Managing Cultural Diversity in Technical Professions (Paperback)

While it's early in the academic term, this book has already been extremely useful in framing discussions in our class. Also, as I talk to employers in Manitoba, many have asked for the bibliographic reference to source the book for their corporate library.

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Written for both managers and technical contributors, the book uses a multicultural lens to look at management styles, teamwork, communication and career management. This new perspective drives home a central theme that cultural differences are key in how our teams work, and not widely recognized in their importance. In these kinds of abstract topics I find concrete examples very helpful, and the author includes numerous anecdotes drawn from his consulting background. These vivid examples show the profound impact of what sometimes seem like small issues, like the Mexican engineer who resigned the day after getting some negative feedback in front of his colleagues.

The book also includes a number of quantitative charts and tables showing how different cultures have quite different expectations of the importance of hierarchy, individualism, and risk tolerance. Having read this book, I now much better understand the experience I had in Canada managing an employee from another culture. What I experienced as a lack of assertiveness was actually the case of an employee expecting highly directive management, and their way of showing respect. Had I understood that well at the time, I would have approached the situation quite differently, even starting at the interview stage. On the flip side, the book would have helped me a lot during my two-year stay in France. In particular, it wasn't until I read this book that I realized that when my French colleagues were jumping in and finishing my sentences, they were demonstrating their agreement by showing they knew how my sentences were going to end!

The book closes with a number of interesting comparisons, like the different emphasis on theory and hands-on work that exist between engineering schools in Canada, the United States, France and Mexico. And to finish off, an entertaining appendix containing explanations of expressions which we take for granted from such diverse areas as baseball ("to be out in left field" - to make no sense at all) and warfare ("loose cannons" - ones which are not fixed down, and fire a different direction each time).

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Written for both managers and technical contributors, the book uses a multicultural lens to look at management styles, teamwork, communication and career management. This new perspective drives home a central theme that cultural differences are key in how our teams work, and not widely recognized in their importance. In these kinds of abstract topics I find concrete examples very helpful, and the author includes numerous anecdotes drawn from his consulting background. These vivid examples show the profound impact of what sometimes seem like small issues, like the Mexican engineer who resigned the day after getting some negative feedback in front of his colleagues.

The book also includes a number of quantitative charts and tables showing how different cultures have quite different expectations of the importance of hierarchy, individualism, and risk tolerance. Having read this book, I now much better understand the experience I had in Canada managing an employee from another culture. What I experienced as a lack of assertiveness was actually the case of an employee expecting highly directive management, and their way of showing respect. Had I understood that well at the time, I would have approached the situation quite differently, even starting at the interview stage. On the flip side, the book would have helped me a lot during my two-year stay in France. In particular, it wasn't until I read this book that I realized that when my French colleagues were jumping in and finishing my sentences, they were demonstrating their agreement by showing they knew how my sentences were going to end!

The book closes with a number of interesting comparisons, like the different emphasis on theory and hands-on work that exist between engineering schools in Canada, the United States, France and Mexico. And to finish off, an entertaining appendix containing explanations of expressions which we take for granted from such diverse areas as baseball ("to be out in left field" - to make no sense at all) and warfare ("loose cannons" - ones which are not fixed down, and fire a different direction each time).

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