HRM Practices in India and Other Nations

Human Resource is the most important asset for any organisation and it is the source of achieving
competitive advantage. Managing human resources is very challenging as compared to managing
technology or capital and for its effective management, organisation requires effective HRM system.
HRM system should be backed up by sound HRM practices. HRM practices refer to organisational
activities directed at managing the pool of human resources and ensuring that the resources are
employed towards the fulfilment of organisational goals.

14.3.1 Human Resource Practices in India

Indian managers are more responsive to the human and bureaucratic consequences of their actions.
They are more influenced by positions and approaches which utilise philosophical and moral
justifications. They are more responsive to internal reward and controls. Because India has a larger
proportion of moralistic managers, change in managers is likely to be slower and more difficult.
Indian managers, at both middle and senior levels in organisations, possesses a belief in group-
based, participative decision-making, but have little faith in the capacity of workers for taking
initiative and responsibility. Indian managers favour labour and government intervention in the
affairs of the organisation. Middle-level managers in India espouse a greaterbelief in change and are
less conservative. In Indian culture, handshakes are acceptable but the most prevalent way of
greeting is by putting both the palms together in front of the chest (namaste). Back slapping and
touching arenot accepted at all. Indians are very tolerant of outsiders and acknowledge that there
are Notes unfamiliarity of local customs and procedures among them. HRD practices in Indian
companies attempt to blend Western and Eastern ideas and systems of people management. This
concept of HRD attempts to be more comprehensive and meaningful. For foreign firms, part of the
attraction has been the low cost of Indian labour. However, the competitiveness of India in terms of
the availability, qualifications, and skills of its human resources is considered to be one of the lowest
in the world. Example: The Indian software industry is highly competitive – Indian firms do not just
compete on price, but on the basis of quality, innovation, and technical expertise, and draw on a
huge pool of relatively low-cost, technically-qualified, English-speaking software professionals. In
1996, 104 firms out of the Fortune 500 outsource their software development to India. About 10% of
Microsoft’s 20,000 worldwide workforces are Indian. HRD places a premium on the dignity and
respect of people and is based on a belief in the limitless potential of human beings. It stresses that
people should not be treated as mere cogs in the wheel of production, but with respect. Did u
know? In a recent survey of Indian CEO’s, it was suggested that Indian managerial leaders were less
dependent on their personal charisma, but they emphasised logical and step by step implementation
processes. Indian leaders focused on empowerment and accountability in cases of critical
turnaround challenges, innovative challenges, innovative technology, product planning and
marketing or when other similar challenges were encountered (Spencer, Rajah, Narayan, Mohan &
Latiri 2007).  14.3.2 Human Resource Practices in U.S.A. Most people in the United States work in the
service sector, which accounts for 73% of all civilian employees, with only 24% in the manufacturing
and transportation sectors and less than 3% in agriculture. The American workplace is undergoing
radical changes in response to greater domestic and global competition, including work systems
innovations that are designed to increase productivity, reduce costs and improve quality. New
human resource practices are being implemented in work process design, employee stock
ownership, outsourcing and contingent employment. The identification of competencies required to
do a particular job (such as finance manager in the motor industry), has become central to the way
American companies recruit, appraise, train, reward and promote managers. This is apparent at
industry level in the UK Management Charter Initiative that charts managers’ competencies in terms
of key purpose (organisational objective), key role (managing people, managing finance, etc.), and
units of competence, elements of competence, and performance criteria and range indicators.
Hence a key purpose such as “to achieve the organisation’s objectives and continuously improve its
performance” will be traced down to the individual’s behavioral level, and performance will be
judged on prescribed criteria. Individuals can also be trained in these competencies where they have
a deficiency. Thus selection, appraisal, reward, promotion and training systems can be lined into
human resource management systems aimed at the achievement of organisational goals. American
managers are very individualistic and they value individual rewards and decision over group
performance. They have relatively low power distance. They are not upset when others have more
powers than they do. They are taught that everyone is equal, so they are not impressed by the
important jobs/titles. They are optimistic about the people’s motivation and capacities. Americans
believe that man has power to control nature and spend huge amount on space research, biotech,
etc. they believe that self-identification is achieved through action and performance. They are low-
context cultured society and ignore the non-verbal behaviour. For the American managers, the
single most important criteria are to have a successful career is ambition, drive and a pragmatic
individualistic achievement-oriented assessment system.