Impact of Culture Difference on HRM Practices

Abstract2

Introduction4

Discussion5

Causes of Cultural Differences:5

Individualism versus Collectivism5

Power Distance7

Masculinity versus Femininity7

Uncertainty Avoidance8

Long Term Orientation versus Short Term Orientation9

Indulgence versus Restraint (IVR)9

Conclusion10

References11

Abstract

Cultural differences play a vital role in the organizational hierarchy and can either serve or backfire on the higher management and human resource personnel. All of the organizations have their own set of norms and standards which serves as proponents to the organization's success and serve them in a long run. For around three decades, Hofstede's dimensions on cultural diversity have been widely used by many human resource management professionals to understand the linkage between cultural diversity and its impact on human resource management practices. The dimensions include individualism versus collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, long term versus short-term orientation, and most importantly masculinity versus femininity. These very dimensions have a profound impact on the internal working of any organization as well as its functioning on the large scale. By understanding these very horizons and their subsequent effects, we can easily find out how to manage the organization effectively and with little or no discontent between organization's management and its employees.

Impact of Culture Difference on HRM Practices

Introduction

Culture is a widely used term used to define the way how people live along with their values, attitudes, beliefs, modes of perception, arts and sciences to name a few (Dube, 2008). Precisely, culture is nothing but the behaviors of individuals and how it contributes its presence to global as well as national levels. Organizations having multiethnic backgrounds have huge cultural differences due to branch out workforce. Therefore, it has tremendous ability to create impacts on organization's overall performance. Nonetheless, these cultural varieties serve to influence the human resource practices also which include tedious tasks; like, staffing, trainings and dealing with mergers as well as acquisitions.

Now the question that arises if it has such a huge impact what are the organizational pillars that are ought to be affected. Cultural diversity has quite a significant impact on organizational internal, external as well as socio-economic grounds. Although, culture diversity is a concrete reality and must be welcomed by every organization. However, there are various other factors which give contributing leads to discontent in organizational culture.

By the presence of cultural difference, managers are the one who are facing the music because of the physical status of it. This restlessness is observed both in the multinational as well as national organizations, but there is a significant difference in extent of it. When any organization hires someone from countries having different cultural backgrounds and norms, the one is obliged to act according to the work place culture of the organization as well. Most of the authors reason that the Human Resource Management (HRM) practices are most reluctant to be harmed by cultural differences (Noe et al., 2006; Stone- Romero, 2008; Tayeb, 2005; Hofstede, 1980; Aycan, 2005). Actually there are various building blocks which lead to such cacophony in national and multinational organizations.

Discussion

Causes of Cultural Differences

As far as the causes of cultural differences are ...