CHAPTER 3: IHRM and Culture

1. CHAPTER 3: IHRM and Culture

2. Learning objectives (chapter 3) • Define culture • Explain the importance of culture in IB • Explain the concept of culture as three layers of meaning • Describe the basic research findings of Hofstede and Trompenaars • Describe the differences between convergence, divergence, and crossvergence • Explain the importance of culture to IHRM • Describe the importance of culture to the conduct of research in IHRM • Explain the difficulties encountered when performing cross-cultural research • Define the universal, situational, and convergence assumptions underlying cross-cultural research

3. Overview chapter 3: • The importance of culture • Cultural convergence and/or divergence • Research in IHRM • Impact of culture on IHRM

4. The importance of culture

5. A definition and description of culture • “Culture is the characteristic way of behaving and believing that a group of people have developed over time”

6. Understanding culture as layers of meaning • Surface or explicit culture • Hidden culture • Invisible or implicit culture • Developing cultural understanding

7. Figure 3.1: The three layers of culture

8. Figure 3.2: Development of cross-cultural competences

9. National and regional cultures • The research of Geert Hofstede • Power distance • Uncertainty avoidance • Masculinity • Individualism • Confucian dynamism • The research of Fons Trompenaars • Universalism versus particularism • Collectivism versus individualism • Neutral versus emotional • Diffuse versus specific • Achievement versus ascription

10. National cultural clusters • Anglo • Arab • Far Eastern • Germanic • Latin American • Latin European • Near Eastern • Nordic • Independent

11. Practical observations • Deal focus versus relationship focus • Informal versus formal cultures • Rigid-time (monochronic) versus fluid-time (polychronic) cultures • Expressive versus reserved cultures

12. Dangers of oversimplification • Treating countries or cultures as homogeneous wholes • Cultures change

13. Country culture versus MNE culture • Organizational culture and values • Centralization/standardization versus localization/customization

14. Cultural convergence and/or divergence • Convergence: best practices • Divergence: local cultural practices • “Glocalization”: global and local

15. Cultural research in IHRM • Inconsistent and vague definitions of terms like culture • Inaccurate translation of key terminology • Difficulty in obtaining representative or equivalent samples of research subjects • Difficulty in isolating cultural differences

16. Limitations of studies • Mostly American perspectives • Lacking analytical approaches • Lack of research funds • Limited topics

17. Forms of IHRM research • Cross-cultural research • Multicultural research • Research on HR practices in emerging market countries

18. Basic assumptions of cultural research • Universal • Situational • Convergent

19. Specific difficulties • The focus of researchers: emic vs etic • Language problems • Measurement/methodological problems

20. Equivalence problems in cross cultural research • Metric (stimulus) equivalence • Conceptual equivalence • Functional equivalence • Subjectivity of topics • Factors other than culture

21. Research content in IHRM • Selection and preparation of expatriates • Local foreign workforces • HRM practices in MNEs

22. Impact of culture • Importance of culture on international business and IHRM

23. Key terms • National culture • Organizational (MNE) culture • Surface, hidden, and invisible culture • Convergence, divergence, and crossvergence • Low context and high context • Power distance • Uncertainty avoidance • Masculinity • Individualism • Confucian dynamism • Universalism and particularism