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Reports the findings of a study which examined the attitudes of East and West German managers to the process of strategic industrial change following German reunification. Acknowledges the importance of organizational and national culture, specifically in relation to the process of strategic management, and notes a number of dissimilarities between the perceptions of the two nationalities towards the changes. Their perceptions provide an indicative insight into the combined organizational/national cultures within which each group was socialized. Makes suggestions for possible future research in this area.

In every country, specific cultures exist. In comparison most businesses have a variety of different cultures because there are different people working within the company. People with the same religion, language, beliefs and values share a culture. This, in turn, is shared with all types of people in the same cultural system. Here the author examines the art of managing people who are from different cultures, taking into account their different set of values, traditions, and ways of achieving various goals. It exposes some of the problems inherent in the host (local) country where a home (parent company) manager refuses or is incapable of internalizing the local culture in which the expatriate operates. Business tactics are enforced and implemented differently depending on the culture the decision‐maker is from. Therefore, one should always think globally and act locally.