Effective Communication in the HRM Practices in America and China - Case Study Example

RМ РRАСTIСЕS IN THE USA AND CHINA FАСTОRS WHIСH INFLUЕNСЕ НRМ РRАСTIСЕS IN THЕSЕ СОUNTRIЕS By Name Name of Class Name of Tutor Institution Affiliation City and State Date Introduction Human resource management (HRM) practices refer to those practices that are “concerned with all aspects of how people are employed and managed in organizations” (Armstrong, 2009, p. 4). HRM practices play a very important role in the organizations’ performance and achievement of the organizations’ goals across the world, regardless of their sizes. In particular, HRM practices have greater importance in organizations today than ever, and they are a key determinant of the success of organizations. However, there are various HRM practices today and also significant differences in the way in which different countries across the world implement them. Additionally, most HRM practices, theories and models have their origin in the Western world in countries such as the America and Europe. However, with the ever-increasing globalization which has, in turn, led to greater cross-cultural interactions clearly highlights the existing differences in their national cultures as well as their HRM practices (Armstrong, 2009). Therefore, there exist different HRM practices in the contemporary times as well as differences in their implantation of these practices between countries. This essay explores the HRM practices in two of the world’s biggest economies, that is, the USA and China, and evaluates the factors that influence the HRM practices in these countries. The paper mainly focuses on the comparison of the HR practices between these countries especially with regard to selection and recruitment, performance appraisal, training and development, incentive payment, and compensation packages and rewards. The paper also explores effective communication in the HRM practices in America and China. Selection and Recruitment While most organizations across the world use similar criteria, procedures and methods in the selection and recruitment of their employees, the criteria, procedures and methods used may have some slight variations between different from countries. Most organizations in the US, for instance, have a great preference for using personal interviews in the selection and recruitment process. Most of the organizations in the country have adopted personal selection method which is primarily aimed at assessing the technical requirements and capabilities of the potential candidates. The potential candidates are then evaluated on their previous work experience and how such experience fits in the new job (Liu, Keller & Hong, 2014; Rowley & Warner, 2013). In China, most organizations also widely follow similar selection and recruitment practices and methods to the USA organizations. However, in addition to these practices, organizations in China have also adopted widespread use of employees test scores in the selection and recruitment processes (Miller & Guo, 2013). Additionally, organizations in China evaluate the level of familiarity of the potential candidates with the country’s culture and the environment. The practice of assessing the familiarity level of potential candidates with the local culture is in stark contrast to the one used in the America because it simply does not exist in America (Zhu et al., 2013). This clearly shows that while the recruitment and selection practices used by the two countries of their employees have great similarities. However, these practices only differ a little mainly with regard to the test scores evaluation and the evaluation of cultural familiarity methods that are additionally employed by organizations in China. Performance Appraisal Performance appraisal refers to a tool that is used to evaluate the performance of individual employees in the organization systematically (Sharma, 2009). Performance appraisal is largely a developmental tool whose purpose is to ensure all-round development of all the employees in the organization. This tool helps in identifying any possible challenges and obstacles to the improvement in the performance of the employees (Sharma, 2009). In the context of this paper, there exist some significant differences in the use of the performance appraisal tools in America and China. For instance, in America, this approach is widely embraced by organizations and is considered to encourage greater individual achievement and employee productivity. Performance appraisal is also regarded as one of the best practices of documenting individual employee performance (Townley, 2014). In contrast, most of the organizations in China tend to have the least preference for this method and consider it relatively insignificant mainly because of the inherent organizational structures in the country. Most managers value more the personal attributes and moral characteristics of their employees such as honesty, loyalty, obedience and commitment (Jiang, Wang & Zhao, 2012; Mayes et al., 2016). As such, the implementation of performance appraisal tools in China is quite challenging especially taking into consideration the possible difficulties in getting feedback from the employees. The Chinese also greatly believe that the performance appraisal puts greater emphasis on measuring reward and/or punishment than on identifying the employees’ potential ability and what they can contribute to the organization in the long-run. In place of the performance appraisal, most of the employees in China expect and are used to undergoing passive assessments (Wang et al., 2013, pp. 115-117; Smale, Bjorkman & Sumelius, 2013, p. 232). Training and Development While most organizations across the world recognize the significance of providing training and development programs to their employees, the budgetary allocations to these t programs differ between countries. For example, the majority of the organizations in America allocate approximately twice as much money as organizations in China towards training and development programs for their employees (Bjorkman & Lervik, 2007, pp. 320-321). Furthermore, the number of hours set aside for these programs vary considerably between the America and China, where American organizations set aside more time for training their employees than the Chinese organizations. However, despite the fact that there may be some differences in the budgetary allocations and time for training between these two countries, it is generally agreed that the ultimate goal of this initiative is one; that is, to improve the technical ability and skills of the employees (Bjorkman & Lervik, 2007). Incentive Payments Incentive payments form an important way of increasing employee motivation, commitment and loyalty to the organization as well as employee satisfaction (Ma et al., 2015). In the context of this paper, it is surprising to note that the findings of recent research studies on financial incentive show that many organizations in China put great importance on the pay incentives, despite the country’s strong communist roots (Zhang et al., 2015). Besides, while most of the organizations in America emphasize greatly on the ‘pay for performance,' a number of studies show that this practice only plays a moderate role in organizations in the country. As such, there is some tangible evidence that organizations in China implement incentive schemes for their employees significantly more than the American organizations as was previously thought. Compensation Packages and Rewards There exist notable disparities between compensation practices adopted by organizations in America and China. America has adopted the international compensation practice called the balance sheet approach which is a more dominant approach. This approach offers employees a number of incentives such as hardship allowances, mobility premiums and cushions them against cost differences. However, this approach has various drawbacks mainly because it is expensive to implement and can likely create discord among the local employees over compensation disparities that are evident between them and expatriate employees. In China, compensation practices in organizations offer the employees greater security than the practices that are implemented in America. Furthermore, most organizations in China often take into account the different wages offered by their competitors when determining their employees’ incomes. Most organizations in America and China also have different points of view on motivation. In America, organizations greatly emphasize on the compensation packages and individual rewards of their employees while most Chinese organizations value the collective rewards of employees (Kaufman, 2014). Furthermore, in America, the individual workers in organizations are duly recognized when their personal initiatives stand out, and they are rewarded being given competitive remuneration packages and more opportunities for their personal growth. This sharply contrasts with organizations in China which are influenced by various factors, especially those that emphasize on the long-term orientation, communal harmony and great respect for their traditions (Kaufman, 2014). As such, most organizations in the country have a tendency of offering promotions and rewards to their employees according to the seniority of the employees and reward higher-performing teams as opposed to the individual works. Effective Communication HR practitioners in America and China have also adopted significantly different communication approaches mainly due to the existing differences in meanings attached to both verbal and nonverbal forms of communication. In China, for instance, communication may often be indirect and contextual while most Americans use verbally direct communication. Effective communication in the HR practitioners also requires the observance of the nonverbal cues like facial expressions and punctuality that are highly valued in Western countries such as America (Den Hartog et al., 2013). The use of networking and management forums are also highly valued in America compared to China given that Americans place great importance on the personal relationships. Effective communication is also important in conflict resolution between employees in organizations (Den Hartog et al., 2013). Conflict resolution forms an important aspect of the HR practices in the American organizations more than those in China. In China, most of the organizations have a greater inclination towards a holistic approach and harmony. This is where people often resolve conflicts mainly through compromise and accommodation. This holistic approach regards the people or employees as part of the entire system, and each individual has a specific role that they play, which generally minimizes cases of disagreements among the employees. In contrast, Americans emphasize more on competition whereby individuals are likely to withdraw or ignore any existing conflict altogether. In America, individuals are encouraged to not only explore but also develop themselves, which has a greater likelihood of causing conflict (Den Hartog et al., 2013). The clear differences in the HRM practices of these two countries mainly arise from the widespread cultural diversities in both countries. The HRM practices are strongly rooted in the cultural factors which reflect the general beliefs and assumptions of the national cultures of the countries in which the organizations are founded (Vaiman & Brewster, 2015, p. 151). As such, it is quite apparent that the HRM practices of the organizations in the two countries are required to make significant alterations in an attempt to accommodate and adapt to these cultures so be more effective. In addition, since there are exists massive cross-cultural differences in the HRM practices in America and China, the majority of the employers in these countries are likely to prefer local managers on various HRM issues (Caligiuri, 2014). The HRM managers are required to oversee the implementation of HRM policies and practices while taking into account the culture-based approach. The HRM managers also need to strongly observe the standard codes of conduct and be sensitive to the ethics and norms of a country while carrying out their HR duties. For instance, in China, gifts are considered part of their business practices and the people put great value on building friendship and trust. Therefore, the HRM managers need to take such aspects into account (Xing, Liu, Tarba & Cooper, 2016). Conclusion A comparison of the HR practices in America and China reveals significant differences particularly with regard to selection and recruitment, performance appraisal, training and development, incentive payment, compensation packages and rewards and effective communication. The differences mainly arise from the obvious cultural differences between these countries which have made the HR practitioners to alter their HR practices so as to accommodate the diverse culture of their employees. For example, it is quite evident that while the performance appraisal tool works well and is effective in organizations in America, it is sustainable in China as most people do not like it. In this regard, the view of the employees about the HRM practices significantly differ across the cultural and national boundaries and these widespread differences also encompass both general HRM practices and the individual practices. References List Armstrong, M., 2009, Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice. London, Kogan Page. Bjorkman, I. & Lervik, E., 2007, Transferring HR Practices within Multinational Corporations. Human Resource Management Journal, 17(4), pp. 320 – 335. Caligiuri, P., 2014, Many moving parts: Factors influencing the effectiveness of HRM practices designed to improve knowledge transfer within MNCs. Journal of International Business Studies, 45(1), pp. 63-72. Den Hartog, D.N., Boon, C., Verburg, R.M. and Croon, M.A., 2013. 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HR practices from the perspective of managers and employees in multinational enterprises in China: Alignment issues and implications. Journal of World Business, 48(2), pp.241-250. Read More