In November 1975, the German Marshall Fund of the United States agreed to support a proposal from the International Council for the Quality of Working Life for study of 'cross-cultural com munication' on developments associated with the quality of work ing life -a shared interest of the fund and the council. In early 1976 the council invited four action researchers, each from a major language area in Europe Andreas Alioth, Switzerland and Germany; Max Elden, Norway and Sweden; Oscar Ortsman, France; and Rene van der Vlist, the Netherlands, to consider pro duction of a joint publication which...