Cross cultural awareness - Essay Example

This clearly states the increasing importance of globalization in the present era. With the increase in globalization, firms are employing people from diverse backgrounds and cultures. This is where the problems of cultural stereotyping arise. There is a need for firms to train the employees in the International Human Resource Management processes. IHRM involves the study of how the HR processes (Recruitment, induction, compensation, performance management, etc) are conditioned by the political, legal, economic environments and the labor practices of the countries in which their firm has subsidiaries.

The cultural adaption training given to the employees is known as acculturization. In America, autonomy is given a lot of importance whereas in countries like India, most organizations have a very bureaucratic culture. Also, in America, people are risk taking and welcome uncertainty hands on. Whereas it is the complete contrast in countries like Japan where people fear taking risks (Patricia Ann Mehegan 2006). Thus, global management is all about recognizing these cultural differences, acknowledging them and adapting to them.

The global firms nowadays require managers who are well trained to adapt to the cultural difference when they go as expats in other countires. Cross cultural understanding need to be a part of employee’s learning if he wants to excel in his career. The commonly held beliefs or opinions about certain individuals, cultures or communities are known as stereotypes (Richard A. Nitsche 1977). Stereotypes are basically our perceptions of something, the image we draw in our heads of a particular person or thing.

These stereotypes are based on previous assumptions, which are not always verified. People stereotype a community into two categories: the in-groups and the out groups. In-groups are the group people see in a positive light and