The Global Manager’s Guide to Cultural Literacy

Global managers need to communicate and connect with many different cultures. The new language of business is cultural literacy, which encompasses basic knowledge of business language, culture and the local economy.

This book provides a general overview and specific examples of cultural literacy. It will provide managers with a basic understanding of the business language, culture and economy of seven countries in the G-20, including Brazil, Mexico and the US in the Americas, China and South Korea in Asia, and France and Germany in Europe.

For global managers, knowing even the basics about a country’s culture, language and economy is invaluable for making connections, doing business, and communicating across cultures. Clearly managers do not have time to learn the language of every country they visit. However, they can invest time to develop basic cultural literacy of the countries to which they travel. Cultural literacy gives them a baseline of knowledge to connect with customers, suppliers and co-workers, and shows respect for people and their culture. It also helps businesspeople find common ground on which to build business relationships.

This volume offers business students and managers a quick introduction to language basics and cultural knowledge, and familiarity with the business environment of seven countries. In addition, it provides a template for developing basic business language literacy, and building business connections with people from other countries.