Fish Cant See Water: How National Culture Can Make or Break Your Corporate Strategy

Managers of western companies thus must not only know the Western consumer, but have to find out what appeals to the Asian or South-American market as well. The duo also tries to incorporate cultural observation into management theories. According to them, the Economist says, world civilisation has three archetypical cultures:. This is the dominant culture in northern Europe and North America. This culture is common in southern Europe and Latin America.

Book Review: Fish Can’t See Water: How National Cultures Can Make or Break Your Corporate Strategy

Reactive culture is dominant in Asia. According to Hamerich and Lewis, these cultures are not strictly separate: Moreover, the Economist has more criticism on the book as it accuses the authors of overestimating the originality of their ideas. The two use the life cycles of businesses to make clear that different cultures are good at different stages of development. The Japanese, for example, know their way with grown companies that have found their success formula, while the British excel in starting new companies.

According to the writers, successful companies sometimes become increasingly more ethno-centric.

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This is achieved by sending managers abroad for a period of time, for example, or hiring people from other countries in high positions. However, companies have the tendency to combine multiculturalism with a nationalist streak and when they are facing difficult times, they often become stereotypes. The Economist says Western companies gradually appear to pay more attention to cultural sensitivity.

After a long time in which centralisation was the magic word, country managers, for example, are again appearing, the newspaper says. Walmart also seems to have learned their lesson; the company now examines the market they wish to enter before actually entering it. Their stores in parts of America where the Latin community has a strong presence, are called supermercados de Walmart , for example.

Here, multinationals are ruled by local managers who have never left their country and think keeping costs low is the answer to everything. Thanks to Hammerich and Lewis, we know better now! Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. Thanks to Richard Lewis and Kai Hammerich, we now have the tools todo just that. This book is a must read for any global leader whoworks across national, economic and culturalboundaries. Culture mattersmore than ever and is a unique source of sustainable competitivedifferentiation. A maverick piece of work from Kai Hammerich andRichard Lewis with absolute word-class insights! Having met and worked with bothRichard Lewis and Kai Hammerich, I have come to value their uniqueinsight into the interplay of national and corporatecultures. Would you like to tell us about a lower price?

How national culture impacts organizational culture—and business success Using extensive case studies of successful global corporations, this book explores the impact of national culture on the corporate strategy and its execution, and through this ultimately business success—or failure. Offers a fresh approach to the effects of national culture on organizational culture that is applicable to any country in any region Based on case studies of such companies as Toyota, Samsung, General Motors, Nokia, Walmart, Kone and British Leyland It describes the origins and nature of the most common corporate crisis and how culture impacts the response to such a crisis Ideal for managers, business leaders, and board members, as well as business school students A welcome response to the flat-Earth fad that argues we're all alike, this book offers a nuanced and practical view of cultural differentiators and how they can enable or derail business performance.

Read more Read less. Kindle Cloud Reader Read instantly in your browser. Customers who bought this item also bought. Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1. Leading Across Cultures 4th Edition. Fish Can't See Water" is full of interesting insights into modern business. There are signs that Western firms are taking cultural sensitivity more seriously. However, emerging-market multinationals still lag behind, particularly in China, This makes it indispensable for executives who works across time zones. A highly readable and insightful book. The authors expand the work of Schein and Hofsteede brilliantly, combining theory with their own practical experiences in the many cases in the book.

The authors also provide a country list of cultural enablers and derailers that show what companies should consider when adapting to other countries. Regardless of national culture, the authors found common denominators when it comes to derailing a company.

Paramount among them is a lack of "diversity of thinking. When people think the same, you get the same old plans. That won't work in a business environment of ever-shifting currents. See all Editorial Reviews. Product details File Size: Wiley; 1 edition September 3, Publication Date: September 3, Sold by: Share your thoughts with other customers. Write a customer review.

Read reviews that mention fish see see water hammerich and lewis lewis model national culture case studies richard lewis thought provoking kai hammerich hammerich and richard austin motors easy to read corporate culture corporate strategy cultural differences read this book business company authors countries. Showing of 31 reviews. Top Reviews Most recent Top Reviews.

Book Review: Fish Can’t See Water: How National Cultures Can Make or Break Your Corporate Strategy

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. Fish can't see the water is a book recommended by the Economist, discussing how national culture influences business culture and how business culture can enable or disable your company's success.

It was illuminating for me, and certainly described what I have been suspecting.

I always thought that TQM and lean would be difficult to roll out in our company, but now I can say emphatically that TQM and lean is better suited to a reactive culture and less suited to a multi-active culture such as ours. I could go even further to describe why our multi-active culture is not compatible with TQM and lean, and where we need to change to become compatible.

What I will not be able to do however is determine how to implement the change in our culture. The book only scratches the surface of cultural analysis, spending most of its time on case studies to demonstrate the effect culture has on the success of a company. The book is excellent for a manager without much immersion in this subject such as myself , but it will not be adequate on its own to enable managers to apply what has been learnt.

The style of the book is easy to read, the case studies interesting and the "dimensions" or differences between national cultures illuminating. This book fits perfectly into the presentation of this double semester, in depth look at the real world. I find them to be a fictionalized look at how people in business and businesses operate. The book takes a double barreled approach, each revolving around culture. The value of the Lewis model of global culture comes from not only theory, but experience.

It relies on nuance rather than pigeon holing the world into a set definition of what the cultures may be.

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