Understanding Global Cultures: Metaphorical Journeys Through 34 Nations, Clusters of Nations, Continents, and Diversity, Edition 6

Martin J. Gannon · Rajnandini Pillai

Feb 2015 · SAGE Publications

About this ebook

In the fully updated Sixth Edition of Understanding Global Cultures: Metaphorical Journeys Through 34 Nations, Clusters of Nations, Continents, and Diversity, authors Martin J. Gannon and Rajnandini Pillai present the cultural metaphor as a method for understanding the cultural mindsets of individual nations, clusters of nations, continents, and diversity in each nation. A cultural metaphor is any activity, phenomenon, or institution that members of a given culture consider important and with which they identify emotionally and/or cognitively, such as the Japanese garden and American football. This cultural metaphoric approach identifies three to eight unique or distinctive features of each cultural metaphor and then discusses 34 national cultures in terms of these features. The book demonstrates how metaphors are guidelines to help outsiders quickly understand what members of a culture consider important.

About the author

Rajnandini Pillai (PhD, State University of New York at Buffalo, 1994) is Professor of Management at the College of Business, California State University, San Marcos (CSUSM). She is also Executive Director and founding member of the Center for Leadership Innovation and Mentorship Building (CLIMB) at the university. Her areas of research interest are leadership and cross-cultural management. She has published her work on charismatic and transformational leadership, leadership and voting behavior, and cross-cultural differences in organizational justice in some of the leading journals in her field such as The Leadership Quarterly, Journal of Management, and the Journal of International Business Studies. She has also co-edited two books, Teaching Leadership: Innovative Approaches for the 21st Century (2003) and Follower Perspectives on Leadership (2007). She serves on the editorial boards of The Leadership Quarterly and Group and Organization Management. Rajnandini Pillai has held mid-level management positions in the banking industry in India, consulted with organizations in the United States on leadership effectiveness, and conducted workshops on leadership and global issues. She has received awards for excellence in teaching and research, including the College of Business Outstanding Professor Award, the Western Academy of Management Ascendant Scholar Award, the CSUSM President’s Award for Scholarship and Creative Activity, and the Harry E. Brakebill Distinguished Professor Award.