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“Dr. Mendez’s new approach provides useful and practical tools based on real-word situations. I highly recommend this book to anyone considering an assignment overseas.”
—Terry B. Kahler, Vice President, Dell, Inc.
Culture is repeatedly cited as a significant contributor to the failure of international projects—mergers and acquisitions, offshore outsourcing projects, joint ventures, and global teams, among others. Through her book, The Culture Solution: How to Achieve Cultural Synergy and Get Results in the Global Workplace, Deirdre B. Mendez, PhD, an intercultural consultant, trainer, and educator, reveals a practical system for professionals that applies straightforward techniques to real-life situations in international business, travel, project and team management, conflict resolution, mediation and more to maximize the chance for success.
The Culture Solution (February 21, 2017) is designed to help readers adapt to new cultural environments and collaborate successfully with people from unfamiliar cultural backgrounds. Readers create profiles for eight cultural dimensions that identify their own cultural orientation and that of an international person, group, or place. By comparing the two profiles, readers identify cultural tendencies likely to cause confusion and frustration and develop strategies to manage problems, explain themselves effectively, and communicate persuasively. The Culture Solution also shows readers ways to leverage the talents of each member of culturally diverse teams and capitalize on the benefits of each approach.
Suppose you’ve been chosen to lead a mission-critical collaboration in China—and on short notice. How will the management and negotiation skills you’ve developed at home translate in your new environment? How will you create healthy relationships with Chinese colleagues? Will you recognize culture-based misunderstandings? Have the skills to resolve conflicts?
You need tools for solving the specific problems that will arise in your unique work environment when dealing with your particular contacts. The Culture Solution gives you these tools. You’ll use it to analyze your own unique circumstances so you won’t have to rely on second-hand experience or generalizations that aren’t relevant to your own situation. And the system doesn’t limit you to solving problems; it teaches you to create cultural synergies that capitalize on diverse perspectives and maximize results.
You don’t need to be involved in an intercultural project or overseas collaboration to benefit from The Culture Solution system. Because there is cultural diversity within any company, you could implement the strategies to understand your new boss’s expectations, improve collaboration across business functions, or integrate new hires into your corporate culture.
Complete with exercises, illustrations, charts and scenarios, The Culture Solution trains you to anticipate and deconstruct problems, manage conflict, ensure compliance, anticipate customer expectations, create powerful team dynamics and achieve cultural synergies that leverage different strengths for superior results. The book’s three-phase process--Analyze, Recognize, Capitalize (ARC)—shows you how to build effective relationships in any new location, well beyond the country generalizations usually used in international training. The ARC System applies to any location, and is easier to apply each time you use it.
The Culture Solution also includes the following themes:
Learn how cultural variation affects business
Learn how to predict and solve culture-based problems
Become familiar with cultural tendencies and practice managing intercultural problems
Learn strategies for persuading people with different cultural tendencies
Apply cultural knowledge in specific business contexts, including hiring and management, sales, negotiation, team management, and leadership
Increase your cultural intelligence
Use the ARC System to gain clarity about the expectations, strengths, and potential of your international workforce
Develop cultural strategies for specific people, groups, and organizations whether or not they fit the profile for their country
About Deirdre B. Mendez
Deirdre B. Mendez, PhD is an intercultural consultant, trainer, and educator who has helped multinational companies identify and resolve culturally based conflict for three decades. Following a career in international consulting, she is currently Associate Director for Cultural Programs of the Center for Global Business at the McCombs School of Business. Her experience as a cultural consultant and educator has allowed her to fine tune her consulting methods, which help business people minimize risk and enhance the performance of international projects. Dr. Mendez also currently serves on the visiting faculty of the Commercial Diplomacy Institute of the U.S. Department of Commerce, where she trains federal employees with responsibility for international programs and projects. She speaks four languages and lives in Austin, TX and can be found on LinkedIn and at Deirdremendez.com.
The Culture Solution is available on Amazon and at other booksellers.
