Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- List of tables and figures -- Acknowledgements -- 1 Language and culture at work. An introduction -- Introduction -- So, what is 'culture'? -- Researching 'culture' at work -- Our corpus -- Brief outline of the book -- 2 Making it work. Negotiating face and politeness at work -- Introduction -- Face and politeness and first-order notions of culture -- Face and politeness at work -- Face and politeness and second-order culture in action -- Discussion -- 3 The complexities of decision making. A question of culture1? -- Introduction -- Decision making and 'culture' - a brief look at the literature -- Decision making in action -- Discussion -- 4 Leadership. A 'cultural' activity? -- Introduction -- Conceptualising leadership -- Leadership and 'culture' -- Leadership in action -- Discussion -- 5 Moving beyond stereotypes. Constructing and negotiating identities at work -- Introduction -- Constructing and negotiating identities -- Mobilising cultural1 categories when constructing identities -- Mobilising company membership as an important aspect of professional identity -- Orienting to the interactional context -- Discussion -- 6 Gender. The interplay between the 'local' and the 'global' -- Introduction -- What is gender and why is it relevant at work? -- Local practices -- Discussion -- 7 Work-life balance. Juggling different expectations -- Introduction -- Issues of work-life balance in Hong Kong -- The (perceived) role of culture1 -- Interactional evidence of work-life balance issues -- Actively negotiating work-life balance. A case study -- Discussion -- 8 Understanding language and 'culture' at work. Taking stock and looking ahead -- Introduction -- Taking stock -- Looking ahead -- Appendix -- Index