Hofstede, Hall and Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck's approach to Culture - Essay Example

Lecturer: Presentation: Introduction Culture refers to the behaviours, beliefs and perceptions with unique characteristics practiced in a certain community (Brislin 2000 p 79). These customs dictate the way of living and how a community solves its problems that are cultural based, using the intelligence borrowed or inherited from the previous generations in the community. Different communities have different cultures based on religion, politics, trade and other social activities that are diverse. Understanding these cultures is important and plays a big role for investors whose market interests target on regions with different cultural beliefs. This is because different cultures dictate on the values and preferences and the way communities spend their resources (Glenn et al 2004 p 125). This essay is an evaluation of the challenges that multinational corporations face while managing their human resources in subsidiaries located in different countries and the Hofstede, Hall and Kluckhohn & Strodtbecks approach to culture. Hofstede, Hall and Kluckhohn & Strodtbecks approach to Culture Hofstede studied culture in five dimensions. These related to power distance index, which studied the structures and the hierarchy of decision making in institutions and in homes. He observes that there are cultures that do not offer equality to its subjects. In these environments some constituents are seen as inferior to others. He also observes that different communities have different policies in the way they utilize their resources and earnings. There are societies that protect individual property and encourage people to put individual efforts to better their lives. On the other hand, there are those that promote collective responsibility on property. In this context, the community is formed by strong groups that look after the welfare of each individual in the group as long as he is a member of the group. He also observes that gender sensitivity is an issue in some communities that give more powers to men than to women (Glenn et al 2004 p 125). However, there are societies that allow women to compete with men for equal chances without discrimination. He continues to note that the level of strictness and reluctance towards laws and beliefs vary across different societies. Some of these communities exercise some sort of dictatorship style of solving issues. They have laws that are specific and that do not offer alternative solutions or input from outside forces. On the other hand there are those that are more reluctant and are governed by few rules which are subject to contention. Kluckhohn and Strodbeck based their assumptions and approach on the fact that human beings have common aspects which they use while developing their culture. They also noted that different communities tended to believe that their way of life was better than those of other communities. While conducting their research, kluckhohn and Strodtbeck noted that various communities also have exercised different methods in solving their problems depending on the alternatives and preferences of the community studied. Their approach concentrated on six attributes that were related to the character of humans, relationship that exist between man and nature, time, events that surround people and the social relations that characterize the way communities valued each individual or groups (Brislin 2000 p 92). Multi national corporations face various challenges when developing strategies in subsidiaries located in different countries. While creating businesses in foreign countries, many corporations face the challenge of language barrier where by the target market is consisted of communities that do not share a common language. Many companies design their products and strategies in their native language or a language that is widely used like English. However, not all communities understand the language thus interpreters are used to translate (Rogoff, 2003 p 99). This process is tedious, costly and sometimes creates distortion of the original message thus confusing the receiver of the message. Training of the interpreters also takes time and this slows the process of putting the strategies into action. The cultural interests of the communities play a major role in determining the sort of business that can succeed in a place. It is important for investors to understand that different countries have communities with different cultures. This helps to understand the cultural requirements of the people you employ in the company, for they determine their behaviours (Brislin, R. 2000 p 115). Failure to understand your employees would always bring misunderstandings between you and them. Knowing the cultural practices of the community where you are intending to invest also helps to know what procedures would be followed while recruiting employees. Some cultural norms do not allow employees to give information on their personal details while others permit. In case this is not observed, problems would arise due to ignorance. A comprehensive research on the different cultural practices should be conducted to ensure that the company does not face problems related to culture. Religion is also a factor that sometimes poses challenges to multinational companies. It is therefore necessary for investors to research deeply into the different religions practiced in various countries. There are religions that prohibit the use of alcohol for their believers for example. Investing in breweries in these countries would be going against the laws of these societies and it would also be wastage of time and resources for there would be no market for the commodity. Efforts to start a business that in such an environment would be faced by criticism and in some cases it would be considered as an offence especially in the Islamic community that has laws that prohibits its believers from drinking. It would also be unwise to invest in businesses dealing with beef processing in a community that has Hindus as the majority. Based on their religion which views this as a taboo, it would be hard to find people to work in this kind of business or the market for the products (Brislin 2000 p 121). In countries especially those classified under third world category, availability of experts to work for the corporations is another challenge. This is due to the low level of literacy and lack of technology to facilitate the learning of the necessary skills. This makes outsourcing the only alternative which is more expensive than when the full labour was available locally. While managing and delegating duties, the level of education and skills should be considered in these areas and the minimum qualifications should be adjusted downwards from those of other more developed countries (Nolan 2008 p 67). This would ensure that the locals have the feeling of being beneficiaries of the management plan thus making them supportive and express good will for the corporation’s growth. For a business to succeed, political stability is a very important factor. It determines the stability of currencies and reduces the possibility of high inflation rates that lead to exaggerated costs of raw materials making the production expensive. Political instability also makes it hard to forecast on the market trend thus creating uncertainty for the corporations. Countries which experience or show the possibility of conflicts are risky for investors who are out to expand their territories and should be studied well to minimize the risks that may arise later. Political interference with the management where by politicians who has interests in the affairs of the corporation may also cause managers hard time in managing the human resources (Anderson 2004 p 58). This is due to the culture of corruption and nepotism common in political leaderships. If the country where you have invested in entertains these vices, it is possible for politicians to use their powers and influence to have their relatives and friends employed in these corporations and since the employees know that they have protection from them, they tend to disobey their superiors who would be incapable of firing them. Managing human resources in a different country requires the subsidiaries to have full entity freedom to adjust to the conditions present in the country which it operates. However, many multi national corporations do not allow this freedom. They try to apply uniform management procedures answerable to the main entity. This acts as an obstacle to the management since the environment under which the subsidiary is under could be different from the mother company. The people working in the subsidiary corporation would find it difficult to adapt to the foreign nature of management and it would be difficult for the managers to train and help them to observe the required protocols so as to maintain the standards of the main company. Managers operating from these branches should have the ability to evaluate the current demand and the capability to apply necessary changes to the style of handling employees’ needs without necessarily consulting the main branch (Brislin, R, 2000 pg 99). Employees’ needs vary from time to time and sometimes occurrences that require urgent attention such as strikes may find their way into the corporations but with the managers having freedom to make independent decisions would capable of solving such issues depending on the economic status of the independent entity. Conclusion Multi national corporations face many challenges varying from religion, politics and culture. These challenges determine the success of these corporations depending on how they are perceived and solved. It is important for the management to conduct research on the countries where new subsidiaries are to be opened to avoid cultural conflicts with the natives of that country and also to create a strong foundation for running the business without uncertainties. It is also important for managers in the subsidiary corporations to have powers to study and make independent decisions on situations that call for urgent measures. Political stability is important for it creates a good environment for growth and expansion of businesses and also attracts investors. It is therefore necessary to observe the trend of politics before investing in a foreign country. Bibliography 1. Anderson G (2004). “Human Resources Development: Difficulties Encountered in Leadership,” Business Development Journal, vol. 3, 2 pp 57-66. 2. Brislin, R. (2000). Understanding Culture’s Influence on Behaviour (2nd Ed.). Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt College Publishers. 3. Glenn R. Carroll, Michael T. Hannan (2004). The Demography of Corporation and Industries, Princeton University Press. 4. Nolan T., Goodstein L., and Goodstein J. (2008). Applied Strategic Planning: Consultants Toolkit, 2nd Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 5. Rogoff, B. (2003). The Cultural Nature of Human Development. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. Read More