Anthro-Vision: How Anthropology Can Explain Business and Life

For over a century, anthropologists have immersed themselves in unfamiliar cultures, uncovering the hidden rituals that govern how people act. Now, a new generation of anthropologists are using these methods in a different context - to illuminate the behaviour of businesses and consumers around the globe.

 

In Anthro-Vision, Gillian Tett - bestselling author, Financial Times  journalist, and anthropology PhD - reveals how anthropology can make sense of the corporate world. She outlines how anthropology helps explain consumer behaviour - revealing the 'webs of meaning' that underpin our shopping habits, and unpicking the subtle cultural shifts driving the rise of green business. She explores how anthropology can shed light on the workplace, identifying the hidden tribes within the office, and pinpointing which rituals are binding together a team. And she shows how we can all use anthropology in our own lives, too: helping us make better decisions, navigate risk - even work out what our peers are really thinking.

 

Along the way, Tett draws on stories from Tajik villages and Amazon warehouses, Japanese classrooms and Wall Street trading floors, all to reveal the power of anthropology in action.

 

The result is a wholly new way to understand human behaviour. In a shortsighted world, we can all learn to see clearly - using the power of Anthro-Vision.