International Human Resource Management

Summary
Chapter Two
Social & Cultural Context of International HRM
2.1 What is Culture?
Social
and
cultural
factors
affect
the
international HRM. Culture is the thought and
behaviour patterns that member of a society learns
through language and other forms of symbolic
interaction their customs, habits, beliefs and
values, the common view points which bind them
together as a social entity. Cultures change
gradually picking up new ideas and dropping old
ones.
Culture is 1] prescriptive. It prescribes the kinds
of behaviour that are considered acceptable in the
society; 2] socially shared. It is based on social
interaction and creation. In fact it is out of
necessity; 3] learned . Acquired by learning but
not inherited genetically. If a person learns the
culture, where he is raised, that learning is
called enculturing. However, some persons learn the
culture of other society in which they were not
raised. Such learning is called acculturation; 4]
subjective.
People of different culture have
different idea of the same object; 5] cumulative.
Uncertainty of rains, crops, and thereby income in
developing countries resulted in the culture of
saving; and 6] dynamic. Culture is not immune to
change. New ideas are added and old ones dropped.
2.2 Why do Cultures Differ?
Culture is determined by factors that differ, each
set of factors has its own culture. Different
economic levels, conditions and climate of a region
produce different cultures.

International Human Resource Management

Need for food, water, clothing, housing and

security are common to all. Hence their behaviour
has common features, but there are variations in
these features due to availability of various
inputs for food, clothing, shelter and social
relations
together
with
climatic
conditions.
Similarly societies developed their own pattern of
child
bearing,
husband-wife
relations,
family
bondage, taking care of old people etc
2.3

Cultural Sensitivity

By understanding cultural differences one has to be

sensitive to culture of the host country and thus
avoid unpleasant situations. In fact all cultures
are good as they are developed over a number of
years of local conditions. Cultural sensitivity is
to have empathy to accept cultural differences
without allowing ones own values to surface in
unproductive confrontational manner. One cannot be
judgmental of the local culture. In absence of
cultural sensitivity two cultures try to understand
the other group negatively.
Each culture has its own dressing habits, living
styles, priorities, eating preferences. These have
to be respected.
In America, Germany and Switzerland people convey
messages explicitly in clear terms. These cultures
are called low-context cultures. In India, Japan,
Saudi Arabia communication is mostly indirect and,
the expressive manner in which the message is
delivered becomes critical. Much of information is
conveyed through non-verbal communication. Such
messages could be understood only with reference to
context. These cultures are called high-context
cultures. Cultures which handle information in a
direct , linear fashion are called monochromic .
Americans are more monochromic. In polychromic
culture people work on several simultaneously

International Human Resource Management

instead of pursuing a single task. Japanese &
Indians belong to polychromic culture
Irrespective of the religion, race, region, caste
etc. all of us have more or less common needs.
These are called Cultural Universals These have
been
identified
as
athletic,
sports,
bodily
adornment, cooking, dancing, singing, education,
joking, kin groups, status differentiation and
dream interpretation.
Language is the basic medium of communication.
There are 5,000 spoken languages in the world. The
same words in the same language may mean different
things in the different regions of the country.
People also communicate through non-verbal medium.
Non-verbal
communication
means
differently
in
different cultures.
e.g. eye to eye contact is
polite in the USA but rude in Japan.
Time has different meaning in different cultures.
Asians do not need appointment to meet someone and
vice versa.
But Americans, Europeans and Africans
need prior appointment to meet someone and vice
versa.
Space between one person and another person plays
significant role in communication. But culture
determines the distance / space between persons.
Latin Americans are comfortable with a few inches
of distance. Asians need substantial conversational
distance and no physical contact.
2.4 Social Environment
Religions play significant role in normal and
ethical standards in production and marketing of
goods and services. Most of the religions indicate
in providing truthful and honest information. But
most of the marketing practices deviate from these
standards. In addition to religion, family system
has its impact on international business.
Business should consider the behavioural patterns
of social groups in hiring, marketing and in

International Human Resource Management

selecting
suppliers
of
inputs
and
market
intermediaries. Certain societies like that in the
USA reward people based on performance while other
societies like Malaysia reward people based on
ethnic group plus performance.
Interest in career success differs from society to
society.
People with higher interest in career
believe in live to work while people in low
interest in career success countries also differ in
the
degree
that
individuals
are
assertive,
confrontational and aggressive.
These differences
reflect
in
how
managers
react
to
different
situations.
2.5 Hofstedes Model of Four Cultural Dimensions
This model of called four dimensions of culture was
built by Hofstede after study of 116,000 IBM
employees in 72 countries on cultural differences
related to management.
According to him, culture is the aggregate value,
beliefs
and
customs
that
define
common
characteristics
of
a
human
group.
Hofstede
explained
culturally
based
value
systems
as
comprising four dimensions viz. power distance,
uncertainty
avoidance,
individualism
and
masculinity.
Businesses should identify the cultural variations
in foreign countries and evaluate their influence
on
human
resource
management,
marketing,
stakeholder relations etc. After evaluation of the
influence of cultural variations on business
practices and processes, business firms should
decide
the
nature
and
degree
of
adjustment
necessary
Communication plays vital role while doing business
in various foreign countries. Businesses should be
cautious
in
spoken
and
written
language,
translation and the silent language, otherwise they
face serious problems in numerous transactions.

International Human Resource Management

Culture of country determines cost of doing

business,
productivity,
entrepreneurship
and
innovations. Education enhances employee commitment
increases productivity and thereby reduces cost of
operations.
These
factors
ultimately
enhance
competitive advantage of the business.
2.6

Religions and Economic Implications

The impact of religions on business is mostly in

developing attitudes of people towards work,
product / service, price fixation, entrepreneurship
and cost of doing business.
Christianity: It is claimed that there is a
relationship between Protestantism and the spirit
of capitalism. Protestant ethics emphasizes the
importance of hard work and creation of wealth as
God feels happy when wealth is created. Protestants
also believe that wealth is to be used for creating
more wealth and not for consumption.
Islam: According to Islam, those who pursue riches
on the earth may gain them, but those who forgo
worldly ambitions to seek favour of Allah, may gain
in greater measure. Economic principles of Islam
are pro free enterprise.
Hinduism:
Hindus believe they should conduct
themselves in an ethical manner to observe their
Dharma. They also believe karma principle which
states that how ethically a person conducted
activities during his / her previous incarnations
determine his / her activities in the present
lifetime.
Buddhism: According to Buddhism life is comprised
of suffering and misery is every where. It suggests
for systematically following noble eight fold path
of right seeing, thinking, speech, action, living,
effort, mindfulness and meditation.

The End
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