Americans at Work: A Guide to the Can-Do People

Front Cover
Nicholas Brealey Publishing, Jun 4, 2004 - Business & Economics - 200 pages
Restless and driven, casual and direct—Americans are a challenge! Learn how Americans behave at work and how to deal with them. Whether you work with Americans face-to-face, communicate with them by telephone or e-mail or interact together in a virtual team, Americans at Work: A Guide to the Can-Do People reveals the subtle and the not-so-subtle aspects of American culture in the workplace. Best-selling author Craig Storti provides historical perspectives and explanations of the six most important American cultural themes and their relevance to the workplace: “Land of Opportunity” (a driven people), “Go-for-It Mentality” (ready, aim, fire: new is better), “Equality for All” (but don't forget who's boss), “The Drive to Achieve” (nice guys finish last), “Live and Let Live” (do your own thing) and “Time Matters” (obsession with efficiency). Learn about straight talk—American style—and how Americans aren’t always as direct as they say they are. Find out why Americans are deeply conflicted about power: they crave it but hate to be caught craving it. See how Americans view outsiders. Gain tips for succeeding in the American environment. Finally, get the basics of work-related etiquette: conducting meetings, giving feedback, nonverbal communication, e-mail rules, gifts, taboo topics and so on. Knowing how Americans work with each other will help you predict their reactions and, more important, their expectations of you. And if you are American, you will better understand your own behavior and be able to work more effectively with colleagues from other cultures. “Americans at Work is an interesting book examining the behavioral norms and perceptions of the American workplace from dual perspectives: Americans on others and vice versa. Whilst Americans at Work targets a non-American audience seeking to better understand the idiosyncrasies of the American workplace, it also provides Americans with a revealing ‘big picture’ view that may help them work more effectively with people from other cultures. The book is well suited for readers across a wide spectrum of interests from business, communications, linguistics, and sociology to foreign travel. The information is presented in an easily accessible manner, containing rich descriptions and examples punctuated by relevant quotations from notable authors. A bibliography is provided to help readers interested in furthering their exploration of ‘can-do people.’ The overreaching goal of Americans at Work is to help readers work more effectively with people from the USA….This information will help readers acquire a better understanding of white-collar American workers in general. More importantly, Storti posits, it will change ‘how you see the world.’” —Judy Bullock, University of Phoenix “With its clear language and its emphasis on highly practical workplace issues, Americans at Work is a useful addition to the intercultural canon, in that anyone can pick it up and read it on their way to work (or even on the plane bound to the United States). In addition, it will almost certainly be of interest to any American who would like to discover more about how their own culture and behavior are percieved by their non-American counterparts.” —Robert Johnson, www.dialogin.com Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Part 1: The Big Pictures 1 Americans and Foreigners 2 The Land of Opportunity 3 The Can-Do People 4 Equality for All 5 You Are What You've Done 6 On Your Own 7 Time Matters 8 Communication, American Style 9 Bosses and Subordinates Part 2: The Details Epilogue Bibliography Index About the Author

About the author (2004)

Craig Storti is founder and co-director of Communicating Across Cultures, a Washington, D.C.-based intercultural communication training and consulting firm. With work appearing in the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Chicago Tribune, he is the author of six books, including Speaking of India: Bridging the Communication Gap When Working with Indians and the bestselling Cross-Cultural Dialogues, The Art of Crossing Cultures, and The Art of Coming Home. After living nearly a quarter of his life abroad, he now lives in Maryland. For more information, please visit his website: www.craigstorti.com.