ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses some of the complex interconnectedness of world economies and cultures. It explains how the insights, theories, and methods of cultural anthropology have been applied to global management, negotiations, and marketing. All cultures of the world, despite many differences, face a number of common problems and share a number of common features, which we call cultural universals. The chapter briefly examines these features that hold true for all cultures, and discuss why they are valuable insights into the cultural environment of global business. Just as societies, tribes, religious communities, and neighborhoods all are cultures, so too are corporations. Shared values, behavior patterns, and communication styles all help the employees of a firm, from a clerk to the CEO, both feel and express a common identity. To assume that all cultures are perfectly integrated, it can be concluded that every idea or behavior is both absolutely rational and morally defensible.
