and less camouflage, the leaders show up very clearly on the screen. Their performance and its impact are clear to everyone. And, finally, smaller companies waste less. They spend less time in endless reviews and approvals and politics and paper drills. They have fewer people; therefore they can only do the important things. Their people are free to direct their energy and attention toward the marketplace rather than fighting bureaucracy." Welch could well have been describing the mind-sets at ZTE, a challenger that competes successfully with incumbents that include Ericsson, Nokia, Alcatel, Siemens, and Motorola. Ten thousand of its 31,000 employees are engineers and their average age is 30. Like so many other challenger companies, ZTE is outgrowing the imitation stage, investing heavily in 14 research and development centers in China, the U.S. India, France, and Sweden. Its leaders are determined to participate in global standard setting, with ZTE having already applied for more than 5,000 national and international patents. If the cycle continues, ZTE will eventually become an incumbent and then struggle to compete successfully with challengers who may not even be in business today.

When concluding their book, Sirkin, Hemerling, and Bhattacharya assert (and I wholly agree) that however much the global business community has changed and will continue to change, essentially the measures of success will remain the same. Business leaders will continue to think about their place in the world, about sustainability and scarce resources. Those the co-