Page 31 - DMGT548_GLOBAL_HRM

Global HRM

Notes programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another.
So, culture includes systems of values and values are among the building blocks of culture.
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. They may include a society’s attitude towards such concepts as individual freedom,
democracy, truth, justice, honesty, loyalty, social obligations, collective responsibility, marriage,
sex and so on.

1. Norms are further subdivided into two major categories: Folkways and Mores. While
folkways define the way people are expected to behave. People who violate folkways are
thought of as eccentric or ill-mannered.
2. Mores are norms that are seen as central to the functioning of a society and to its social life.
Mores include such factors as indictments against theft, adultery, etc. For example eating
cow’s meat is viewed critically by Hindu Society. While drinking is common in the US, the
same is prohibited in Saudi Arabia and is a punishable offence.

3. Cultural traits are unique aspects of individual cultures. A cultural trait is a custom such as
men opening the door for women, a gesture such as namaste.
4. Enculturation is the process of acquiring cultural traits. One acquires cultural traits naturally
within one’s culture.
5. Diffusion is the process through which cultures change. Each society borrows cultural
traits from others, particularly if a newly learned trait seems better than a traditional one.
Some sectors of society resist such changes. This is known as cultural lag.
6. If contacts between societies are prolonged, acculturation may occur. Traits that have been
borrowed over the short-term become permanently adopted. New customs, devices,
gestures and ideas irrevocably change both interacting cultures.

7. Assimilation occurs when immigrants or other newcomers adopt the culture of the society
in which they have settled.
8. When people leave their own culture to enter another, they must grapple with unfamiliar
and unpredictable events, relationships and objects. Some of these may cause a phenomenon
called culture shock.

Organisational culture is defined as the specific collection of values and norms that are shared
by people and groups in an organisation and that control the way they interact with each other
and with stakeholders outside the organisation. Today due the globalisation and liberalisation
of the economy, organisations are evolving into global corporates and thus, they have to develop
the global strategies and management approach in order to succeed in the foreign markets.

Did u know? Corporate culture is the total sum of the values, customs, traditions and
meanings that make a company unique. Corporate culture is often called “the character of
an organisation” since it embodies the vision of the company’s founders. The values of a
corporate culture influence the ethical standards within a corporation, as well as managerial
behaviour. Organisational culture is not the same as corporate culture. It is wider and
deeper concepts.
Organisation culture is shaped not only by technologies and markets, but also by the cultural
preferences of leader and employees. Some international companies have European, Asian,
American and Middle-Eastern subsidiaries, which would be unrecognisable as the same company
except for the logo and reporting procedures.

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