Culture time
Good intercultural skills are often essential for business success. But the concept of culture has many dimensions.
Recent years have seen increased awareness of the importance of intercultural skills at work. But what exactly do we mean by “culture”? One of the many definitions is that it is “the way we do
things around here”. And although discussions about work and culture are often reduced to supposed differences in country cultures, there are many other important dimensions, as we explore in our 45-page special report.
Bob Dignen kicks off our report with a close look at organizational culture in light of the typically disorganized nature of organizations
(pp. 12–21). We also look at how to discuss differences in working styles between teams (pp. 36–37), at how to choose appropriate subjects for small talk (pp. 34–35) and at the arguments for and against diversity
quotas (pp. 22–23). And we take a critical look at the concept of individual authenticity in the workplace (pp. 26–31).
We don’t ignore country culture completely, however. We have a special focus on Vietnam (pp. 40–47), and Peter Franklin explains why country culture may trump organizational policies (pp 48–49).
Finally, you have probably noticed a significant change on the cover of this issue of Business Spotlight. Together with our sister magazines at Spotlight Verlag, we are delighted to introduce our new branding,
ZEIT SPRACHEN. This makes clear the importance of languages within the portfolio of our parent company, the ZEIT publishing group.