Topic 7 - Culture Flashcards
What is culture?
Collective programming of the human mind that distinguishes the members of one group from another (by a system of collective held values)
Patterns of shared basic assumptions to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems (not only behaviour and tangible things, but perceptions, thoughts, etc)
What is the model for culture? Describe it
Iceberg model of culture: There are several aspects in which cultures can differ. Only looking at what’s visible does not represent a culture well, since they reflect underlying deep belief systems.
At the bottom: basic assumptions (core values)
Medium: attitudes and beliefs
Top (visible): behaviors, customs and rituals.
Explain the difference between high-context and low-context cultures. Provide an example for both.
High-context cultures: little meaning is conveyed through words, and a lot of it is through context. Need to understand context to understand what is being communicated.
Deepsense of social involvement, close and lasting social ties and sense of mutual commitments
Avoidance of direct confrontation. Need to maintain social harmony
Strong sense of responsibility: superiors are seen as responsible for the well-being of their subordinates.
Examples:China and Japan, UK (in comparison to other European countries)
Low-context cultures: don’t need to know context since meaning is explicitly in words.
Little involvement with others. Individualization (social ties are less important)=> somewhat fragile social ties.
Direct confrontation and criticism are common.
Diffused responsibility (less hierarchical)
Examples:Switzerland and USA
Which dimensions were latter added?
Long vs short term orientation: if people are acting for long term goals or short term.
Indulgent vs restraint: are people for immediate gratification of their desires or do they control them.
What are the Hofstede’s cultural dimensions?
Power distance:
Low: inequality in power and wealth are downplayed/not commonly accepted. Big power distances are not accepted.
High: power is distributed unequally, and this is accepted by those in power and those that aren’t. Centralization of authority.
Uncertainty avoidance: can see a countries score in uncertainty avoidance based on the amount of red tape and rules they have.
Low: uncertainty is not an issue (in terms of rules and opinions). Fewer rules and regulations. No fear of ambiguity. High tolerance towards different opinions and behaviours.
High: uncertainty upsets and makes people anxious. Seek security through establishing rules. Intolerance of deviant opinions/behaviours.
Masculinity (vs femininity):
Low (so high femininity):traditional feminine social values (caring, helping, preserving quality of life)
High: traditional masculine social values (assertiveness, dominance are rewarded)
Individualism (vs collectivism):
Low: ties between individuals are very important, importance of collective groups (main driver)
High: ties are loose, self-interest is a main driver.
What is International HRM?
Examines way which international organizations manage their human resources across different national contexts, taking into account different institutional,legal, and cultural circumstances.
One of the most challenging corporate tasks in multinational organizations: how to manage across countries with different cultures?
What model arises from International HRM? Explain it.
Context-based HR model: if you have certain TM practices in place, they are influenced by many things. You need to align with them to gain competitive advantage.
o Competitive mechanisms: market with which you need to align (strategic alignment)
o Institutional mechanism: social/cultural/legal dimensions (SCL). Cultural and social context in which you are operating.
o Configuration: organizational/administrative/cultural heritage. Company history.
Give an overview of how cultural context can shape HRM
Western Europe: main issue is attracting employees: talent shortage due to ageing population and declining birth rates
o Important to invest in CSR and employer branding (to attract younger people)
*US: short-term focus. Main issue is preparing talent for the future. Anticipating talent needs in time of uncertainty and making a plan b meet the needs.
*India: main issue is counteracting talent poaching (other companies try and take talent from your company) and decrease the high attrition rates.
o Employee development should be the main investment: scarcity in abundance (have a lot of talented people but they are not ready for the market yet)
*Middle east: need to increase employability and employment of national (many people are internationals)
o Need to manage relationship between expatriate and locals + deal with discrimination against women and expatriates.
*China: attracting and retaining talent and building long-term relationships with employees (instead of attraction through financial rewards).
o Should focus more on in-house talent development (instead of buying from outside)
What do Collings et al. (2011) add to the discussion of International HRM?
Europeans Perspectives on Talent Management : Much research on talent management is based on US organizations and the challenges they face, so they expand to the lens of European managers.
What are Europe characteristics according to Collings et al. (2011)
Strong legal frameworks: less autonomy for employers to manage their personnel/talent.
Harder to fire => stronger emphasis on building long-term employment relationships.
Context that reflect pluralism and tolerance and recognizes needs of different stakeholders (stakeholder theory emerged in Europe)
Declining talent supply due to demographic changes.
Increased significance of the Millennials: high demand but different expectation of the workplace (mobility in early stages of career, emphasis on corporate social responsibility and highly value training and development). Resonate with boundaryless careers.
Employer branding is essential + understanding their motivation and engagement.
Economic/legal integration allows for talent flows between EU countries.
What are Germany’s characteristics?
Hofstede’s characteristics:
Power distance: Low
Uncertainty Avoidance: high
Masculinity: high
Individualism: High
Strong economy
Highly institutionalized / regulated: Over-regulation as a consequence of uncertainty avoidance
Declining birth rates and aging workforce (talent shortage)
Performance-oriented (high standards, innovation, improvement)
Strong focus on long-term development of human capital
Inclusive orientation, mainly visible in SMEs
Organizational networks to underpin the long-term orientation and devotion to development
What are Spains’s characteristics?
Hofstede:
High/medium power distance.
Uncertainty avoidance is very high.
Masculinity is low/medium
Individualism is medium: their collectivism is more based on taking care of friends and family, not society as a whole.
High concern for immediate family: care ethics. Many family businesses.
Traditional values of workers: trust and loyalty above autonomy (need to invest in maintain the relationship)
What is talent: high performers and highly involved in organization, with close ties with management (internal sourcing of talent) => Explain low/medium masculinity (emphasis on caring, high on femininity)
Training used as rewards for talent in combination with informal benefits (e.g., more flexibility, presents) that tend to be tailored to the person (personal way of managing talent)
What are France’s characteristics?
Hofstede: high power distance and individualism, low masculinity and very high uncertainty avoidance (a lot of red tape).
Before: talented people all came from those who graduated at an elite school. Now is more people who proved their value on the job (performance-oriented + care)
Commitment to internal talent development: development within, usually exclusive talent management.
Concern about the effects of differentiation (concern with those not rewarded with exclusive talent management).
Try to counteract it: different talent pools (so people have many option), discreteness in TM (but usually not a good idea, not communicating does not mean information does not leak), permeability (talent pool can change over time, so you can get in and out)
Role of talents in helping others develop into talents (but why when you are so high in individualism?)
What is Sidani & Al Ariss (2014) contribution to Cultural TM?
TM in the Arab Gulf Region
What are the characteristics of the arab gul region?
Hofstede:
High power distance and uncertainty avoidance.
Medium masculinity
Low individualism.
Country description:
Vast natural resources => economic prosperity
High heterogeneity of workforce (75% of foreign labour)
Relatively high unemployment among local population => tensions.
Solution: Localization policies (quota for local employees). E.g.:
Preferential award of government contracts to private companies satisfying quota objectives
Restrictions on visa issuance
Taxes on / raising costs of hiring migrant workers
Etc.
What is the framework for TM in the gulf cooperation council?
- Institutional pressures (cultural/legal aspects): which lead to:
- Organizational challenges: balancing legal legitimacy (institutional pressures) and economic legitimacy/viability.
- HR policies and practices: that will help deal wit the previous tension
What is the theory behind the institutional pressures?
Institutional theory: organizational decision-making is not just an outcome of strategic choice, but also a powerful social force (also called institutional mechanisms) within and outside of an organization.
What are the mechanism according to institutional theory? What do they affect?
affect HRM strategy, policy and goals.
Coercive mechanisms: rules and organizations that come from context at which organizations are forced to follow.
Mimetic mechanisms: mimic other successful organizations as a result of uncertainty
Normative mechanisms: norms in certain professional groups (more pronounced than in others)
What are the institutional pressures in the golf region?
Coercive isomorphism: formal and informal pressures make organizations look more and more alike (since they follow the same rules and regulations)
Mimetic isomorphism: relationships look more like each other since they model themselves after the others due to uncertainty.
GCC: dynamic and uncertain business environment => model TM after them
Normative isomorphism: results from professionalization concerning the conditions and methods of work.
What are the organizational challenges the GCC (golf cooperation council)??
Need to hire more locals to fill quota but they lack KSA. Want to hire the best person but those are foreigners.
What HR and practices should the GCC implement to deal with issues?
Façade of conformity: camouflage the real number of foreign workers by creating shell companies or hire more locals but not in key positions.
TM: two systems, one for foreign people (higher set of standards when hiring) and one for local people (lower set of standards, and sometimes more willingness to invest in them)
To what conclusion do Sidani & Al Ariss (2014) arrive regarding TM in GCC?
“a failure to understand institutional structures found in specific contexts is likely to lead to a failure of TM recommended practices” (Sidani & Al Ariss, 2014) => Contingency Approach to HRM
What is Cook et al. (2014) contribution to Cultural TM?
Talent Management in Asia (China and India)
What is China’s culture and TM approach?
Hofstede:
High power distance and uncertainty avoidance
Low/medium individualism
Low masculinity
Hierarchy oriented => elitism TM.
Talent is based on educational attainment, relationships/networks are important, performance/high achieving, and morally high behaviour (being a part of and serving the group)
Paternalistic culture: obligation to look after your employees (high rewards)
But criticized: taking autonomy from people.
Highly competitive, output-driven, short-term oriented business context
Focus on buying talent ➔ challenge of long-term talent development
What is India’s culture and TM approach?
Hofstede:
High: power distance
Low/medium: masculinity
Low: uncertainty avoidance and individualism
Hierarchy oriented too => elitist TM
Influenced by western management thinking.
Talent identification based on: relationships/networks + strong functional expertise. Performance/high achievement. Interpersonal skills.
Emphasis on rewards and development (e.g., MBA as rewards)
TM challenges:
Managing scarcity in abundance
Managing diversity
Managing the caste system
What is Cook et al. (2014) conclusion, regarding cross cultural TM?
There’s a “need to adopt a more particularistic (vs. a universalist) approach to conceptualizing and operationalizing talent management in the international context
What are some caveats regarding Cultural TM?
Not all individual differences are cultural
There are different cultural values within societies
Not all organizational differences are cultural!
