Understanding global cultures : metaphorical journeys through 31 nations, clusters of nations, continents, and diversity / Martin J Gannon, Rajnandini Pillai.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preface: Understanding cultures in depth -- Acknowledgments and coauthors -- Part 1: Introduction: -- Understanding cultural metaphors: -- Constructing cultural metaphors -- Reading and using this book -- When culture does, and does not, matter -- Part 2: Authority-Ranking Cultures: -- Thai Kingdom: -- Loose vertical hierarchy -- Freedom and equality -- Thai smile -- Japanese garden: -- Corporate cultures -- Garden as metaphor -- Wa and shikata -- Seishin training -- Combining droplets or energies -- Aesthetics -- Similarities and contrasts -- Bedouin jewelry and Saudi Arabia: -- Desert Bedouins -- Bold form -- Handcrafted appearance -- Traditional design -- Female ownership -- Turkish coffeehouse: -- Islam and secularity -- Recreation, communication, and community integration -- Male domain -- Modest environment -- Life outside the coffeehouse -- Looking ahead -- Don Ganh: the two side of Vietnam: -- History of occupation -- French defeat and division into two -- Metaphor: the dualities of Don Ganh -- Polish village church: -- Historical background -- Central place of the catholic church -- Partitioning and polish identity -- Survivors -- Kimchi and Korea: -- 60th birthday -- Strangers by day, lovers by night -- Kimchi's public role -- Irish of Asia -- Part 3: Scandinavian Egalitarian Cultures: -- Swedish stuga: -- Love of untrammeled nature and tradition -- Individualism through self-development -- Equality -- Finnish sauna: -- From survival to political and economic success -- Sauna: a secular "holy" place of equality -- Communication: comfort with quietude -- Danish Christmas luncheon: -- Interdependent individualism -- Geographic ambivalence -- Coziness -- Part 4: Other Egalitarian Cultures: -- German symphony: -- Diversity of musical instruments -- Positional arrangements of the musicians -- Conductors and leaders -- Precision and synchronicity -- Unfinished symphony -- Irish conversations: -- Intersection of Gaelic and English -- Prayer as conversion -- Free-flowing conversation: Irish hospitality -- Places of conversations: Irish friends and families -- Ending a conversation -- Canadian backpack and flag: -- Egalitarianism and outlook -- Canadian mosaic -- Canadians as non-US Americans -- French wine: -- Pureness -- Classification -- Composition -- Suitability -- Maturation process -- Changing portrait -- Part 5: Market-Pricing Cultures: -- American football: -- Tailgate party -- Pregame and halftime entertainment -- Strategy and war -- Selection, the training camp, and the playbook -- Individual specialized achievement within the team structure -- Aggression, high risks, and unpredictable outcomes -- Huddling -- Church of football and celebrating perfection -- Traditional British house: -- Traditional house -- History, politics, economics: laying the foundations -- Growing up British: building the house -- Being British: living in the house -- Part 6: Cleft national Cultures: -- Malaysian Balik Kampung -- Returning to nearby roots -- Authority ranking -- Reinforcing common values -- Nigerian marketplace: -- Diversity -- Social dynamism -- Balancing tradition and change -- Israeli Kibbutzim and Moshavim: -- Explicit values -- Size and behavioral outcomes -- Traumas, worldview, and personality -- Italian opera: -- Overture -- Pageantry and spectacle -- Voice -- Externalization -- Chorus and soloists -- Belgian lace: -- Land of contrasts -- Control -- Cooperation and harmony -- Part 7: Torn National Cultures: -- Mexican fiesta: -- Primary focus on people -- Emphasis on religion -- Experiencing the present -- Freedom within the social order -- Russian ballet: -- Echelons of the ballet -- Drama and realism -- Russian soul -- Part 8: Base Culture And Its Diffusion Across Borders (Clusters Of Nations): The Example Of China: -- China's Great Wall and cross-culture paradox: -- Great Wall: long, tortuous, and complex history -- Confucianism and Taoism -- Sun Tzu, war, and the marketplace -- Chinese family altar: -- Roundness -- Harmony -- Fluidity -- Singapore hawker centers: -- Ethnic diversity but unity -- Efficiency -- Power of women -- Safety -- Synthesizing traditional and new values -- Part 9: India, Shiva, And Diversity: -- India: the dance of Shiva: -- Cyclical Hindu philosophy -- Cycle of life -- Family cycle -- Cycle of social interaction -- Work and recreation (rejuvenation) cycle -- India: a kaleidoscope of diversity: -- Kaleidoscope of religions and cultural celebrations -- Images of festivals and feasts -- Cell phones, call centers, and curriculum -- Changing image of cricket -- Part 10: Same Metaphor, Different Meanings: -- Spanish bullfight: -- Cuadrillas -- Sol y Sombra -- Pompous entrance parade -- Audience involvement -- Ritual of the bullfight -- Portuguese bullfight: -- Pride in traditions -- Stratification amid unity -- Artistry and human gore -- Profitless bravery -- Part 11: Popular Music As cultural Metaphors: -- Brazilian samba: -- Small-step circularity -- Physical touch -- Undulation -- Spontaneous escape -- Paradox of dancers -- Argentine tango: -- Tango's evolution -- Tango music and composers -- Dynamics of the dance -- Tango singers and their lyrics -- Gender relations -- Applying what we've learned -- Summary -- Part 12: Perspectives On Continents: -- Australian outdoor recreational activities: -- Capturing the imagination -- New realities: beyond stereotypes -- Barbecue -- Equality matching among the tall poppies -- Sub-Saharan African bush taxi: -- Short history of Africa -- African time orientation and fatalism -- Communalism and community sharing -- Hierarchy in African society: seating -- Arrangements in the bush taxi -- References -- Photo credits -- Index -- About the authors.

Overview: In Understanding Global Cultures, Fifth Edition, authors Martin J. Gannon and Rajnandini Pillai present the cultural metaphor-any activity, phenomenon, or institution with which the members of a given culture identify emotionally or cognitively-as a method for understanding the cultural mindsets of individual nations, clusters of nations, and even continents. The book shows how metaphors are guidelines to help outsiders quickly understand what members of a culture consider important. The fully updated Fifth Edition includes 31 nation-specific chapters, including a new Part XI on popular music as cultural metaphors, two completely new chapters on Vietnam and Argentina, revisions to all retained chapters, and a more explicit linkage between each cultural metaphor and current economic and business developments in each nation.