Pick one culture outside of the U.S. and discuss how HR issues might be handled in this
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Introduction Hofstedes five dimensions maps cultures in the contexts of powerdistance index individualismcollectivism masculinityfemininityuncertainty avoidance and long termshort term orientation TheAmerican work place culture based on these dimensions is highly contrasting vis a vis Indian work place culture The American culture typically scores low on high power distance highly individualistic masculine low uncertainty avoidance and short term oriented On the other hand the Indian culture is of high power distance stresses more on collectivism feminine high on uncertainty avoidance and long term orientation even though this has beengradually changing within organizations The workplace culture is moving towards more of the American culture This has been influenced by the globalization of the Indian economy and Indian companiesworking with more and more western clients The US working ways has influenced the culture in India This contrast is important to study to handle HR issues pertaining to two very different cultures and approaches Power Distance Index PDI The power distance in American organizations is low The organizations are typically flat rather than hierarchical and the seniors and superiors are almost always easily accessible by employees for consulting and knowledge sharing Information flows easily across organizations and information is expected to be shared Knowledge Management is an area of focusOfficial communication is almost always informal and direct While India scores more on the Power Distance Index signifying strict hierarchical structures and business processes in most workplaces Theinformation and workflow is through this structure and results in red tape Knowledge sharing is not encouraged and official communication is through strict channels of hierarchy The Senior Managementmaintains a power distance from operational and lower level managers Though in recent years there has being a shift towards more of flat and flexible organizations with lesser red tape and bureaucracy Individualism vs collectivism The US is a very individualistic culture Americans at workplace are expected to take individual initiatives and rewards and appraisal benefits are also decided by individual meritsor potential In project teams Americans are expected to come up with individual ideas and are judged individually as well as on the whole with the team Indian society is based on collectivism Societies as well as workplaces are more closely knit than Americans Impetus on individual responsibility and rewards are lesser as compared to the US Appraisals are more focused towards organizational goals than individual goals Rewards are collectively decided Masculinity vs Femininity The American society is a masculine society where competition at workplace is encouraged and winning is considered an achievement Ability to stand out of the crowd is appreciated and Americans freely talk about their achievements and accomplishments at workplaces A better performance at work is rewarded with higher salaries and other benefits and the goal is to win Whereas an Indian workplace setting scores lesser on this dimension suggesting the dominant values are more of caring for others rather than winning at any cost In India better performances dontnecessarily mean better monetary gains as appraisal cycles and almost the entire pay are fixed with little or no incentive to work for extra pay of reward But the trend is moving towards masculinity ascompetition is being encouraged and incentivized to induce better work from employees Out of turn promotions and shorter appraisal cycles are also adding to this trend Uncertainty avoidance The US culture is more of uncertainty acceptance New ideas and innovations are encouraged and accepted Employees are made responsible to challenge the status quo and bring about or suggest new ideas which would help in better business practices Freedom of expression is more and generally the workplace rules are lesser India scores more on the uncertainty avoidance parameter than the US signifying a more conservative approach to new ideas innovations orwillingness to try something new or different Employees are expected to follow workplace rules imposed more so in hierarchical work environments Maintaining the status quo is more important thanbringing in newer ideas But in recent years there has been a trend moving towards uncertainty acceptance more by newer generation organizations They prefer the American approach and employees are encouraged to innovate and suggest better ways to carry out regular practices It also reflects in the appraisal system of some organizations in the employee KPIs Long term vs Short term orientation The ...View the full answer
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Sinmon Warui Kamau
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