The Interface of Business and Culture

Humans need to communicate in order to interact with one another, and culture helps regulate such interaction and communication. The same is true in the world of business since there, too, people interact and communicate with one another. And in today's globalized world, it is inevitable that many such encounters and interactions involve people of diverse cultural background. That is why it is so imperative that business people understand how culture influences human behavior and communication, including their own. This knowledge will provide a better understanding of not just one's own behavior, but also that of one's international business partners, employees, and customers. So who better to explain the influence of culture than some of the leading experts in the field? These contributing authors cover a wide spectrum of topics that range from general principles of intercultural communication to very specific aspects of culture's influence in particular business contexts. These insights should prove to be interesting, perceptive, and useful to many international business transactions and interactions.

The Editor: Michael B. Hinner was born in Germany and grew up in the USA where he studied Anthropology, Comparative Studies, English, German, History, and Linguistics at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and Law at St. John’s University, School of Law. He teaches Business Communication and Intercultural Communication at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg and Dresden International University.