The text takes a five-pronged approach to the study of the cultural environment of global business. It explores (1) such general concepts as culture, ethnocentrism, and culture change; (2) the nature of the communication process, both linguistic and nonverbal communication; (3) a typology of value contrasts that can be applied anywhere in the world to help diagnose potential breakdowns in business communication; (4) a number of ways of collecting relevant culture-specific data on any of the hundreds of different national cultures of the world; and (5) a set of valuable skills and competencies that are vital for becoming a world class business person.