INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Dr. Shyamal Gomes

Chapter – 3: Cultural Dimensions of HRM

Part – I: Concept of Culture

Introduction:

According to Peter Drucker, if management is an organ of society, culture is its very

nature. Therefore, for organizational excellence, management must take care of the
sensitivities of social structure. This extends to setting of objectives, formulation and
implementation of strategies, designing organization structure and communication
or displaying type of leadership roles or reward systems.

Human behaviour, in organizational settings in conditioned apart from other factors

by societal and organizational culture which in turn influence all other areas of
business processes like communication, decision making, negotiation and so on. The
overwhelming success of Japanese companies in the eighties is primarily attributed
to its unique national culture. In fact every national culture can contribute something
unique to the field of management and business.

Broadly if we see the interaction of learning within a society, thus produces in every
human group of a body of socially transmitted behaviour, which appears super –
individual, because it is shared, because it is perpetrated beyond the individual life
span, and because in quantity and quality it so vastly exceeds the capacity of any
single person to achieve by his own efforts. The term ‘Culture’ is applied to such
systems of acquired and transmitted behaviour. Since cultures changes with the
varying and cumulative experiences of individuals in social groups, it is possible to
say of man , as of no other species, with the hereditary capacity to learn, that
societies as well as individuals learn. Social learning is synonymous with cultural
evolution.

Now, what is Culture? Culture, is that complex of whole which includes knowledge,
belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by
man as a member of society. E. B. Taylor 1871

`The sum total of knowledge, attitudes and habitual behaviour patterns shared and
transmitted by the members of a particular society' Ralph Linton (1940).

The pattern of life within a community, the regularly recurring activities and material
and social arrangements characteristic of a particular group'. Ward Good enough
(1957):
“Culture is the framework of beliefs, expressive symbols, and values in terms of
which individuals define their feelings and make their judgements” (Geertz 1957
American Anthropologist 59:32-54).

`an historically transmitted pattern of meaning embodied in symbols, a system of

inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic form by means which men
communicate' (Geertz 1973: 89).

Culture is the configuration of learned behavior and result of behavior whose

component elements are shared and transmitted among the members of a
particular society (G.Harskovit 1968).

Elements of Culture:

Culture is Relative that guide the behavior of people in a society / community and
that are passed on from one generation to the next. This simple meaning connotes
the following core elements of culture:
• Culture has normative value. It prescribes Do’s and Don’ts which are binding
on the members of a society.
• Culture is a group Phenomenon.
• Cultural practices are passed on from generation to generation.

Example: Women in Indian Society wear ‘Kumkum’ on their foreheads because their
parent told them to wear. The parents did the same because their parents had done
so.

However, important cultural elements are – Values, norms, attitudes, folkways and
customs. Values form the bedrock of a culture. They provide the context within
which a society’s norms are established and justified.

Behavior: Action and reaction in a particular situation.

Belief: Acceptance with faith.
Morale: Confidence, determination of a person or group.
Moral: Concerned with goodness or badness of human
characters or behavior.
Customs: Usual behavior / particular established way of behaving
Laws: Binding force / divine commandments.
Norms: Customary Behavior.

Norms are further subdivided into two major categories: Folkways and Mores.
Generally, folkways are actions of little moral significance. Mores are norms that are
seen as central to the functioning of a society and to its social life. They have much
greater significance than folkways. For example, eating cow’s meat is viewed
critically by Hindu Society. While drinking liquor is common in the US, the same is
prohibited in Saudi Arabia and is a punishable offence.
 • Culture trait: are unique aspects of individual cultures. A cultural trait may
be a custom such as men opening the door for women, a gesture such as
‘Nomaste’
 Acculturation: One culture dominates other’s trait that have been borrowed
over the short term but prolonged and permanently adopted. For example -
Mughal rule in India changed many customs of Hindu society.
• Diffusion: is the process through which culture change. Each society borrows
cultural traits from others.
• Assimilation: Assimilation occurs when immigrants or others new comers
adopt the culture of the society in which they have settled. This cultural
borrowing is often one – sided. The assimilated minority group eventually
loses the cultural traits that had set it apart.
• Culture Shock: Is what happens when a person suddenly find himself in a
place where you may mean no, where a fixed price is negotiable, where to be
kept waits in an outer office is no cause for insulting where laughter may
significance. It is what happens when the familiar psychological clues that
help can individual to function in society are suddenly withdrawn and
replaced by new ones that are stranger or incomprehensible.

Characteristics of Culture:
• Culture is learned
• Culture is unconscious
• Culture is shared
• Culture is integrated
• Culture is Symbolic
• Culture is a way of life
• Culture is Dynamic
• Culture is Relative
• Culture is universal

Determinants of Culture:

National cultures are constantly evolving. Factors that influence the evolving pattern
are prevailing political and economic systems, the social structure of the society,
dominant religion, language, aesthetics and education.

Religion

Language
Education Culture:
Norms and
Political
Philosophy Value
Systems
Economic
Philosophy

Social
Structure
Religion: may be defined as a system of shared beliefs and rituals that are concerned
with the realm of the sacred. Most ethical systems which are guide and shape
human behavior are the product of religion.

Language: is an essential element of culture for it reflects its nature and riches.
Communication goes beyond the formal written and oral structure of language. In
business communication, the translation from one language to another can result in
inaccuracies.

Education: Learning and sharing through training or gradual observation and

internalize is called education. Cultural values may transmit through the education.

Political Philosophy: Local governance, established rules and regulations also

actively participate for cultural practices.
• Democracy - Government by the people exercised either directly or through
elected representatives.
• Totalitarianism - Government in which one person or political party exercises
absolute control over all spheres of human life and opposing political parties
are prohibited.

Economic Philosophy: Economy is the backbone of the society and culture. Culture
and economy is closely interrelated and force each other to take their own shape.

• Market Economy - All productive activities are privately owned

• Command Economy- Goods and services produced, their quantity, and prices
are determined by the government
• Mixed Economy - Parts of the economy are left to private ownership and free
market mechanisms while other sectors are state-owned and have
government planning
• State-Directed Economy - The state plays a significant role through its
“industrial policy” and setting national goals

Social Structure: A society’s social structure refers to its basic social organization.
Although social structure consists of many aspects, for study of cultural differences,
two aspects of it are more important. The first is the degree to which the basic unit
of social organization is the individual, as opposed to the group. An individual is the
basic unit in western societies and therefore, individual achievement gets primacy. In
the other societies the group is the basic unit of social structure and an individual
considers himself first as part of his family or the company for which he works. It is
the degree of relative importance to individualism or group that differentiates
different cultures.
Part – II: HOW CULTURE AFFECTS THE MANAGEMENT APPROACHES?

Obviously in IHRM country specific and organization specific culture requires careful
attention of international HR Professional. Otherwise, may stand against effective
management of international operations

There are 4 level of culture:

• Dominant Culture: is pervasive and extends to the whole of a country – for

example - Certain things are auspicious and some others are not so and this
belief is shared by all Indians.
• Sub Culture: exists within the dominant culture. The cultural practices of
Punjabies are different from those obtain in Karnataka.
• Organizational Culture: within dominant culture. Every organization will have
its own distinct culture. The culture of TATA is different from that of INFOSYS
while that of INFOSIS is not the same as that of WIPRO.
• Occupational Culture: Each profession carries its own culture and it cuts
across dominant culture. An Account for example speaks the same financial
language whether he or she is an Indian or an American. So is the case with a
medical practitioner or an attorney.

Dominant Culture

Sub Culture
Organizational

Occupational

Organizational CULTURE
• Culture is Group Phenomena and objective specific.
• Now in competitive environment each and every organization possess a
single objective/ Culture: Think globally, act globally and achieve globally.

Any organization comprises the shared values, understanding, assumptions and

specific Goals that are formed from earlier generation, imposed by present
members of the organization and passed on succeeding generation. If it is learning
part the shared outlook or results are: Common attitude – codes of conduct –
expectation fulfillment .But these LB & RB subconsciously guide and control by
certain NORMS OF BEHAVIOR i.e. Organizational Culture.
Now what is management approaches? Integrally to manage these factors OR the
way of managing those factors or ultimately to managing the norms of behavior for
entire organization is called Management approaches. Therefore, Organizational
Culture or Culture directly linked with Management Approaches.

There are many of examining cultural differences and their impact on international
management. Culture can affect technology transfer, managerial attitudes,
managerial ideology and business government relations. Perhaps most important is
how culture affects people’s thinking and behavior. Following are the ways in which
culture directly affects management.

• Centralised vs. decentralised decision making: some organizations

have top down approach and some where it diffused through out the
organization and middle and lower level actively participate in and
make, key decisions. .
• Safety vs. risk: in some societies, organizational decision makers are
risk aversive and have great difficulty with condition of uncertainty.
In other societies risk-taking is encouraged, and decision making
under uncertainty is common.
• Individual vs. group rewards: In some countries, personnel who do
outstanding work are given individual rewards in the form of bonus
and commissions. In other countries, cultural norms required for
group rewards, and individual rewards are frowned upon.
• Informal vs formal procedures: In some societies much is achieved
through informal means. In some other societies, formal procedures
are set forth and followed rigidly.
• High vs. low organizational loyalty: In some societies, people identify
very strongly with their organization or employer. In other societies,
people identify with their occupational group such as that of
engineers or doctors.
• Cooperation vs. competition: Some are interested for competition
and some are encourage for cooperation.
• Short term vs. long term horizons: some nations focus mostly heavily
on short term goals of profit and efficiency, some are more
interested on long term goals such as market share and technology
development.
• Stability vs. innovation: some cultures encourage stability and
resistance to change, while others put high value on innovation and
change.
For an example – Hewlett – Packard (HP) has successful to create a conscious
corporate culture, which they called ‘The HP way’. HPs corporate culture is based
on:
• Respect for others
• A sense of one community.
• Plain hard work and long term planning (Fortune Magazine, May 15,
1995)
This conscious culture they have developed and they are sustaining through
extensive training of managers and all cross section of employees. To day HPs
growth and success internationally may be traced to their conscious corporate
culture.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is located in Dresden of East Germany and a
composite of 3 cultures: American, West Germany and East German. The
Americans are ‘Go Getter’, who believes in shooting first and aiming later. West
Germans are analytical, thorough and correct, whereas the East Germans have
mastered the art of innovation with limited resources. AMD became an ideal
convergent point for Americans and rest Germans to make computer chips, after
the Berlin wall fell.

However, soon it became evident that culture clashes hindered success. Americans
believed that everyone would want to follow their best practices and Germans
found the American patronizing. West Germans viewed the plant as an opportunity
to help their East Germans brethren. East German felt that their unique talents for
ingenious solutions were being ignored. These feelings were reflected everywhere
even in the way meetings were conducted. American managers preferred freedom
brainstorming sessions in English, where in ideas should be developed
spontaneously. The Germans did not want to present their thoughts without any
preparation.

A formal reflective process took place between meetings and language barriers
came down once members were given choice to present their ideas either in
English or in Germany depending on his comfort level. In this dilemma process the
Americans learnt the art of deliberation and the Germans Off – the – cuff. As a
result, this multicultural style gave AMD the much needed competitive edge.
AMD’s Dresden Factory broke production speed records, in less than to years and
went through three generation of chip redesign without major errors in a year.

Importance of Cultural Sensitivity

Therefore, every international manager needs to know about cultural differences

among nations in order to be able to:

• Communicate effectively with customers, suppliers, business associates and

partners in other countries and foreign employees (expatriates).
• Conduct negotiations and understand the nuances of the beginning postures
of the other parties into a negotiation.
• Predict trends in social behavior likely to affect the firm’s foreign operations.
• Understand the ethical standards and concepts of social responsibility in
various countries.
• Build Foster relationships between union confederations and employee
associations require cultural empathy.
• Understand local Government policies and influences it for business
promotion.
 • Conduct efficient meetings in different countries and encourage employees
participation in management.
• Understand how people interpret market research an other information.

Part – III: Cross cultural theories:

Culture has been described as a set of beliefs, values, attitudes and behavior which
community adopts , these values play a major role in affecting an individual
motivations, expectation of work and group relations. These values in tern also
exercise influence of organizational culture.
Organizational culture varies one from another based on 4 factors:

 Organizational objectives and Goals.

 Competitive Challenge
 National variables and
 Socio cultural variables like different religion, language, education etc.

Hence differences in the culture across nations become inevitable. The variation in
these cultural components gives rise to a phenomenon known as Cultural Diversity.
Cultural Diversity or Multi-culturism plays a vital role or a significant role while
understanding business operations internationally. Like:

 Doing business in China

1. The focus of reform in China is primarily on the state owned
enterprises (SOE).
2. The managers are official, not entrepreneurs, there is no real
incentives for them.
3. Business meetings typically start with pleasantries such as tea and
general conversation about the guest’s trip to the country, local
accommodations, and family.
4. The Chinese host will give the appropriate indication for when a
meeting is to begin and when the meeting is over.
5. Once the Chinese decide who and what is best, they tend to stick with
these decisions. Although slow in formulating a plan of action, once
they get started, they make fairly good progress.
6. In negotiations, reciprocity is important. If the Chinese give
concessions, they expect some in return.
7. Because negotiating can involve a loss of face, it is common to find
Chinese carrying out the whole process through intermediaries.
8. During negotiations, it is important not to show excessive emotion of
any kind. Anger or frustration is viewed as antisocial and unseemly
(indecent).
9. Negotiations should be viewed with a long-term perspective. Those
who will do best are the ones who realize they are investing in a long-
term relationship.
  Doing business in India
1. It is important to be on time for meetings.
2. Personal questions should not be asked unless the other individual is
a friend or close associate.
3. Titles are important, so people who are doctors or professors should
be addressed accordingly.
4. Public displays of affection are considered to be inappropriate, so one
should refrain from backslapping or touching others.
5. Beckoning is done with the palm turned down; pointing often is done
with the chin.
6. When eating or accepting things, use the right hand because the left
is considered to be unclean.
7. The namaste gesture can be used to greet people; it also is used to
convey other messages, including a signal that one has had enough
food.
8. Bargaining for goods and services is common; this contrasts with
Western traditions, where bargaining might be considered rude or
abrasive.

Therefore, it becomes necessary for an International Management to understand

these cultural differences across the globe and manage them effectively and
efficiently.

There are several social scientists and researchers who have tried to measures or
develop cultural dimensions through which ‘Cultural Difference’ in different
countries and part of the world can be assessed or understood. The widely accepted
theoretical experts are: Geert Hofstede , Kluckhohn and Strodthbeck, Andress
Laurrent, Hall and Trompenaars.

Geert Hofstede:

Geert Hofstede, a Dutch Scientist, has analyzed cultural dimension in IBM Employees
(1, 16,000) in 70 countries and in 3 regions like E. Africa, W .Africa and Saudi Arabia.

Managing international business means handling both national and organisation

culture differences at the same time. "Organisation cultures are somewhat
manageable while national cultures are given facts for management; common
organisation cultures across borders are what keeps multinationals together.

Geert Hofstede defines "Culture as the collective programming of the mind which
distinguishes the members of one human group from another".

Basically Hofstede tried to eliminate the impact of changing organizational cultures

and analyzed the influences of different national cultures.

Hofstede provides a useful framework for understanding the workforce diversity. His
main findings were:
  Work related value are not universal
 Underlying values persists when a multinational company tries to impose the
same norms on all its foreign interests.
 Local value determine how the headquarters regulations are interpreted;
 By implication, a multinational that tries to insist on uniformity is n danger of
creating morale problems and inefficiencies.

In his research Hofstede examined four well known dimensions:

 Power distance, a measure of the inequality between bosses and inferiors,

extent to which this is accepted
 Uncertainty Avoidance, the degree to which people feel threatened by
ambiguous situations, and have created beliefs and institutions that try to
avoid these
 Individualism v. Collectivism, degree to which one thinks in terms of 'I'
versus 'we, either ties between individuals are loose or people are part of
cohesive in group throughout their lives
 Masculinity – is defined by Hofstede as a situation in which the dominant
values in society are success, money and things.

However, later a fifth has been added- Confucian Dynamism - the long or short
term orientation of different cultures.

A. Power Distance: unequal power of distribution.

It is the distance between individuals at different levels of hierarchy. Hofstede

observed two types of distance:
1. High power distance
2. Low power distance

High Power distance Low power distance

Countries in which people blindly obey Countries which people (supervisors and
the orders of their superior, employees sub ordinates) are apt to regard one
acknowledge the boss’s authority simply another equal in power.
by respecting that individual’s formal
position in the hierarchy, and they
seldom bypass the chain of comand.
Results
 Less Harmony and less  More harmony and cooperation.
cooperation  Decentralized structure
 Centralized order  Democratic leadership
 Autocratic Leadership  Flatter organization structure
 Taller Organization structure

Maxico, South Korea and India. Austria, Esrael, USA, UK, Denmark
B. Uncertainty Avoidance: This dimensions measures how far cultures prepare or
socialize their members into accepting ambiguous situation and tolerating
uncertainty about the future.
High uncertainty avoidance Low uncertainty avoidance
Countries with a high level of uncertainty In countries with lower levels of
avoidance tend to have strict laws and uncertainty avoidance nationalism is less
procedures to which people adhere pronounced, and protests and other such
closely, and there is strong sense of activities are tolerated. As a
nationalism. consequence, company activities are less
In a business context this value results in structured and less formal.
formal rules and procedures designed to
provide more security and greater career
stability
So
 Managers have propensity for  Managers take more risk, and
low risk decisions, there is high job mobility
 employees exhibit little  Peoples have risk taking attitude
aggressiveness and high labour turnover.
 lifetime employment is common  Flatter organizational structure
 Taller organization structure

Japan, Israel, Austria, Pakistan India, USA, UK etc.

C. Individualism: It is a tendency of people to look after themselves and their

immediate families only. Hofstede measured these cultural differences on a bipolar
continuum: Individualism and collectivism.
Individualism Collectivism
Interest of Self and Family Interest of Group
‘I’ consciousness ‘We’ consciousness
Independence of Individual from Dependency on organization
organization.
Grater Individual Initiatives Less Individual initiatives
Promotions are based on Merit and Promotions are seniority based
performance

USA, UK, Australia Japan, Taiwan and Pakistan

D. Masculinity: Hofstede measured this dimension on a continuum ranging from

masculinity to femininity. Traditionally, ‘masculine’ values – assertiveness,
materialism, aggressiveness and a lack of concern for others that prevail in society,
femininity emphasizes feminine values – a concern for others, for relationships,
nurturing, care for weak and for quality of life. The degree of masculinity affects in
the following characteristics way:

High Masculinity Low Masculinity

 Career is considered as most  Importance is placed on
 important cooperation and friendly
 Work needs take precedence atmosphere.
 Individual decision-making is  Employee security gets
emphasized precedence.
 Achievement is given importance  Group decision – making is
and is defined in terms of money emphasized
and recognition  Achievement is defined in terms
of human contacts and living
environment

Countries with high masculinity – India, Countries with low masculinity –

Japan, USA, UK etc. Denmark, Norway, Sweden etc.

Therefore, it has seen that country wise cultural dimensions are different, say for
example Japanese are less power distance but highly task oriented and with low
tolerance for uncertainty Avoidance and low long term orientation. Similarly, USA is
having low power distance, high individualism, medium masculinity and uncertainty
avoidance and low orientation.

So, Hofstede’s different dimension of culture is very useful in helping to explain the
differences between various countries. But Hofstede has gone beyond this to show
how countries can be described in terms of pairs of dimension.

Ronen and Shenkar classified countries into 8 clusters and 4 countries that are
independent and do not fit any of the 8 clusters. Countries in the same cluster are
culturally similar and countries in any given cluster closer to the centre are higher in
gross national product. Not everyone agrees with the cluster distribution. Some
researchers place India and Israel in the Anglo culture because of the strong Anglo
ties of these countries.
 NEAR
NORDI
EASTER
N C
Turke Finlan
y Ira Denmar
d
ARAB GERMANI
n
Greece k en
Swed
Bahrai Austri
n
Abu-Dhabi Germana
Saudi y
Switzerlan
Oman
Arabia d
Malaysi
Singapor Hong United
e FAR a
Kong
States
Canad ANGL
EASTER Franc a O
N
United
Philippine Argentin e Kingdom
s Chile Ireland
Indonesia a Belgiu
Taiwa Mexic mLATIN South
n oLATIN EUROPEA
Africa
AMERICA
Italy Spain
N
N Peru

Brazil Israel
Japa Indi
n INDEPENDEN a

A synthesis of country clusters by Ronen and Shankar

Strength: Hofstede provides a framework for understanding cultural diversity

across nations. An awareness of the differences on these important
characteristics between cultures can help to develop a strategy for tackling them.
Hofstede dimensions provides framework for prediction of many kinds of
behavior in cross cultural organizational settings. No other study compares may
national cultures in so much in details, so far.

Weaknesses: First, like all national cultural studies, it assumes that national
territory and limits of culture correspond. It is not so in the case of smaller
countries and in case of bigger countries there are sub – cultures.

 Second, Hofstede’s respondents worked within a single industry and a single

multinational. Here the objection is that unskilled manual workers are not
taken into account, who may form bulk of population of that country.
 Third, some of the dimensions suggested overlap. For example, some traits of
low power distance are similar to the femininity dimension

2. Kluckhohn - Strodthbeck

This theory is based on the ‘Patterns of behavior and thinking’ in different

cultures. The researchers distinguish and compare cultures based on the
following dimensions:
1. What is the nature of people – Good, evil or mixed
2. What is a person’s relationship to nature – Dominant, Harmony,
subjugation?
3. What is a person’s relationship to – Hierarchical, collectivist or
others? Individualistic.
4. What is the modality of human activity? – Doing, being or containing
5. What is the temporal focus of human activity? Future, present or
past.
6. What is the conception of Space? Private, public or mixed.

3. Halls and Halls in 1987 provided another basis for cross cultural
classification. They divided the world into two cultures:

A) Low context Culture

B) High context Culture

 Members of high – context cultures depend heavily on the external

environment, situation and non – verbal behavior in creating and interpreting
communication. Members of this culture group learn to interpret the covert
clues when they communicate – so much meaning is conveyed indirectly.
 Examples – Arabic, Chinese and Japanese, where indirect style of
communication and ability to understand the same is highly valued.

In low – context cultures like the US, Sweden, and Britain, the environment is les
important, and non-verbal behavior is often ignored.
 Therefore, communication has to be explicit and clear.
 A direct and blunt style is valued and ambiguity is disliked in managerial
communication.

4. Trompennars:

Trompennars, an European researcher conducted an extensive research with

15000 managers from 28 countries, representing 47 national cultures. He
describes cultural differences using seven dimensions (the theory is therefore
called as 7d cultural dimension model): Research produced five cultural
dimensions that are based on relationship orientations and attitudes toward
both time and the environment.
 Individualism vs. collectivism
 Universalism vs. particularism (rules)
 Neutral vs. affective (emotion)
 Specific vs. diffused involvement
 Achievement vs. ascription (status)
 Past, present and future orientation
 Internal vs. external control (nature)

 Universalism vs. Particularism

 Universalism - belief that ideas and practices can be applied
everywhere in the world without modification
 Focus on formal rules and rely on business contacts
 Particularism - belief that circumstances dictate how ideas and
practices should be applied and something cannot be done the same
everywhere
 Focus on relationships, working things out to suit the parties

 Individualism vs. Communitarianism

 Individualism - people regard themselves as individuals
 Rely on individuals to make decisions
 Communitarianism - people regard themselves as part of a group
 Seek consultation and mutual consent before making decisions
 Neutral vs. Emotional
 Neutral - culture in which emotions are held in check
 People try not to show their feelings
 Emotional - culture in which emotions are expressed openly and
naturally
 People smile, talk loudly, greet each other with enthusiasm

 Specific vs. Diffuse

 Specific - culture in which individuals have a large public space they
readily share with others and a small private space they guard closely
and share with only close friends and associates
 People often are open and extroverted
 Work and private life are separate
 Diffuse - culture in which both public and private space are similar in
size and individuals guard their public space carefully, because entry
into public space affords entry into private space as well
 People often appear indirect and introverted, and work and
private life often are closely linked

 Achievement vs. Ascription

 Achievement - culture in which people are accorded status based on
how well they perform their functions
 Ascription - culture in which status is attributed based on who or what
a person is
  For example, status may be accorded on the basis of age,
gender, or social connections

 Time
 Sequential approach to time - people do one thing at a time, keep
appointments strictly, follow plans to the letter
 Synchronous approach - people do more than one thing at a time,
appointments are approximate

 Environment
 Inner-directed
 People believe in controlling environmental outcomes
 Outer-directed
 People believe in allowing things to take their natural course
 Cultural Patterns or Clusters
 Defined groups of countries that are similar to each other in terms of
the five dimensions and the orientations toward time and the
environment

5. Andre Laurent’s study of culture

Laurent was directed to bring into focus some of the implicit management and
organizational assumptions that managers re known to have, it is not so much to
explore national differences.
Laurent analyzed the values of managers in nine European countries and the US in
1983 and 1989 in China, Indonesia and Japan. Laurent used four parameters:
 Perceptions of the organizations
 Authority systems
 Role formulation systems and
 Hierarchical systems

This research treated management as a process by which managers express their

cultural values – like how far manager caries his / her status into the wider context
outside the workplace

Therefore, the international manager needs cross – cultural competence to manage

multiculturalism. Cross cultural competence includes skills, awareness and
Knowledge. In order to be culturally competent, an individual needs to:

1. Possess a strong personal identity

2. Have knowledge of and facility with the beliefs and values of the culture;
3. Display sensitivity to the effective process of the culture.
4. Communicate clearly in the language of the given culture group.
5. Perform specially sanctioned behaviour.
6. Maintain active social relations within the cultural group
7. Negotiate the institutional structures of that culture.
However, Trompenaars’ system meets practical rather than the academic needs. It
draws together and applies ideas contributed by a range of scholars like Klockhohn –
Strodthbeck, Hofestede and Andrew Larrent.

Part – IV: Cross Cultural Communication:

What is Communication?
Communication is a two way process of transferring meanings from senders to
receivers for fulfilling the objectives.

Cross Culture communication:

Karlfried Knapp defines it as "'Intercultural communication,' can...be defined as

the interpersonal interaction between members of different groups, which differ
from each other in respect of the knowledge shared by their members and in
respect of their linguistic forms of symbolic behaviour." Now, Successful
International management always requires effective cross-cultural
communication. Why?
1. In global businesses, activities such as leading, motivating, decision making,
problem solving, exchanging ideas and information depends on the ability of
proper communication from one culture to another.
2. Mistakes in cross-cultural communication often go unnoticed by the
communicators, but these mistakes have the potentials to cause damage to
international relationships and negotiations.
3. Mistakes or misinterpretations of the subtle gestures of the hands, and face,
the use of silence, what is said or not said, and the intricacies of dealing with
age and status often provide PITFALLS for International Business.

Critical dimensions in Intercultural communication are:

1. Language and Culture
2. Difference between high and low context cultures
3. The use of interpreters and
4. non-verbal communication
If these are taken care of, inter-cultural communication could be effective.

1. Language and Culture:

 Language is the foundation of every culture

 It is an abstract system of words ,their meanings and symbols related to all
aspects of culture
 Language includes speech, written characteristics, numerals, symbols and
gestures
 The interrelationship between language and culture is very strong, since we
think about what we see and behave one another – it determines control
patterns
 M. Munter has identified 4 problems relating to language difficulties in Cross
cultural communication

2. The world’s language can be classified, based on whether message conveyed

is explicit or implicit – into two groups: high and low context languages:

Languages in which people state Language in which people state things

things directly & explicitly are called indirectly and implicitly are called high
low context. context

Easily understand and no need for Communication have multiple

Any interpret meanings, that can be interpret only by
reading the situation in which they
occurs

English, German, and Scandinavian Asian, Arabic, Japanese are high

are low context context

3. Use of interpreters: In cross cultural communication, use of a language foreign

to both the parties, is common. The international managers are at an advantage
if they speak more than one language fluently. US American speak only English,
but their European counterparts are generally bilingual or even multilingual.
Increasingly, companies are making use of the service of Interpreters in
International negotiation. The interpreter’s role is to provide a simultaneous
translation of a foreign language while a person speak.

Use of Good INTERPRETERS:

 Good interpreters are not only bilingual but also have the technical
knowledge and vocabulary to deal with tech. details common in business
transaction
 To simplify the increasing diversity of languages in businesses, some MNCs
use one language as corporate language, increasingly, this language is
English, as it is first or second language in a majority of countries across
globe.
 However, to minimize this problem / barriers most of the MNCs go for ‘
local’. For example – TATA Motors ‘ Daewoo venture’ in Korea. We are
heavily using locals in Daewoo and the few Indians we have put there are
learning to speak Korean says Ms.Rosling the M.D .
5. Non verbal communication: It is easy to misinterpret the meaning of non
verbal communication of another culture. Take example: - ‘Body Language’.
In the US, when a manger keeps his or her feet on the desk, it means that the
 boss is relaxing and others can do the same. But such Gestures are frowned
upon in Indian culture. Non Verbal communication includes:
 Facial Gestures
 Voice Intonation
 Physical Distance
 Smile
 Batting of eyes & kiss, hand shakes
 Silence
 Medium touching:

In greetings one another, people may shake hands, embrace or kiss. In routine
interaction, people may touch or put each other in a variety of ways. The type of
touching deemed appropriate is deeply rooted in a society’s cultural value. Russian
men for example, often kiss other men. Outside their family as a form of greetings.
Brazilian men hug in greetings.
 Scratching the Head:
In most western countries, scratching the head is interpreted as lack of
understanding or non comprehension. To the Japanese, it indicates ANGER.
 Eye contact:
In western and Arab cultures, prolonged eye contact with a person is acceptable. In
Japan, on the other hand, holding the gaze of another person is considered rude. The
Japanese generally focus on a person’s neck of tie knot.

Culture shock is a term used to describe the anxiety and feelings (of surprise,
disorientation, confusion, etc.) felt when people have to operate within an entirely
different cultural or social environment, such as a foreign country. It grows out of
the difficulties in assimilating the new culture, causing difficulty in knowing what is
appropriate and what is not. This is often combined with certain aspects of the new
or different culture.
The term was introduced for the first time in 1954 by Kalvero Oberg.
Culture shock is a research area in intercultural communication.

Phases of Culture Shock:

 The "Honeymoon Phase" - During this period the differences between the
old and new culture are seen in a romantic light, wonderful and new.
 "Negotiation Phase" - After a few days, weeks, or months, minor differences
between the old and new culture are resolved.
 Recovery or "Everything is OK" phase - Again, after a few days, weeks, or
months, one grows accustomed to the new culture's differences and
develops routines. By this point, one no longer reacts to the new culture
positively or negatively, because it no longer feels like a new culture. One
becomes concerned with basic living again, as one was in their original
culture.
 Reverse Culture Shock phase - Returning to one's home culture after growing
accustomed to a new one can produce the same effects as described above.
The Culture Shock Pattern:

Honeymoon Recovery

Emotional
State Adjustmen
t
RCS Phase
Low
Time
Why Culture Stress Occur?
 Your environment makes demands on you for which you have no ready-made
response
 Your responses do not produce the required results

Sign of Culture Shock:

 Irritability, moodiness
 Fluctuating appetite
 Reduced sex drive
 Disrupted sleep
 Homesickness
 Spending time alone
 Avoiding the locals
 Reading all day
 Boredom, low energy
 Confusion, anxiety
 Negativity, alienation
 Depression
 Physical illness
 Stereotyping

International Manners:
Inter cultural communication/ Interaction / Negotiation is somehow control by
international manners, these manners vary across the nations due to specific
culture and value systems prevailing in respective countries. For example we see
the manner differences in different continents:
Africa Present the card with right hand

Asia Offer the card with both hand and accept in the same way
(China, Japan, South Korea, India)
Australia & New Not so Important for them
Zeeland
Europe Power breakfasts are become more popular (in France,
Switzerland, England)
Middle East & Gulf Present Card with right hand with respect
Countries
Canada & USA It is acceptable to make a cold call ( calling a person without
making an introduction or appointment

Business Card/ Business entertaining:

Africa Be prepared for a large no. of people

Asia Decide before hand what tech. information they are willing to
share and be sure everyone on your team knows

Australia & New To the point, specific and punctual

Zeeland
Europe Class conscious good manners are critical and ignorance is no
excuse for bad manners
Middle East & Gulf Maintain Royalty and detail discussion, prefer local language
Countries or English
Canada & USA Meeting begins and ends as scheduled. There is very little
small talk at meetings
Topics to Avoid:

Africa Refer to people as Africans not Blacks

Asia Both men and women should avoid ‘Going Negative’ in their
clothing choices.

Australia & New Over Introduction

Zeeland

Europe Never try to make a cold call to get an appointment, they

don’t like to make business on phone/ call
Middle East & Gulf Other religion discussion, Political discussion
Countries

Canada & USA Unnecessary discussion and killing the time.

Gestures to Avoid:
Africa In rural areas, avoid strong eye contact

Asia Avoid Eye contact and touching the body

Australia & New Red eyes

Zeeland
Europe Hate shaking leg with dirty shoes and dirty dress

Middle East & Gulf Do not walk in front of an Arab while he is praying and never
Countries step on a prayer met. Don’t hurry at the diner / lunch party,
eat separately women and men at home.

Canada & USA Standing too close to a north American may be perceived as
an invasion of one’s personal space
Corporate Gifts / Greetings:
Africa A light warm handshake is acceptable form of greeting when
anyone meet and anyone leave
Asia Bow down to each other
Australia & New During parties, host will introduce to the other guests, do not
Zeeland expect gifts from foreigners doing business with them

Europe Shake hands with a firm grip when any one meet and anyone
depart
Middle East & Gulf Gift should be presented publicly to the group after a deal is
Countries closed. In addition to hand shake , they may touch other
arms & shoulder, and embrace when they are so close

Canada & USA Hand shake is a full – hand grip that is firm and warm with an
understated downward snap

Meetings and presentations:

Africa Be prepared for a large no. of people
Asia Decide before hand what tech. information they are willing to
share and be sure everyone on your team knows
Australia & New To the point, specific and punctual
Zeeland
Europe Class conscious good manners are critical and ignorance is no
excuse for bad manners
Middle East & Gulf Maintain Royalty and detail discussion, prefer local language
Countries or English
Canada & USA Meeting begins and ends as scheduled. There is very little
small talk at meetings

Conclusion: Managing people in a multinational context is the essence of

International human resource management. This requires a broader perspective of
what operating internationally involves, and a clear recognition of the range of issues
pertaining to al categories of staff operating in different functional, task and
managerial capacities. The term ‘Human Resource Management’ and the concept
behind it, is laden with value. Values are part of the fabric of culture. Since the origin
of the concept is the individualistic achievement-oriented management culture of
the United States, the term ‘Human Resource Management’ is almost universally
accepted.

References:
1 Dowling, Peter. J, Festing .M & S.R Engle A.D. (2012). International Human
Resource Management (Fifth Edition). New Delhi: Excel Books.
2 Edwards Tony & Rees Chris (2007). International Human Resource
Management: Globalization, national systems and Multinational companies. New
Delhi: Pearson Publication.
3 Gupta, S. C (2006). International Human Resource Management – Text & Cases
Second Edition). New Delhi: MACMILLAN India Ltd.
4 K. Aswathappa (2007). International Human Resource Management – Text &
Cases ( First Edition). New Delhi: McGraw Hill Education.
5 Mead & Richard (2005). International Management: Cross-cultural
Dimensions. London: Blackwell Publishing.
6 Tayeb, Monir H (2003). International Management - Theories and
Practices. New Delhi: Prentice Hall/Pearson Education.
7 Tayeb, Monir H. (2005). International Human Resource Management: A
Multinational Company Perspective. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
8 Venkat Ratnam, C. S. (2001). Globalization and Labour-Management
Relations:- Dynamics of Change. New Delhi: Response Books.

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