Understanding Cultural Differences - Literature review Example

Title: Understanding cultural differences Name: Institution: Lecturer: Date: Matsumoto & Juang (2013) defines culture as the way of life or the way of doing things. Every organization or workplace has its way of doing things. This is called organisational culture. Culture is composed and made of many aspects among them employees of an organization. Culture difference plays role in the productivity of employees and therefore understanding cultural difference is essential. There are different cultural differences in human resource management, Ruighaver et al. (2007). In presence of difference cultures, an organization may look to contain sub cultures in order to accommodate every employee. Culture difference is made up of genders, races, ages, abilities, personal background and religion among others. Some of the differences are attributable to employees’ generation, this diverse workforce such as the traditionalists, the millennial, generation X and Y, and baby boomers, Mosley (2007). These generations have distinct characteristics. In addition, education differences existing among the employees who have academic credentials success and employees who have on job and vocational training. This can be a source of conflict especially in disagreements about practical and theory in achieving organisational goals, Schouten & Meeuwesen (2006). Cultural differences in personal background where some employees show difference between those who live in small towns and those who live in big towns. National origin and ethnicity is another cultural difference in human resource management. In such case, there exist differences in language barriers, communication and in the way of doing things. Religion in the workplace, it is an integral part of culture in organization. Differences in religions provide an organization with a mixture and difference in the organization culture, Robinson & Sharp (2005). Conclusion Alvesson, (2012) Understanding the cultural differences in any organization facilitates enhancement of efficiency and productivity. This is because the organization is able to embrace diversity in the skills, experience, staff and facilities used which promotes effective interaction within the business. The cultural backgrounds of different organizations is affected by the culture of the countries in which these business is established, this is because the culture of a country affects the various aspects that make up the cultural of any organization( Aguinis, & Kraiger, 2009). Therefore, to effectively manage the human resource in any international organization a manager should be able to apply cross cultural aspects in their management so as to uphold diversity of culture in the organization without bias. Schein, 2010) points out that, understanding cultural diversity in different organizations enables people to understand the basis for their compensation systems. This is because depending on the culture of each organization the compensation strategies differ. The compensation given to the expatriates should enhance motivation of the employees. Training is essential for any organizations staffs who are employed in international companies. This is because it makes the professionals equipped with skills to enable them work in the country or in any foreign county. This means that in human resource professionals training programs, the professional should be exposed to the different cultural backgrounds for various countries such that they can be efficient if sent to work in any subsidiary of the organization in any country. References Aguinis, H, & Kraiger, K, (2009), benefits of training and development for individuals and teams, organizations, and society annual review of psychology, 60, 451-474. Alvesson, M, (2012), understanding organizational culture, Sage. Matsumoto, D, R, & Juang, L, P, (2013), culture and psychology, Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Mosley, R, W, (2007), customer experience, organisational culture and the employer brand, journal of brand management, 15(2), 123-134. Robinson, H, & Sharp, H, (2005), organisational culture and XP: three case studies, in agile conference, 2005, proceedings (pp. 49-58), IEEE. Ruighaver, A, B, Maynard, S, B, & Chang, S, (2007), organisational security culture: Extending the end-user perspective, computers & security, 26(1), 56-62. Schein, E, H, (2010), organizational culture and leadership (Vol. 2), Wiley, com. Schouten, B, C, & Meeuwesen, L, (2006), cultural differences in medical communication: a review of the literature, patient education and counseling, 64(1), 21-34. Read More