Navigating Power: Cross-Cultural Competence in Navajo Land - Tapa dura

Gelaye Debebe has developed a terrific synthesis and extension of theories and concepts that help explain the success or failure of coordination projects between Anglo and Navajo participants. Inter-cultural differences in power and culture, as well as the history and cultural memories of the groups and how these differences are handled, prove to be very useful in accounting for success. Debebe's study uses a variety of qualitative data sources and has implications for many other multi-cultural projects. -- Mayer N. Zald, University of Michigan Debebe provides refreshing insights into the conundrum of navigating the difficult terrain of intercultural conflict fused with unequal power relations. The book is a must-read for those committed to realizing true multiculturalism and educating others about it. -- Stella M. Nkomo, University of Pretoria, South Africa This book breaks new ground in the field of cross cultural collaboration. Debebe argues decisively that our current understanding of cross cultural collaboration is impoverished because it over-emphasizes culture and fails to address adequately the role of 'inherited power' or the history of power relations between groups. Debebe offers a framework for understanding the role of power, the skills and conditions necessary to navigate it successfully, and the perils and pitfalls commonly encountered. This is an important book for anyone studying or practicing in the field of diversity, cultural competence, or cultural sensitivity. -- Joyce K. Fletcher, Simmons School of Management What Debebe brings to the table, how her work adds substantial value to the field of organizational studies, lies in her portrayal of how powerful a force ``inherited history,'' or collective memory, can be and in her systematic analysis of how such history figures into the politics of intercultural coordination-in Debebe's framework, because all organizations have cultures, by definition all interorganizational communication may also be characterized as intercultural communication.... Ultimately, one of the book's virtues is that it can't be pigeonholed neatly into a single stream of scholarship, for it bridges a number of areas. It will be of interest to scholars in cross-cultural communication, interorganizational learning, multi-party dispute resolution, and the development of dialogue among discrepant communities of practice. * Administrative Science Quarterly *

Navigating Power: Cross-Cultural Competence in Navajoland by Gelaye Debebe uses data of an inter-organizational relationship between a Navajo and Anglo organization to show how concerns about political inequality trump cultural differences. Debebe examines how interactions among individuals representing culturally dissimilar and politically unequal groups impact task coordination in organizational settings. While past research has emphasized how cultural differences affect the course of interactions, this book focuses on the impact of political inequality, arguing that organizations should cultivate competencies of navigating power.