Cultural Differences and Employee Selection - Essay Example

Running Head: CULTURAL DIFFERENCES AND EMPLOYEE SELECTION Cultural Differences and Employee Selection [The [The of theInstitution] Cultural Differences and Employee Selection The Aim of Study The aim of this study is to elaborate how cultural differences affect the employees' selection. It would also cover the influence of culture on productivity and efficiency of the employees. The Scope of the Study It has been observed that in international business as well as in domestic business, employee recruitment has got a significant importance. All the Human Resource Managers must be well conversant with the cultural changes, differences and orientations while selecting an employee so that in prospective days, no untoward or harmful phenomenon occurs. This study would guide, in this respect, to al the HR managers. Hence, it has great scope. Introduction One of the most important decisions comes when having to select an employee to fill a job vacancy. In the current labour market, highly qualified applicants are scarce and, among the existent ones, it is hard to spot the ideal candidate. Sometimes it is so urgent that a position be filled, that a person may win the job by default, or sloppy selection criteria may be applied. A quick fix may ease workload for a while, but it might prove lethal for the business viability itself in the long run. Therefore, a larger attention in the selection process can provide the business with employees who will finally produce the desired results. Processing an applicant for a job normally entails a series of steps, which are determined by the size of the organization, the types of jobs to be filled or the number of people to be hired. The selection stage should be backed up by an effective recruitment process, which greatly depends on job analysis and job description. Job analysis is a process to identify and determine in detail the particular job duties and requirements and the relative importance of these duties for a given job. Work behaviour and cultural differences Common American work styles are used everywhere. Work and the ways to succeed vary tremendously from culture to culture. Mainstream Americans value speed but some Native Americans value thoughtful analysis so much that they hold back the answer so as not to appear rash. Manual work is looked down upon in India; so many office jobs are created to satisfy the need for status. Japanese workers cooperate within their han (work unit), but the hans compete with each other. Different selection procedures are needed for the different work styles. Cultural patterns significantly influence both individual behaviour and the organizational environment. Culture can be defined as the value systems or modes of behaviour to which people in a given geographical area subscribe. Thus, by definition, country boundaries would offer the clearest example of cultural differentiation. The individual behavioural patterns and the organizational environment found in Japan are quite different than in the United States. The Japanese system, which is an outgrowth of feudalism that characterized Japan in the early 1900s, supports the welfare concept and yields a paternalistic type of management that has proved to be successful among Japanese firms. The depression of the early 1930s in the United States reduced employee perceptions of identity of interests between non-managers and managers, and made paternalistic management practices suspect. Additionally the competitive education system and the values traditionally taught American children by their parents for achievement and recognition have made it difficult for paternalistic patterns of management to work well in the United States. This fact is particularly true in professional work environments because the employees who staff these types of organizations are an outgrowth of systems where competitiveness, recognition, and individuality have been commonplace. Sub-cultural differences within any given set of country boundaries also impact on corporate environments and individual behaviour. Work patterns in unionized urban areas are quite different than those patterns demonstrated in non-unionized rural areas in the United States. For example, management practices that work well in the Chicago area may fail in small cities in the southeast. Due to the impersonal environment of the urban area with its large number of unionized industrial workers, effectiveness is improved if paternalism is minimized by supervisors. Specific channels of appeal through union grievance procedures or the application of bureaucratic rules by supervisors is more acceptable to urban employees. Managers are expected to be "tough but fair." Conversely, in rural areas less characterized by a history of unionization and impersonal work relationships, informal appeals and emphasis on company loyalty by supervisors may work quite well. Managers with strong success records are likely to apply different management styles in accordance with sub-cultural variations. Several hiring practices have been subject to legal interpretation through the courts in recent years, and it is beyond the scope of this book to analyze the impact of these decisions in detail. Personnel or legal departments can provide insight to management during the hiring process so that discrimination problems can be avoided. Managers, however, should be aware there are several weaknesses associated with the interview. For example, it may be biased, and decisions tend to be made early in the interview and are often based on incomplete information. Structured interviewing that uses predetermined questions conducted by two or more interviewers is a useful means of counteracting personal bias and increasing the accuracy of the appraisal. While for lower level jobs these additional interviews may be too costly and time consuming, for higher-level positions the improved results usually more than offset this additional cost. Cross Cultural Differences in Employees' Selection Western European nations, the United States and Canada rate individualism highly, while Asian, Latin American and African nations-and many US minority groups from such regions-are more collectivist (Randall, 2005). 'Modern', industrialised cultures tend to be individualistic, in contrast to the more collectivist, traditional, agricultural societies (Randall, 2005). Hofstede reports a positive correlation between Gross Domestic Product and individualism (Hofstede, 1997). The upper and middle classes in a society tend to be more individualistic, lower classes collectivist (although those at the very bottom of society may be more socially isolated) (Behling, 1998). This class pattern seems to hold even where values are undergoing rapid transition, such as in the formerly Communist Bulgaria (Behling, 1998). The identification of cultural variants is not the same as providing a theory. Cultural dimensions are very much 'second order constructs' which emerge from particular cultural histories and conditions; we still need to understand how particular positions on these variants evolved at a societal level, and what underpins movement along them. Several sets of accounts have been developed to explain the differing prevalence of individualism-collectivism across the globe. One set of accounts relates I/C to economic developments: Hofstede (1997) argues that when a country's wealth increases, individuals have at hand resources which allow them to develop their own paths, allowing collective life to be replaced by individual life. In contrast, individuals in poorer countries are more dependent on one another and need to share limited resources. In a complex and affluent society people are financially independent; this leads to social and emotional independence, with priority being given to personal goals over those of the in-group (Snow, 2003). Economic development may also lead to the development of new social relationships that take people away from their pre-established collectives, and a new emphasis on education that often accompanies an increase in individualism (Snow, 2003). Like Hofstede, Trompenaars (1997) was also interested in the relationship between cultural values and the world of work. He assessed some 15,000 employees from a total of forty-seven wide-ranging cultures, presenting them with dilemmas aimed at tapping core cultural values. Trompenaars describes seven dimensions of cultural values, five of which concern the ways in which we relate to one another. Individualism-collectivism was discussed above. Universalism-particularism compares generalist rules about what is right with more situation-specific relationship obligations and unique circumstances. A particularist might feel they should 'bend' official rules for a friend, a deviation which might be abhorred by a universalist. For example, the Japanese are often characterised as being highly particularistic in their relationships (Hall, 1990). This arises from a morality based on a high degree of family orientation. Although there are clear concepts of universal right and wrong in this as well as in all other societies (Hall, 1990), there may be little discomfort for the Japanese where there is an apparent dichotomy between universal principles and those actions which fit in with particular group relations. Neutral versus emotional relationship orientations compare 'objective' and 'detached' interactions with interactions where emotion is more readily expressed. For example, people in a neutral culture would keep emotions closely under control in many settings, while in a highly emotional culture (such as that of Italy) people will willingly show their feelings. Achievement versus ascription compares cultural groups which make their judgements of others on actual individual accomplishments (achievement oriented societies) with those where a person is ascribed status on grounds of birth, group membership or similar criteria. Workers in specific cultures segregate tasks across domains, and the manager's superiority ends at the factory gate. In diffuse cultures, a manager is a manager in all areas of life. ( Schneider, 2003) In diffuse cultures, business negotiations may involve considerable background knowledge about your negotiating partner, as the gap between the world of work and the rest of life is narrow. In diffuse cultures, 'task' behaviours have interpersonal ramifications, and spending 'private' time with your superiors is part of the work experience (Jaya, 2001). In such cultures, 'getting straight to the point' gives you little time to assess the trustworthiness of your partner, and 'mixing business with pleasure' is part of the business deal itself (Jaya, 2001). This diffusion between work and 'outside' life may often come as a shock to those from more specific cultures. Trompenaars (1997) gives the example of the British manager of a Central African company who sacked an employee for stealing meat from the company canteen in order to feed a large and hungry family. This dismissal led to the manager's poisoning by the employee with the connivance of several of his workmates, who were appalled by the manager's lack of understanding of the employee's domestic circumstances. A final relationship dimension described by Trompenaars (1997) compares achieved with ascribed status. Achieved status is acquired by what you do for a company or what you have done in the past. In contrast, ascribed status may be ascribed by age, gender or social connections. Trompenaars (1997) found a significant correlation between Protestantism and achievement orientation, and Catholicism, Buddhism and Hinduism and ascription orientation. In many Anglo-Saxon cultures (which are heavily oriented towards achieved status), operating a company using ascribed status can be seen as archaic. In contrast, the greater status given to the older company manager in Japan (a more 'ascribed-status' society) can be seen as quite 'natural' in a culture where the manager's experience is likely to be invaluable to this company. A young 'whipper-snapper' transferring from an achievement-oriented culture can soon alienate those in an ascription-based hierarchy. In considering these various cultural dimensions and their significance for business life, Trompenaars (1997) differentiates between four types of corporate cultures, a framework which closely overlaps with the high/low power distance and the individualism-collectivism divides. Contact between individuals of different cultural backgrounds is increasing in both frequency and intensity. The businessman who gazes at his Eastern male partner and addresses him by his first name may well give off an inappropriate message of disrespect. The manager who fails to appreciate the significance of maintaining a collective sense of 'face' is unlikely to prosper in his or her negotiations in Japan (Trompenaars, 1997). While such misunderstandings are important, and are likely to have considerable practical implications for international business as well as for tourism, we should not stop at simply identifying where things may be different, but should try to analyse why and how we might learn from these differences. Cross-cultural research forces us to revise our interpretations of inconsistencies in results in a manner that could never be achieved by examining a single nation. Diffusion between work and 'outside' life may often come as a shock to those from more specific cultures. Trompenaars (1997) gives the example of the British manager of a Central African company who sacked an employee for stealing meat from the company canteen in order to feed a large and hungry family. This dismissal led to the manager's poisoning by the employee with the connivance of several of his workmates, who were appalled by the manager's lack of understanding of the employee's domestic circumstances. In considering these various cultural dimensions and their significance for business life, Trompenaars (1997) differentiates between four types of corporate cultures, a framework which closely overlaps with the high/low power distance and the individualism. Conclusion Recruiting and selecting the right people for the organization is a challenge, and every situation is unique. Innovation, persistence and the ability to communicate the strengths of the business and the benefits of the positions offered, will attract high quality employees. Selecting among them will be hard, but if the selection process steps are implemented properly, the final decision will prove to be really beneficial to the organization. No matter who makes the final decision - the human resource department, the manager of the department or even the owner of the firm -, this decision should be backed up by the correct procedure, otherwise the consequences could be extremely costly, if not lethal. All managers should be trained on the selection process for the benefit of the organization. And, no doubt, culture must be considered by them as it has to play an important role. WORKS CITED Behling, O, 1998, employee selection: will intelligence and conscientiousness do the job, the academy of management executive 12: 77-86 Hall, E and Hall, M (1990) Understanding Cultural Differences Yarmouth, Me: Intercultural Press Hofstede, G. (1997) 'Motivation, Leadership and Organization: Do American Theories Apply Abroad' in Pugh, D. (ed) Organization Theory: Selected Readings Harmondsworth: Penguin 223-249 Jaya, Peruvemba (2001) 'Do we really 'know' and 'profess' Decolonizing management knowledge' Organization 8/2 227-233 Randall, James. "A Successful Application Of The Assessment Centre Concept To the Salesperson Selection Process". Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management. May 2005. p. 53. Schneider, S. and Barsoux, J-L (2003) Managing Across Cultures (2nd edition) Harlow: Prentice Hall Snow C. C. and S.A. Snell, 2003. Staffing as strategy, in personnel selection in organizations, ed. N. Schmitt and W. Burman 448-478, San Francisco, jossey Boss Trompenaars, F. and Hampden-Turner, C. (1997) Riding the Waves of Culture; Understanding cultural diversity in Business (2nd edition) London: Nicholas Brealey Read More