Cultural Network Analysis: Method and Application

A method is described for studying in detail the common perspective that members of a culture bring to a situation. The method results in models of the culture that provide a basis for outsiders to begin to frame events from the cultural-insider point of view. The cultural models can then be used to identify priority cultural aspects to emphasize in training, as an aid to anticipating how messages will be interpreted and evaluated by members of the culture, or as a means of diagnosing cultural frictions that impede effective multicultural team functioning. Example applications are presented to illustrate the value of the method.