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Unit 13: GHRM Trends and Future Challenges

expanded beyond national boundaries, compelling companies to adapt their operations Notes
to diverse cultures and societies. In light of these developments, analysts suggested that
for companies to continue growing, they would have to take full advantage of all the
human resources and intellectual capital available to them.
Diversity was an integral part of the culture at AmEx. AmEx believed that focusing on
diversity was one of the ways to gain competitive advantage in the rapidly expanding
global markets.

Having a diverse workforce allowed AmEx to obtain a better understanding of the varied
markets it operated in. Diversity has been defined in various ways by experts. The narrow
definition, the one pertaining to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
in the US, defined diversity in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, age, religion,
and disability. However, over the years the concept of diversity widened to include
parameters like marital status, language, sexual orientation and tenure with the
organisation. AmEx embraced and promoted diversity in the broad sense, and its diversity
initiatives covered a large number of groups including women, minorities, senior
employees, people with disabilities, and homosexuals.
Despite AmEx’s commendable diversity initiatives and the testimony of several satisfied
employees, the company did not escape criticism. Over the years, AmEx had become
involved in a few controversies related to discrimination.
One of the biggest controversies that the company faced was a class action gender
discrimination lawsuit in 1999. During the late 1990s, several female advisors at AEFA
complained to the EEOC that the unit’s managers discriminated against them on the basis
of gender, and showed preferential treatment to white males in terms of assignments,
mentoring programs, promotions and compensation. They also said that they faced a
sexually hostile environment at AEFA. Although the complainants were from different
locations, their complaints were similar. Shirley Krieger from AEFA’s New York office
said that although she had worked at the unit for more than 13 years, her superiors had
been trying to get her to resign saying that she was ‘too old’.
Question

After analysing the study, can you suggest some measures to improve the HR measures?
Source: http://www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/Human%20Resource%20and%20
Organization%20Behavior/HROB083.htm
13.4 Summary

 When the business is conducted across national and cultural borders, the operationalisation
of the enterprises ethics programme adds complexity.

 Challenge in the international business lies in incorporating the core business values and
aligning the staff to these values.

 Challenges for the managers operating in diverse cultural environments is that different
cultures will prioritise core ethical values differently and will translate values into specific
behaviors differently.

 Culture shock develops as a result of a person working within a different and unknown
cultural or social environment.
 Bribery and corruption are the most frequent ethical problems encountered by international
managers.

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