Ethnocentrics
Practically every American company bills itself as a global organization these days, but few chief execs appear to have worldly attitudes. In a survey of more than 1,000 chief executives in 18 countries conducted by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, just 28 percent of U.S. respondents agree that having senior managers with multicultural experience is important to building a global business. New Zealand ranks first, with 52 percent of its chiefs saying multicultural awareness is a valuable asset in the workplace. The report, examined in the new book, Global Literacies: Lessons on Business Leadership and National Cultures by Robert Rosen (Simon & Schuster), also finds that 86 percent of companies in the Netherlands have customers in 10 or more countries, the highest of any nation. Roughly half of U.S. firms can claim the same reach.
