Page 271 - DMGT548_GLOBAL_HRM

Global HRM

Notes 12. Individualism, which is reflected in non-conformity rather than competitiveness, but
needing group consensus in order to make a stand;
13. Work is motivating when seen to be useful to self and others striving towards a common
goal;
14. Social control based on persuasion and appeal to sense of guilt in transgressing social
norms.

14.3.5 Human Resource Practices in China

A person who advances through the system beginning as a worker, then moving up to foreman
and finally middle management will gain comparatively little power influence. Power structures
are not well installed because of a lack of managers, and may come into shape as a result of
necessity. The respect for hierarchy and authority may be rooted, together with a regard for age
as a source of authority.

There is a strong avoidance of uncertainty among Chinese with a strong desire to maintain
social order with a degree of predictability. The Chinese manager may well be motivated to
save ‘face’ and to tell the other person what he wants to hear, rather than what may be regarded
as the absolute truth in Western eyes. The concept of masculinity represents an emphasis on
competition and the centrality of work in one’s life which is lacking in the Chinese individuals.
Chinese believes in guanxi which means good connections.
Collectivism is high in Chinese culture, with the main group of reference being the family.
Praising an individual Chinese in public may embarrass them. China is characterised by long-
term values such as thrift and perseverance. This is believed to sustain steady economic growth.
Chinese employees now prefer reward differentials “determined primarily according to
individual contributions” and there is greater acceptance of wider reward disparities based on
individual performance.
The training and development function does exist in China. It is still passive and narrowly
defined “in contrast to the Western HRM notion of planning for long-term staff development.”
Training is more focused on improving current performance deficiencies. The absence of career
development plus a high emphasis on material incentives have partly contributed to the problems
of high turnover and ‘disloyalty’ observed in many enterprises.
As more foreign multinationals expand their business into China, they have sought local
management for their operations in order to develop a large corporate presence in China. When
hiring Chinese nationals for executive jobs, many multinationals have found that Chinese
managers lack decision-making skills and are wary of taking personal initiatives. Along with
job-related skills, corporate management training programmes are required that provide HRM
skills appropriate to the Chinese context and skills for problem-solving in high-pressure
situations.
14.3.6 Indian HRM in Transition

One of the noteworthy features of the Indian workplace is demographic uniqueness. India will
have a larger workforce than China in years to come. When India’s young demographic bubble
begins to reach working age, India will need far more jobs than currently exist to keep living
standards from declining. India today doesn’t have enough good jobs for its existing workers,
much less for millions of new ones. If it cannot better educate its children and create jobs for then
once they reach working age, India faces a population time bomb, the nation will grow poorer
and not richer, with hundred of millions of people stuck in poverty.

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