This volume is the product of two decades of field research by one of Sri Lanka's distinguished anthropological interpreters.

This monograph presents various approaches to understanding the multiple levels, layers, and definitions of culture, cross-cultural research, cross-cultural competence, the role of culture in organizations, organizational culture, and the role of multiple culture layers in individual workers’ workplace attitudes, performance, and general experiences. Inaugurating the new series SpringerBriefs on Culture, Organizations, and Work, it establishes both fundamental and controversial ideas related to the myriad ways of studying these topics. It highlights the wide variety of conceptual approaches for studying culture, organization and work and brings to light some of the critical questions related to culture (at all units and levels of analysis) and their effect on both the workplace and the worker in order to present a coherent educational resource for practitioners and researchers alike.

The work folklorists do on the ground and in communities can make a concrete difference in quality of life. While the field is not immune to extractive, racist, colonial, heteronormative, and misogynistic practices, it can counter and combat these same forces in society. Culture Work presents case studies of public-oriented work that define the Wisconsin Idea of folklore in all its complexities, challenges, and potentialities. Thematically arranged chapters represent interconnected aspects of culture work, from amplifying local voices to galvanizing community from within to reflecting on how we might use folklore to build the world we want to live in.

Anthropology and psychotherapy have a long and important historical relationship, and in this fascinating collection practitioners with experience in both fields explore how the concept of ‘culture’ is deployed to guide and frame contemporary therapeutic theory, training and practice. This task is particularly important as the global spread of psychotherapy, as both an outgrowth of and a potential point of critique to globalised hyper-capitalism, requires us to think differently about how to conceptualise cultural difference in psychotherapy. Psychotherapy, Anthropology and the Work of Culture provides a valuable resource for psychotherapeutic professionals working in a world in which cultural difference appears in fluid and transient moments. It will also provide essential reading for students and researchers working across the fields of psychotherapy and anthropology.

The “job system” for organizing work has only existed for around 200 years - since the industrial revolution. Always problematic, it now approaches collapse, and what follows, either for good or ill, depends on decisions made and executed in current times. Many people are filled with dismay, and turn for succor to political opportunists. Prescient of the looming disaster, Frithjof Bergmann began to devise alternatives to the job system in the 1970s. He started with the fostering of dialogue, about ameliorating the impacts of layoffs in times of recession, among the workforce in the auto industry and community, in Flint, Michigan. What has evolved, over years, is his proposed alternative to the job system. New Work, New Culture recounts the development of his ideas, and describes one course which humanity might follow, that all might live better lives.

An international business expert helps you understand and navigate cultural differences in this insightful and practical guide, perfect for both your work and personal life. Americans precede anything negative with three nice comments; French, Dutch, Israelis, and Germans get straight to the point; Latin Americans and Asians are steeped in hierarchy; Scandinavians think the best boss is just one of the crowd. It's no surprise that when they try and talk to each other, chaos breaks out. In The Culture Map, INSEAD professor Erin Meyer is your guide through this subtle, sometimes treacherous terrain in which people from starkly different backgrounds are expected to work harmoniously together. She provides a field-tested model for decoding how cultural differences impact international business, and combines a smart analytical framework with practical, actionable advice.

The central question in Work, Consumption and Culture is whether consumption has now displaced production as the defining factor in the lives of those in the industrialized West. This book offers a comprehensive review of the key issues in the production/consumption debate, and where it might lead in the future. Key to Paul Ransome′s argument is the hypothesis that affluence is the crucial factor in the shift away from work and towards consumption. Uniquely emphasizing the links between work, consumption and culture, rather than keeping each element separate, the author looks at: - the changing significance of work in society - the meaning, growth and significance of affluence - the growing importance of consumption as a source of identity and its implications the impact of the shift to consumption on work/life balance Work, Consumption and Culture engages the reader with its lively debating style. It is an essential introduction for sociology and cultural studies students on courses relating to consumption and the role of work in contemporary society. `This book offers a balanced account of the changing importance of work and consumption in contemporary industrial society. Clearly written, the author identifies the central role that affluence plays in the relationship between work and consumption, and in the development of social life and individual identity′ - Professor Paul Blyton, Cardiff Business School