Clash!: How to Thrive in a Multicultural World Paperback – June 24, 2014

It's refreshing that Clash! goes beyond the conventional notions of nationality and language, to a broader definition of "Culture" that includes and examines our personal histories of race, class, gender and even what sector we work in. While the authors' framework, that all of us have independent and interdependent parts of our selves, is seemingly simple, they provide a well-presented and very readable account of the background research to make the framework much more useful, relevant and applicable.The book resonates with my personal experience as an American living and working extensively in Asia. Travel has been a great way for me to stretch out of my comfort zone and reflect on the cultural forces that make me who I am. Today, as globalization so rapidly makes Anytown look like EveryOtherTown with the same stores, clothing, fast food, movies...it's easy to feel like our differences are getting erased. The main message of Clash!, above all others, is that while we may come to outwardly appear similar to each other, driving the same cars, wearing the same clothes, and sharing the same workplaces, we need to remember how we all got here. And our experience of "being here", our goals and our aspirations, are not necessarily the same just because we assume they are.Reading the latest headlines, the world seems to be heading in two opposing directions simultaneously. One is the march toward sameness; the other is the thunderous clash of differences and inequality. No matter where you stand and which of these roads you think you're headed, it's important to remember that our differences and diversity could be our greatest asset in meeting the challenges along the way. Clash! is a call to re-examine our selves, engage in more open and reasoned dialog with those around us, and hopefully turn the bug of diversity into a shining feature.

I teach various courses at UCLA Extension focused on the "soft skills" of interpersonal communication, i.e. team management, customer service, conflict management, leadership, etc. I also offer seminars on these topics for companies in-house. No matter the title of the course or workshop inevitably discussion comes down to cross-cultural issues - and this happens because business today takes place in a cross-cultural environment. My experience is that people are confused and frustrated as they barely understand why they communicate in the ways they do, let alone their colleagues! And so most of my work eventually focuses on cross-cultural issues.Clash! is a wonderful book - a must-read book. The sub-title says it all - the authors have identified the most frequent "cultural conflicts", i.e. communication challenges that we run into on an almost daily basis. They write in a clear, easy-to-grasp style. The book is enlightening and is now required reading in several of my courses and workshops.Certainly, this is essential reading for anyone working in a global corporation.

The title is misleading. By and large, the book does not offer useful concepts or skills to thrive across the world. Only two chapters are about foreign cultures; the bulk of the book draws the contours to some of the most contentious, politically laden debates about multiculturalism in America. It also offers progressive policy prescriptions (e.g., affirmative action), while giving short shrift to the numerous other alternative explanations or policies.The above isn't by itself bad for what it is (if that's what you want), but it's not what you'd expect from the book given its title and the claims it makes on the back cover.The book also adopts some questionable assumptions and oversimplifications. First, the authors divide each topic (each chapter) into a dichotomy (East vs. West, men vs. women, etc.). Sometimes that works, but sometimes it feels artificial. For example, it divides the whole world into East and West, and then relegates the middle east and Africa to "in between" East and West. Further, when contrasting the West with the East, they're really only talking about East Asia (Japan, China, Korea). Then why not just say "East Asia"? Broad generalizations don't sound as cool when they're more limited; the authors chose boldness and simplicity over nuance.Second, throughout the book, the authors propose that each side of the dichotomy should be understood only as either "independent" or "interdependent", while those words mean different things for each dichotomy. The conflicts in America, they say, can only be resolved by better balancing the two, often by embracing more interdependence, which (again) implies different things for different issues. While this simple framework offers a snappy argument to tie together disparate topics in multiculturalism, it all felt rather forced, cumbersome, and distracting.In all, the book can help you understand some issues about multiculturalism in America from a progressive perspective. However, if you're looking for cross-cultural skills and enlightening concepts, I recommend instead The Culture Map by Erin Meyer.