To understand Australian culture is to understand paradox. It is an ancient land of incongruities, settled more than 60,000 years ago and again in modern times, with a vast and dry interior that the newcomers still love to dread, a place of flightless birds, a country with an Anglo-Celtic consciousness and multicultural aspirations, with a sense of humour derived from irony, national days that celebrate defeat and heroes on the wrong side of the law. Join us in discovering the complexities of our culture with the Cultural Detective Australia.
Cultural Detective Australia contains the following stories and critical incidents:
- New Joint Venture:
A joint venture in the oil industry between firms from Australia and the United Arab Emirates.
- Relationship Building:
An English HR Director and his wife relocate to Australia for a two-year assignment.
- Relocating to Sydney:
The professional and personal concerns of a Chilean expatriate family living in Sydney.
- What Did He Mean?:
An Australian expatriate president makes his first presentation to his newly acquired US American leadership team.
- Side Conversation:
Chinese respond to new ideas presented by Australian project managers in the engineering industry.
- Self-Determination:
A consultant suggests ways for a regional job placement centre to partner with the local Aboriginal community.
- Bypassing Authority:
An Australian expatriate site manager in the steel industry experiences difficulty with his Indian project manager.
- Account Review:
An account update meeting between an Australian supervisor and his Singaporean subordinate in the banking industry.
Cultural Detective Australia was authored by Karen Huchendorf, Fran Brew and Dianne Hofner Saphiere.