Page 279 - DMGT406_HUMAN_RESOURCE_MANAGEMENT

Human Resource Mangement

Notes 16.3 Cultural Diversity and the Expatriate Problem

Due to global business alignment, it has now become imperative to develop organisational
culture with some unique characteristics. Culture is country specific belief, values and norms of
a social group shared by its members and distinct from other social groups (Lytle, Brett, and
Shapiro 1999). Culture concerns economic, political, social structure, religion, education, and
language. Ruben (1983) defines culture as "... the extent that members of a social system share
particular symbols, meanings, images, rule structures, habits, values, and information processing
and transformational patterns they can be said to share a common culture." Hofstede (1980)
reinforces this image of the group by stating, "the essence of culture is the collective programming
of the mind." This dynamic of sharing as a central element to culture is well supported by many
experts (Kroeber & Kluckhohn, 1963; Munter, 1993; Porter & Samovar, 1994; Ronen, 1986). The
broad definition of culture therefore provides a framework for understanding differences among
cultural groups in organisations and societies.
Obviously country specific and organisation specific culture requires careful attention of
international HR professionals, which otherwise may stand against effective management of
international operations. Some of the corporate examples can elucidate this concept.
Hewlett-Packard (HP) has successful to create a conscious corporate culture, which they call 'The
HP Way'. HP's corporate culture is based on (1) respect for others, (2) a sense of community, and
(3) plain hard work (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.
Today HP's growth and success internationally may be traced to their conscious corporate culture.
Another illustration of corporate culture is Southwest Airlines. It is one of the most profit
making Airlines in the U.S.A. Southwest's CEO, Herb Kelleher, defines Southwest culture as
under:
"Well, first of all, it starts with hiring....If you start with the type of person you want to hire,
presumably you can build a workforce that is prepared for the culture you desire. Another
important thing is to spend a lot of time with your people and to communicate with them in a
variety of ways. ... the way you appear and the way you act-is a form of communication. We
want our people to feel fulfilled and to be happy, and we want our management to radiate.....that
we are proud of our people, we are interested in them as individuals and we are interested in
them outside the workforce, including the good and bad things that happen to them as individuals."
Most important example from international perspective is Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).
AMD is located in Dresden of East Germany and a composite of three cultures-American, West
German and East German. The Americans are "go-getters", who believe 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 West 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 Americans
patronising. West Germans viewed the plant as an opportunity to help their East German
brethren. East Germans 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 freeform brainstorming sessions in English, wherein ideas could be
developed spontaneously. The Germans did not want to present their thoughts without any
preparation. The Dresden start-up team designed a meeting format, which opened with American-
style brainstorming sessions. However, 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 dynamism.

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