ASSIGNMENT SOLUTIONS

International Human
Resource Management
Assignment Solutions
Shoaib, Muhammad
09-Feb-14
[Type the astract o! the "ocument here# The astract is typically a short summary
o! the contents o! the "ocument# Type the astract o! the "ocument here# The
astract is typically a short summary o! the contents o! the "ocument#$
Contents
The foundations of Diversity Management, its relationship to prevailing Cross-cultural Leadership Styles
and the Power of eclectic Wor !roup design##########################################################################%
"oundations of diversity management################################################################################ &
Cross-cultural leadership styles######################################################################################## &
Diverse wor groups###################################################################################################### '
#elationship $etween diversity management and cross-cultural leadership###################################'
The advantages%disadvantages of the application of ey areas of Cross-cultural &uman #elations#########(
Cultural 'nowledge###################################################################################################### (
!athering different cultures############################################################################################# (
(nter Culture awareness################################################################################################## (
)ducation system########################################################################################################## )
*usiness idiosyncrasies and moral values to Diversity Management practice, including how such personal
values would influence transformation+################################################################################## )
(nternational #ecruitment and Selection##############################################################################)
(nternational Performance Management############################################################################*+
Cross- cultural distress################################################################################################# *+
(ntercultural Communication######################################################################################### *+
),tradition################################################################################################################ **
The lessons in Cross-cultural Leadership practices in $oth West and non-Western contemporary wor
situations##################################################################################################################### *,
Conclusions and recommendations##################################################################################### *-
Re!erences################################################################################################################ *.
,
Critical review of Articles:
"irst article -Management in emerging .S developed countries/ is a$out the a comparison of the
(ndian management culture .S Western cultures that how their management style is different
from each other+ This articles e,hi$its that in (ndia there are diverse management styles that are
different from the western cultures $ecause researchers have not e,plored (ndian management
styles yet as the western0s styles of management has $een e,plored+ When the multinational
organi1ations and su$sidiaries operate in the other country lie (ndia, they always adopt their
own management style which is an ultimate way to transfer the other country0s management
styles into a new country+ This includes the all practices of the &#M that includes, compensation
plans, rewarding system, training and development of employees, promotion and career planning
of the employees+ This also includes the centrali1ation and decentrali1ation of the organi1ation
and power delegation from corporate level to management level and from management level to
functional level+ Power delegation is top to down approach that is used in organi1ations to allow
the lower level management to tae decisions+ (n (ndian culture is has $een seen that there are
still centrali1ed culture e,ists while western cultures are more different than the (ndian
management style+ They have adopted the decentrali1ed management style as it has $een noticed
that employees feel more comfort when they are delegated to tae decisions $y themselves+ 2ne
of the e,ample is 3nilever that is operational in all around the world with more than 455 $rands+
These 455 $rands were reduced from 6455 $rands in past few years+3nilever has differentiated it
self through its management style and highly diversified maret driven policies and strategies+
These strategies are always implemented after the careful analysis of the maret+ That is the
reason 3nilever has to adopt decentrali1ation+ *y this organi1ational structure every $rand has
now $ecome a separate $usiness entity for 3nilever+ 7*oone, 6889:
2$;ective of the article is to focus on a$ove mentioned &#M practices and to descri$e the
importance of these practices that how these practices can lead the (ndian $ased organi1ations
towards successful $usiness lie westerns+ When su$sidiaries are woring with (ndian
organi1ations this conflict is raised due to diversification of the management styles+ 2ne of the
reasons has $een given in the article that there is less research on the (ndian management culture+
-
<rticle says that there must $e a research on the =uestion -Does the firm conduct a formal
analysis to determine how similar the &#M practices $etween the firm and the su$sidiaries are>/
Management styles of the (ndian organi1ations are Scio-Cultural management style+ (n this style
management styles are directly impacted $y the society, culture, and personal relationships+
Second article is a$out -The challenges of evolving and developing management (ndigenous
Theories and practices in <frica+/ (n this article it has $een seen that there is a $ig impact of the
political governing $odies in <frica over the $usinesses and all entities+ )conomy of the <frica is
also impacted $y this factor+ (t has $een discussed in the article that there are swere impacts that
has $een seen in the <frican $usiness styles due to this influence of the government+
Dictatorship, either in government or $usiness always $rings disasters until and unless it is not
controlled with proper planning+ (n every management style feed$ac is the most important
factor that must $e ept in mind to evaluate the planned and implemented strategies+
Management $y the &uman relations is the approach that is imposed $y the multinational
organi1ations+ This approach tends towards delegating more powers and rela,ation to the &#M
to provide the rela,ed environment so that employees may wor efficiently+
Management style of the <frican cultures is adopted from the ancient )gypt when pharaohs $uild
the mega structures of Pyramids other artifacts+ They adopted the element of threat over the
worers to wor faster+ <frican management style is found to $e more outdated as there are
certain element present lie lac of researches and research institutes+ <frican culture is the most
diversified culture from rest of the world due to its ethnic, cultural and linguistic pro$lems+
Many pro$lems are associated with the <frica management styles and culture due to domincance
of the westerns cultures, $usiness modules practices+ These are considered to $e more maret
driven approaches than the <frican $usiness school of thoughts+ To avoid the certain pro$lems it
must $e focused that there must $e colla$oration $etween <frican government with research
institutes to conduct more researches on the une,plored potential in <frican $usiness
environment+ "or this purpose there is a need of sufficient resources that must $e allocated for
research and development+
Third article is a$out the Chinese organi1ational $ehavior that descri$es that Chinese
management style follows Confucianism+ There are different aspects of this style $ut the most
.
important two prospects are the history and culture of China+ Their cultural and historical $ac
grounds are very famous all around the world+ They are considered to $e dynamic than the static+
<s they are now trying to $e more dynamic they are now moving towards progress day $y day
with rapid growth+ <s they are now accepting the western new civili1ed and dynamic ways, they
are $ecoming more and more powerful in economy+ Their adoption of the western organi1ational
culture has welcome the multinational companies to wor in China+ <nd now it has $een seen
that many multinational production companies has shifted to China+ *ut on the other hand it has
also $een seen that when there are more and more organi1ational cultures present in one region
and all woring in same economic conditions, multiple conflicts may $e raised+ These conflicts
must $e tacled with proper planning and it re=uires the focus of researchers+ This sector is now
having space for the researchers to research on the different prospective views of $usiness from
which one of the important element is organi1ational culture and structure+
LO 1
The foundations of Diversity Management, its relationship to prevailing Crosscultural
Leadership !tyles and the "ower of eclectic #or$ %roup design
)mployers use the human resource management techni=ues to manage the human resource
challenges of their international operations+ We have defined diversity management as a process
intended to create and maintain a positive wor environment+ 7&, ?55@:+ Diversity management
is an important function of leadership management+ (n international human resource
management, diversity means identifying the values of different individuals and managing them
in the environment called worplace+ These values of individuals can $e on the $asis of gender,
age, cultural $acground or religion+ 2n the other way, diversity may refer to the level of
education, social and economic $acground, personality, and living status and e,perience in life+
Many researchers argue that, effectively managed, worplace diversity can create a competitive
advantage in areas of cost+ 7#+, ?566:
Many voices call diversity a -$usiness imperative,/ meaning that todayAs increasingly diverse
and multicultural worforce should $e an asset that, if tapped, creates opportunities for
performance gains+ 7Sears, ?565:+ The $asic concept of managing diversity accepts that
the worforce consists of a diverse population of people+ 7B1ira, ?55@:+ Worforce diversity can
%
$e defined as, a worforce that consists of individuals who $ring different e,periences and
perspectives to the worplace that have distinctive needs, preferences, e,pectations, and
lifestyles+ Diversity management is creating the environment where people with different
$acgrounds contri$ute and participate for the common goal or o$;ective+ (n the organi1ational
conte,t, this common o$;ective may $y the mission of organi1ation+ Diversity also covers the
policy of e=ual employment opportunity 7))2:+
&oundations of diversity management
"oundations of worplace diversity need to incorporate with all the aspects of human resource
management+ These aspects can $e the planning, recruitment, selection, training C development,
compensation C $enefits and performance appraisal+ -2nce you have completed a ;o$
description for each role, this can then $e translated into a ;o$ advert for you to start
the recruitment process+ "or the recruitment process, you also need to define the type of people
you wish to employ+/ 7Welfare, ?566:+ 2rgani1ations in the non-western culture need to show
their commitment to diversity and they should focus on fle,i$le woring conditions+ They should
allow the employees to $alance their wor and other responsi$ilities in the organi1ations+
There are two different types of management approaches that are nown as the organic and
mechanic management+ These management assumptions are applied in different cultures as they
are re=uired $y the society+ 7)lin, ?55D: "rom the non-western culture, many (ndian
multinational companies have started their $usiness in the developed countries+ This raise
=uestions a$out which culture they follow in su$sidiaries in developed countries+ (ndian
management culture needs to change according to the multinational human resource
management practices+ This change may not have same affect on the su$sidiaries of (ndian
multinational companies located in developed countries $ecause of many cultural differences+
Crosscultural leadership styles
Different cross cultural leadership styles need to adopt according to the country re=uirements+
Cross cultural leadership is important $ecause leaders need to overcome the cross cultural issues+
They are re=uired to increase the intercommunication and interconnection in the companies+
&
Leaders need to manage the diversity on the country level lie in (ndia and other non-western
countries+
Diverse wor$ groups
#egarding the wor place diversity it is said that training plays very important role in retaining
talent+ (t promotes the harmony, learn a$out values and improve the cross cultural
communication+ 7#+ B+ , ?554: < num$er of researches suggest that culturally diverse groups
may e,perience their group outcomes more negatively than culturally homogenous groups+ (n the
culturally diverse companies or groups, there are a num$er of discriminatory practices and
treatments o$served i+e+ pre;udice against, unfavora$le perceptions of dissimilar others and error
in communications among the people on different levels+ (ndividuals and groups that is diverse
on demographic dimensions such as race, gender, age, education, tenure within an organi1ation
and functional $acground e,hi$it lower satisfaction, higher a$senteeism and turnover+ Satisfied
worforce and their high performance are the two ma;or indicators of group effectiveness+
'elationship (etween diversity management and crosscultural leadership
Culture can $e seen as a system of thining and acting that is taught $y, and reinforced $y, a
group of people+ 7Stringer, ?558:+ Cross-cultural psychology attempts to understand how
individuals of different cultures interact with each other+ <long these lines, cross-cultural
leadership has developed as a way to understand leaders who wor in the newly glo$ali1ed
maret+ The glo$al corporations are operating in the environment illustrate $y the cross cultural
differences+ This diversity at macro level shows the fundamental attitude of the organi1ation that
it is not only focusing on the individuality of the employees, $ut also understands the value of
significant contri$utions in diverse leadership styles+ (n the organi1ations, diversity is the
understanding and managing the differences and similarities to achieve the organi1ational goals+
Diversity increased the productivity in a wor environment where human interaction in a
common human factor+
'
LO )
The advantages*disadvantages of the application of $ey areas of Crosscultural +uman
'elations
"or any organi1ation it is said that human capital and worforce relationship are the $ac$one to
success+ 7Bancy #+ Locwood, ?554: (n cross cultural human relations, the communication is
$etween two or more sects in order to e,change their ideas and emotions+ Cross culture shows a
main focus on =uality management in the organi1ations+ Cultural diversity is defined as the
spectrum of customs, mores, traditions, patterns, ha$its, and lifestyles e,hi$ited or possessed $y
the totality of distinct cultural groups in a society+ 7Williams, ?566:+ &ere are the
advantages%disadvantages of the application of ey areas of cross cultural human relations+
Cultural ,nowledge
Cultural nowledge is $est essential when people are going to perform in different cultures+ They
should now the cultural differences among the e,isting country and home country+ -'nowledge
management can wor as a catalyst through use of tools, resources and systemsE it can help ignite
creativity and innovation in the development of organi1ation product and services+ (nnovative
&# programs cultivate successful employees+/ 7!ary, ?565:+
%athering different cultures
!athering different culture in one place may have advantage that they can e,change views, ideas,
thought so that it maes them to ad;ust with each other that help the cross culture people mingle+
*ut there may $e some distur$ance of thought $ecause of cross culture $ehavior+ The $ehavior of
people from different cultures may differ due to their education and e,periences as well as their
professional environment+
(
-nter Culture awareness
The definition of critical cultural awareness emphasi1es the importance of individuals $eing
aware of their own ideology F political and%or religious F and the need to $e e,plicit in oneAs
criteria of evaluating+ 7Gacson, ?56?:+ )very culture and every religion has its own traditions of
doing $usiness+ <s culture is group of religions performing the similar activity of their own
away, in that sense one group may have domination and other may not+ Domination religion has
power of ;udgment that was followed $y other too+ So with the cross cultural human relations, it
will $e easy to act lie inter cultural person+ <n organi1ation or a group may $e ad;usted in this
scenario+ So it is an advantage of cross cultural human relations+ 2n the other side the dominant
cultures lie western cutlers may put a pressure on the developing cultures in the non-western
$usiness organi1ations+
.ducation system
There is geographical sector in which whole the world is divided+ )very region or country has its
own cultural reasons+ (n the cross cultural wor environment, the professionals can teach and
learn different cultural e,periences to mae their wor with most efficient way+ This can surly
increase their productivity and capa$ility+ <long with this, the people woring in the cross
cultural environment are more efficient in their communications and $usiness dealings+ They
have more opportunities to learn and act+
/usiness idiosyncrasies and moral values to Diversity Management practice, including how
such personal values would influence transformation0
-nternational 'ecruitment and !election
#ecruitment is defined as a process of seeing and attracting suita$le candidates from within the
organi1ation or from outside the organi1ation for ;o$ vacancies that e,ist+ 7Cooper, ?56H:+ To
retain the employees satisfied, the selection criteria need to $e more effective+ -Selection is
the process of collecting and evaluating information a$out an individual in order to e,tend an
offer of employment+/ 7!atewood, ?565:+ The $etter recruitment and selection criteria can
enhance the organi1ational results+ The fundamental selection process can start after the
e,amination of cross cultural aspects lie social understandings, optimistic approach,
)
communication capacity and practical efficiency+ The success of e,patriate may $e verified from
the su$se=uent featuresI
Theoretically capa$le to wor
"le,i$le to wor atmosphere
)ager C forced to go a$road
),cellent capa$ility of interaction
-nternational "erformance Management
*usiness performance management encompasses all the processes, information, and systems
used $y managers to set strategy, develop plans, and monitor e,ecution, forecast performance+
7<,son, ?565: (n the international performance management a system can introduce to improve
the efficiency and originality in the wor+ This can also improve the committed and dedicated
staff and can reduce the e,ternal rescues+ Performance management can $e the ma;or component
in the success of international $usiness+
Cross cultural distress
)ffective management in the modern environment necessitates cross cultural competency in
order to get the $est out of a multicultural team+ 73$ani, ?56?:+ The ha$itant traditions of an
e,patriate influence and permits them functioning well in the homeland+ &owever shifting to
another country maes their primary software less capa$le and waste+ Thus culture is important
when e,patriating staff for glo$al wor+ There is a need of training in this situation+ Bot only
maing possi$le communication in the $ureaucratic intelligence and responsive to the cultural
differences, this ena$le migrant to $etter understand the $ac ground of why their foreign
counterparts act in definite ways or re=uire certain things in negotiations+ (mproved cultural
nowledge a$out the host country helps the e,patriate in $etter performing their duty+
*+
-ntercultural Communication
"or $etter e,patriate performance, intercultural communication is also considered to $e very
important $ecause it maes one capa$le to grasp and understand foreign cultures, their particular
theory in perception, thining, feeling C acting+
.1tradition
),patriate as anyone who is -living or woring in a country of which he or she is not a citi1en+
7<deola, ?56?:+ ),patriation is a complicated and e,clusive event $ecause transferring the
officials to manage and inspect the company functions in overseas locality is time consuming
and difficult+ (n this scenario, the human resource professionals have focused on the glo$al
placement when recruiting employees for e,patriation+ To achieve the strategic o$;ectives,
organi1ations have advantage to connect foreign wor more strongly to the strategic e=uipped
provisions+ This provides a lot of care in deciding that an e,patriate is the most e,cellent option
for glo$al wor+
**
LO 2
The lessons in Crosscultural Leadership practices in (oth #est and non#estern
contemporary wor$ situations
Successful leaders understand the nuances of communication and are a$le to alter their
communication style in order to meet the demands of specific situations+ 7Shri$erg, ?566:+
"ollowing are the lesions in cross cultural leadership practices in $oth west and non-western
contemporary wor situations+
Cultural stress - The training are re=uired to counter stress and to interpret situations+ -Training
is a process $y means of which individuals ac=uire the sills necessary to perform particular
tass+/ 7Dittmer, ?55@:+ The emigrants will have to understand the situations on their own and
then form perceptions+ The training should avoid any ind of stereotyping where trainees may $e
lead to $elieve certain things a$out any culture+ The culture may $roadly e,plain value system of
a community or country $ut every individual is different+ So individuals with a pre-formed
notion a$out the culture will $e shoced to see people different from their $eliefs leading to lot of
confusion and stress+
Different aspects of time li$e punctuality F There are some cultures lie 3S< starting and
ending on time are very important in others lie South <merican countries that may $e
considered e,ceptional+ Some cultures prefer to tae time for relationship $uilding, which may
not $e accepta$le at all in others+ &ence cross-cultural $arriers related to time need to $e taen
care of+
Linguistic (arriers - The )nglish is $eing used for most transactions $ut then usage of )nglish
tends to change with the country conte,ts+ "or e,ample the pronunciation in (ndia is significantly
different from the <merican way+ Secondly certain terms may have different meaning in different
languagesE hence conte,t also plays an important role+ (n case of countries with different
language the e,patriates must $e trained in opening dialogues and discussions with the help of
translators+
*,
/ody language and greetings - The way emotions are e,pressed in the various cultures may
differ, for e,ample the face e,pressions and hand gestures may convey different meanings in
different culture+
Conclusions and recommendations
(t is concluded that how the organi1ations managed and controlled in the international level and
efficiently handling it human resources with various languages and different cultural values+ The
role of leadership in international human resource management is focused to review how the
organi1ations $ehave in some certain situation in the western and non-western countries+
Leadership is defined as -the activity or action that leads a group of people $y esta$lishing clear
vision and transfers the information, nowledge and methods to understand that vision+/
Leadership is very essential for any organi1ation or group within the organi1ation and it holds
many responsi$ilities+ 7Daft, ?565:+
(t is recommended that the leaders need to focus on the si, factors to direct the organi1ations
effectively and efficiently+ These si, factors are the si1e, structure, host country demand,
operation modes, language and the national culture, control mechanism and geographical
dispersion+ These factors have impact on the &# functions internationally+ (&#M plays a vital
role in selecting and training people to shape up their minds for high productivity and output and
various leadership styles in conte,t of (&#M may adopt to regulate different ind of situations in
the organi1ations+ -Training the gain in technology, that allows worers to show the ma,imum
performance to the current woring values+ Values are 76: concepts or beliefs that 7?: pertain to
desira$le end states or $ehaviors that 7H: transcend specific situations, 7J: guide selection or
evaluation of $ehavior and events+/ 7G, ?566:
*-
References
A"e/ola0 1# A# 2,+*,3# In Global Business Management: A Cross-Cultural Perspective
2p# ,-)3# 1ulishe" y Ashgate 1ulishing#
A4son0 5# A# 2,+*+3# In Best Practices in Planning and Performance Management 2p#
,%3# 1ulishe" y 6ohn 7iley 8 Sons#
9oone0 1# :# 2*))'3# Discerning a key Cherecteristic of a urpeon style of
management0 *,+#
;ooper0 ;# 2,+*-3# In !rgani"ational and #ork Psychology: $opics in Applied
Psychology 2p# *-&3# 1ulishe" y Routle"ge#
5a!t# 2,+*+3# Organi<ation Theory an" 5esign# 1ulishe" y ;engage 9rain#
5ittmer# 2,++(3# In Principles of %ood& Beverage& and 'abor Cost Controls 2p# ,+3#
1ulishe" y 6ohn 7iley 8 Sons#
El/in0 G# 2,++&3# 'essons from the (ndigenous ast for #estern !rgani"ation0 -#
Gary# 2,+*+3# In %undamentals of human resource management 2p# *+%3# 1ulishe"
y 1earson E"ucation In"ia#
Gate=oo"# 2,+*+3# In )uman *esource +election 2p# -3# 1ulishe" y ;engage
Learning#
H0 G# 2,++(3# In )uman Capital: #orkforce Diversity Government,ide 2p# *-3#
1ulishe" y 5IANE 1ulishing#
60 S# 2,+**3# In $he Measurement and Analysis of )ousing Preference and Choice 2p#
*('3# 1ulishe" y Springer#
6ac/son0 6# 2,+*,3# In $he *outledge )andbook of 'anguage and (ntercultural 2p#
-&+3# 1ulishe" y Routle"ge#
>enneth# 2,+**3# In Cross-Cultural Psychology: Contemporary $hemes and
Perspectives 2p# *',3# 1ulishe" y 6ohn 7iley 8 Sons#
Nancy R# Loc/=oo"0 S# G# 2,++%3# #orkplace Diversity0 1g# -#
N<ira0 ?# 2,++(3# In Anti-!ppressive Practice in )ealth and +ocial Care 2p# ((3#
1ulishe" y SAGE#
*.
R#0 M# 2,+**3# In Managing Diversity in the Military: *esearch Perspectives 2p# 44@ii3#
Transaction 1ulishers#
R#0 N# 2,++%3# #ork place diversity0 1g# '#
Sears0 S# ># 2,+*+3# In Construction Pro-ect Management: A Practical Guide to %ield
2p# )3# 1ulishe" in 1ulishe" y 6ohn 7iley 8 Sons#
Shrierg0 A# 2,+**3# In Practicing 'eadership Principles and Applications 2p# **'3#
1ulishe" y 6ohn 7iley an" Sons#
Stringer0 5# M# 2,++)3# In ./ Activities for (mproving Cross-cultural Communication
2p# i43# 1ulishe" y Nicholas 9realey 1ulishing#
Uani0 5# 2,+*,3# In )ospitality 0 $ourism )uman *elations Management in Africa
2p# *.&3# 1ulishe" y AuthorHouse#
7el!are# 2,+**3# In $he *etail )andbook 2p# %+3# 1ulishe" y Eca"emy 1ress#
7erner0 S# 2,+*,3# In Managing )uman *esources in 1orth America: Current (ssues
2p# *(3# 1ulishe" y Routle"ge#
7illiams0 R# A# 2,+**3# In )ealthcare Disparities at the Crossroads ,ith )ealthcare
*eform 2p# .,3# 1ulishe" y Springer#

*%