HRM Developing Cross-cultural Capability - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages National culture has a greater effect on employees than does their organisations culture. 1Managers understanding of culture give a basis on what to predict and what negotiations might respond to managers' offer.
Hofstede's framework for assessing cultures is one of the most widely referenced approaches to helping managers better understand differences between national cultures. Managers and employees vary on five dimensions of national culture.
Individualism is the degree to which people in a country prefer to act as individuals. In an individualistic society, people are supposed to look after their own interests and those of their immediate family and do so because of the large amount of freedom that and individualistic society allows its citizens. British are in nature of individualism while Indians are somewhat collective. Collectivism is characterised by a social framework. In collectivism, people prefer to act as members of groups and expect others in groups of which they are part (such as family or an organisation) to look after them and to protect them.
Hofstede used the term power distance as a measure of the extent to which a society accepts the fact that power in institutions and organisations is distributed unequally. A high power distance society accepts wide differences in power in organisations. Employees show a great deal of respect for those in authority. Titles, rank, and status carry a lot of weight. In India, power distance is very high but in Britain it is not as high as India. In fact it is low in Britain. A low power distance society plays down inequalities as much as possible. Superiors still have authority, but employees are not afraid of or in awe of the boss.

Uncertainty Avoidance
It describes the degree to which people tolerate risk and prefer structured over unstructured situations. People in low uncertainty avoidance societies are relatively comfortable with risks. They are also relatively tolerant of behaviour and opinions that differ from their own because they don't feel threatened by them. On the other hand, people in a society that's high in uncertainty avoidance feel threatened by uncertainty and ambiguity and experience high levels of anxiety, which manifests itself in nervousness, high stress and aggressiveness. British are less likely to avoid uncertainty than from Indian.

Quantity versus Quality Of Life
The fourth cultural dimension is a dichotomy. Quantity of life is the degree to which values such as assertiveness, the acquisition of money and material goods and competition prevail. Quality of life is a national cultural attribute that emphasises relationship and concern for others. Indians emphasise on quality of ...Download file to see next pagesRead More