Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions - Research Paper Example

Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Table of Contents Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Hofstede’s Dimensions of Culture 3Application of Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions in designing HR Practices 5 Conclusion 8 References 10 Introduction The paper reflects on the Cultural Dimension model of Geert Hofstede in that it aims to throw light on the different dimensions of the model to analyze the individual or organizational culture relating to a specific region. The paper also aims to reflect on the application of the model in designing human resource practices related to a multinational organizational framework. Human resources practices relating to different segments like recruitment and selection, compensation and rewards, performance appraisal, training and development would be adequately dealt relating to the same cultural dimensions of Hofstede. The above practice would help in enhancing the applicability of the human resources practices to help in meeting the needs of the personnel employed in different multinational organizations. Hofstede’s Dimensions of Culture The cultural dimensions as generated by the cultural scientist, Geert Hofstede are generated based on the cultural dimensions model which is elucidated as follows. The parameter of individualism or collectivism as generated by Hofstede evaluates the culture of a region based on individualistic and collectivist attributes. People dwelling in regions governed by collectivist approaches operate in a close cultural setting that reflects mutual care and understanding for each other. The collectivist countries also reflect honor for the existing cultural and social norms. On the other hand the regions governed or based on individualistic cultures reflect individuals that tend to take decisions in an independent fashion by not taking into consideration the needs and views of other members in a social group. Thus, decisions though taken by individuals based on social norms are loosely knit to each other thereby affecting the existing social fabric (Piepenburg, 2011). Uncertainty Avoidance tends to be the second dimension of culture as identified by Hofstede. This dimension tends to evaluate the level to which the individuals or groups relating to a specific region avoid the emergence of unforeseen events and unidentified situations. In that a certain level of risk or feelings of being threatened by the upcoming changes requires the individuals to operate based on specific code of conduct that would help in demarcating and governing their actions to achieve stated objectives. Thus, countries reflecting high uncertainty avoidance fail to considerably explore to identify new dimensions or areas of growth and opportunity (The Hofstede Centre , n.d. ). The Power Distance (PD) is identified as the third dimension in the cultural dimension model of Geert Hofstede. This dimension tends to evaluate the degree of inequality related to the distribution of power in an organization. The idea of Power Distance thus tends to evaluate the degree of hierarchical structures related to an organization. It reflects the differences of power related to superiors and subordinates and the different privileges that people in power tend to enjoy over others. Thus, low Power Distances reflect an understanding of others’ needs and thereby in delegating authority and responsibility (Hofstede, 2002). Finally, the fourth dimension related to Masculinity and Feminity is identified as an effective cultural parameter in Hofstede’s model that tends to evaluate the cultural dimensions of the people in terms of aggressiveness and working based on a cooperative framework respectively. The masculine culture thus reflects on the growth of effective heroism and also the focus on gaining material success, while, a feminine culture reflects growth of needed cooperation and also caring for the needs of others and thus promotes the growth of quality of life in totality in an organization or region (Woodside, 2010). Application of Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions in designing HR Practices The application of the cultural dimensions generated by Geert Hofstede would be made to reflect the change in human resources practices of multinational organizations aiming to conduct business in different regions. The case of Bangladesh, as a part of the South-East Asian country is first chosen that shows distinctive cultural dimensions based on Hofstede’s cultural model. In terms of Power Distance, Bangladesh reflects the existence of inequality in the socio-economic situation and also the growth of hierarchical structures in the business organizations. Bangladesh also signifies a high score in terms of Uncertainty Avoidance owing to growth of widespread poverty and unemployment conditions. The Bangladeshi culture shows needed collectivism such that the actions are performed by individuals with an eye on the need and aspirations of the society and greater masculinity owing to focus on individual growth and assertiveness. Based on evaluation of the above traits, the compensation practices related to the multinational organizations operating in Bangladesh can be designed to generate greater rewards and benefits for the people belonging to higher positions in the organizational hierarchy. Similarly, the existence of collectivism reflects that the rewards and benefits are desired to be gained in groups rather than focusing on individual gains and rewards. Hence, the compensation and rewards practices of the Bangladeshi organizations need to rightly generate group compensation and incentive schemes. In terms of larger scores relating to Uncertainty Avoidance, the human resources practices in the Bangladeshi organizations need to generate greater importance to the issues of job and employment security. Creating a secured job environment would contribute in motivating the people to generate greater productivity (Reiche, Lee, & Quintanilla, 2009). Similarly, the human resource practices of the Bangladeshi organizations also need to generate effective training and development measures such that the same would rightly encourage the growth of employee loyalty and motivation in the organization. The issue of uncertainty avoidance and collectivism can also be effectively addressed through the generation of recruitment programs to higher organizational posts based on the policy of internal recruitment. Growth of employees along the organizational hierarchy would contribute in helping the people feel the growth of job security thereby generating greater productivity. Employees in the Bangladeshi organizations also desire to work on a team based environment that reflect due collectivism and also require the need for generation of human resource practices promoting the sharing of information along different levels (Abdullah, Boyle, and Joham, n.d.). The formulation of human resources policies based on the scores related to cultural dimensions would also be discussed relating to organizations operating in the Serbian region. In terms of the cultural dimensions, Serbia as a country reflects considerable high scores for the parameters like Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance, while the scores tend to be considerably low for the parameters like Individualism and Masculinity. The same is indicated through the use of the following table. (Milikić, 2009) The parameter of Uncertainty Avoidance gaining a high score reflects that the employees would desire the job analysis and specifications to be effectively generated and detailed which would contribute in reducing the element of uncertainty involved. The dimension of Power Distance also reflects a high score relating to the Serbian region. The high score relating to Power Distance however does not tend to limit or restrict the task roles to be specified and delegated along different levels. The human resources practices related to the multinationals operating in Serbia do not require job specifications related to the different tasks to be identified and stated by the mangers. Rather, the human resources programs and policies would be designed to focus on helping the higher management to specify the duties and responsibilities and the job expectations related to the employees pertaining to the different levels. Further, a low score related to Individualism reflects that the recruitment practices of the organizations need to be formulated to help in generating growth of internal employees in terms of referrals and development of networks. Implementation of such practices would contribute in promoting collective growth for the people and also in reducing the element of uncertainty involved (Noorderhaven & Harzing, 2003). Use of external modes like word-of-mouth marketing and advertisement based on the use of newspapers and participation in job fairs is taken to rightly address the issue of Uncertainty Avoidance. Similarly, the promotion of a team based work culture is also taken to address the parameter of collectivism such that it promotes needed collaboration among employees at all levels. Further, along with need for generation of training and employee development programs, promotional programs and policies in the organization is required to effectively focus on encouraging the growth of interpersonal relationship among personnel at all levels. The selection procedure of employees related to the Serbian organizations is required to incorporate such elements like pattern of cooperativeness and collaboration of employees and also the ability of the employees to rightly fit with the internal culture of the organization. For internal referrals the pattern of recommendations is gained by the superiors and colleagues with the use of unstructured interviews. Personality tests are also used to check the degree of cooperation of the individuals and are thus required to be potentially used as a tool by the human resource managers (Milikić, 2009). Human resources practices of multinational organizations operating in Greece relating to recruitment and selection procedures is observed to depend on the use of referral practices and also through recommendations generated by internal people. This would contribute in meeting the dimensions of collectivism and also help in reducing the amount of uncertainty avoidance. Further, the human resource practices relating to recruitment and selection of candidates and also the planning of performance appraisal needs to be made through relating the same to the Greek culture. Existence of high scores related to the dimension of Power Distance for Greek society requires the conducting of Performance Appraisal programs in a top-down manner. It reflects reduced participation or involvement of opinions gained from colleagues and subordinate groups relating to an employee. The management decision in the performance appraisal process is taken to be final (Myloni, Harzing, & Mirza, 2003). Conclusion The analysis reflects that the Hofstede’s Cultural Model can be effectively used for designing of human resources programs and policies thereby matching the same with the cultural frameworks of the different regions. Cases of multinational companies operating in different international markets like Bangladesh, Serbia and Greece is incorporated in the paper for conducting the analysis. Policies and programs related to recruitment and selection, training and development, performance appraisal and compensation schemes are required to be effectively designed through matching the same with the social and cultural norms of the regions. The existence of high scores relating to Uncertainty Avoidance for Bangladesh reflects the human resources policies and programs to focus more on enhancing the dimension of job security through incorporation of training and reward generation programs. Low scores obtained relating to Individualism for Serbia indicates that the people generate importance to Collectivist ideology. This thus requires the human resources policies and programs to encourage the growth of teamwork and needed cooperation and collaboration among the different levels in accomplishing stated tasks. Similarly the existence of high scores relating to Power Distance dimension for Greece requires the performance appraisal activities to be conducted based on the decisions of the managers. It thus discourages the incorporation of feedback provided by the colleagues and subordinate groups. Evidences gained relating to the above grounds thus show that use of the Hofstede’s Cultural Dimension rightly fulfills in designing of specific kinds of human resources programs and practices relating to different regions. References Abdullah, A., Boyle, S., & Joham, C. (N.D.). Role Of Cultural Factors In Shaping Human Resource Management Practices In The Multinational Corporations (Mncs) Operating In The Emerging Markets Of South Asia. Retrieved September 25, 2014, From Http://Www.Wbiconpro.Com/419-Abdullah.Pdf Hofstede, G. H. (2002). Exploring Culture: Exercises, Stories And Synthetic Cultures. United States : Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Milikić, B. B. (2009). The Influence Of Culture On Human Resource Management Processes And Practices:The Propositions For Serbia. Economic Annals , 54 (181), 93-118. Myloni, B., Harzing, A.-W., & Mirza, H. (2003). Human Resource Management In Greece: Have The Colours Of Culture Faded Away? International Journal Of Cross Cultural Management , 4 (1), 59-76. Noorderhaven, N. G., & Harzing, A.-W. (2003). The “Country-Of-Origin Effect” In Multinational Corporations: Sources, Mechanisms And Moderating Conditions . Management International Review , 43 (2), 47-66. Piepenburg, K. (2011). Critical Analysis Of Hofstede’s Model Of Cultural Dimensions: To What Extent Are His Findings Reliable, Valid And Applicable To Organisations In The 21st Century? Germany : GRIN Verlag. Reiche, B. S., Lee, Y.-T., & Quintanilla, J. (2009). Cultural Perspectives On Comparative Hrm. In C. Brewster, & W. Mayrhof, Handbook Of Research In Comparative Human Resource Management (Pp. 1-26). Cheltenham: Edward Elger. The Hofstede Centre . (N.D. ). Dimensions . Retrieved September 24, 2014, From Http://Geert-Hofstede.Com/Dimensions.Html Woodside, A. G. (2010). Case Study Research: Theory, Methods, Practice. United Kingdom : Emerald Group Publishing. Read More