Human Resource Management and Cultural Diversity in Mozambique - Essay Example

Human resource management and cultural diversity: A case study in Mozambique Contents Introduction 3 Discussion 3 Cross cultural Management 3 Conclusion 10 References 11 Introduction The cultural diversity of the employees working in the organization deals with the problems that are faced by the managers in the multinational companies. In order to understand and adopt the diversity in culture of the human resources in performing the various activity of the company it is required to focus on the Hofstede model and Fons Trompenaars theory that explains the cultural diversity. The case study focuses on managing the cultural diversity in Mozal. It is found that a very high level of cultural diversity exist between the employees of Mozal in Mozambique. The complications in the human resource management functioning of the multinational companies started from the advent of globalization. Mozambique a country in the south east Africa decided to establish a multinational company in the country for attracting more foreign direct investment in the country. With the establishment of the multinational company in the country a change in the culture existed in the organization and the Mozambican workers faced the changes in the human resource management policy that is quite different from that of the human resource management that was practiced previously in Africa during the time of socialism. Discussion Cross cultural Management The main problems that are found in this case in relation to the cross cultural diversity existing within the organization are the workforce of Mozal a multinational company of Mozambique had no experience about the adoption of new and advanced technology, the workers of the company felt that the management are unaware about the sensitiveness in the culture that is existing among the employees of the company, the workers faced the barrier of communication, the employees realized that management is not involved in improving the health and education of the employees and their families. The impact is that it is affecting the performance and productivity of the workers in the organization. The impact and the existence of the cross cultural diversity within the company can be explained with the help of Hofstede model Power Distance: the power distance can be explained as the dimensions that deal with all the issues that are related to the individuals in the society. It deals with the inequalities that exist within the employees of Mozal (Gomez-Mejia and Palich, 1997). Figure 1: Cultural Diversity of Mozambique and Kenya Mozal in Mozambique indicates a very high score of 85 which reflects that the employees accepts the hierarchical order that is prevailing in the organization and is reflecting the inequalities that is inherent, popularity in centralization and the subordinates in the organization generally perform as ordered by the senior level managers and the managers enjoys the role of a benevolent autocrat and paternalism Figure 2: Uncertainty avoidance and power distance Individualism and collectivism: Individualism mainly deals with the level of interdependence of the employees towards each other. In individualist type of organization the employees are concerned about themselves they are generally self cantered. Whereas in case of the collectivist societies or the organization the employees feel themselves as the part of the organization and they exchange a sense of loyalty among themselves. Mozambique has scored very low of 15 which signifies that Mozal follows collectivism The loyalty that exist in a collectivist type of organization generally dominates the other rules and regulations of the organization The organization generally builds and develops strong relationship where the employees take the responsibility for each other. In collectivist type of organization the offence results in shame and the relationship that exist within the employees are perceived in moral terms. Masculinity versus Feminity: The high score in masculinity determines that the company is influenced and impacted by competition, success and achievement. And a low score in case of feminity resembles that the employees in the organization are caring towards the other employees. The low score of 38 in case of the organization of Mozambique signifies that the organization maintains feminity and it emphasizes on providing equality to its employees. The conflicts within the employees are mitigated and the organization favours the employees by providing flexibility and free time to its employees and Mozal mainly emphasizes on the status and well being of the employees in the organization. Figure 3: Masculinity and Individualism index Uncertainty Avoidance: It mainly deals with the fact that the future is always uncertain and it is required to control the events so that it does not affect the future. The main problem is the different cultures that exist within the organization and the extent to which the employees feel that the culture that exists within the organization is being threatened by the different beliefs and different situations in the organizations. Mozambique has scored very low of 44 which implies that Mozal follows a pragmatic culture in the context of uncertainty avoidance. The organization mainly focuses on planning which can be developed and improved. The employees do not act emotionally. This results in the smooth functioning of the organization and also facilitating the organization in developing new ideas relating to business and technology. Pragmatism: This mainly deals with the ability of the organization in facing the challenges that are related to present and future. Mozambique scores very low of 11 which signify that the organization respects its tradition and also focuses and aims in achieving the success of the organization Figure 4: Hofstede Model Indulgence: It explains the challenges that are faced by the employees in the present and in the past in controlling their desires and impulses. It signifies that the employees who have a weak and less control over their impulses are known as indulgence. Since Mozambique is considered as an indulgent country therefore it will affect the organization as a result the employees will have the tendency to act leisurely and spend money according to their wish (Fang, 2003). The Hofstede model is used in this case for developing the interpersonal relationship in the work place. The other theory for analyzing the case is Fons Trompenaars theory on cross cultural theories. This theory includes seven dimensions such as: Figure 5: Fons Trompenaar’s theory The factors or the elements included in the diagram can be applied for managing the compliance of the workers and the complexity that exist within the heterogeneous environment and managing the conflict and difficulties in adopting the western based culture. This theory can be best applied in the organization or the country that wants to adopt the culture of other country or company. This theory can be used to solve the related issues faced by the workers for working more effectively and preventing the misunderstandings between the organization and employees. The story is about incorporation of human resource practices which is western based into the African corporate culture and to match with the beliefs and values of the western culture into the African corporate culture. The main actors are Mozal a multinational organization of Africa and BHP Biliton UK and the joint venture between them and the problem in adopting the human resource practices of the western based culture. The main problem and the key issues is the presence of cultural differences among the nations and their influence on the life and attitude of the employees And this difference in the culture results in the conflict among the employees. Culture is very hard to change. Therefore instead of changing the culture it is required to accept and respect the culture of each country. The main intention was to adopt western based Human resource management practices. The organization adopted paternalistic which is required to be changed, modification in the attitude of the employees for effective communication with each other and regaining the belief and faith of the employees in the organization. The Human resource practices are to be properly implemented by the organization for improving the harmony and the performance. The company also changed and modified its compensation package for providing more benefit to the employees and its family members. The company decided to diversify its workforce and adopt a holistic approach (Harris, 1998). Conclusion The critical and complicated issue of the human resource management is minimizing or eliminating the cultural differences that exist between the employees in the organization. More efficient and effective management programs are required to be adopted by the company that will affect the relationship between the employees and organization. The collective culture that exists in Africa demands that the employees are required to increase the productivity maintaining their ethnic group. In order to adopt the change in the culture and mitigate all the grievances the company decided to support the development of the employees and the companies emphasized on providing certified training to the employees of the organization and formulated a clear career path for the employees in the organization. Therefore it can be concluded that the western based multinational companies are capable of developing the human resource management policies for widening the cultural dimensions of the organization and the combination of the changes in the human resource management therefore focuses on the priority of recognizing and identifying the culture in the organization and the challenges and assumptions that are related to all the aspects of the human resource practices that are western based and have no relevancy in the African work culture. References Fang, T., 2003. A Critique of Hofstede’s Fifth National Culture Dimension. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 3(1), pp. 347–368. Gomez-Mejia, L. and Palich, L., 1997. Cultural Diversity and the Performance of Multinational Firms. Journal of International Business Studies, 28 (1). pp. 309–335. Harris, P. R., 1998. New Work culture: HRD transformational management strategies. Canada: GRIN Verlag. Read More