IHRM4350

1923606
 Section-A

Q2. Explain the relevance of cross cultural training in global assignments with suitable
illustration.

Another method of handling diversity in an organization is cross-cultural preparation. It has

traditionally been the primary tool for promoting meaningful cross-cultural cooperation and
interaction. A technique or activity used to improve an individual's ability to deal with cross-
cultural situations and perform well in a new cultural setting was known as cross-cultural
training. According to Zakaria, cross-cultural training aids in the transition from a home-based
management local style to a new cultural mode that is more appropriate.

Employees' ability to appreciate the society of others, as well as their beliefs and ethos,
improves as a result of cross-cultural preparation. It piques workers' curiosity in learning more
about their own backgrounds and cultural roots. They should be proud of their own society,
and staff should embrace and respect the cultures of their co-workers.

Employees of Indian culture, for example, should be aware of and understand their own culture,
as well as embrace and appreciate the cultures of English and Americans. This greatly aids in
adjusting to people in different races, and certain similar issues can be avoided as a result.

Many organizations have developed cross-cultural training programs in light of the

opportunities, but they continue to struggle with recognizing the market importance and
reaping the benefits of these programs. However, all of them would need to begin cross-cultural
preparation in the near future. In the absence of this, they have begun to outsource their core
operations as well. Despite its usefulness, some experts have dismissed it, claiming that it is
currently inadequate and incomplete. It's a waste of time, resources, and commitment.
Considering both its benefits and drawbacks, it is concluded that it is advantageous now and
will be much more so in the near future.

Cross-cultural training is offered as individuals with different and contrasting backgrounds

interact and work together. They begin to value their own culture as well as the cultures of
others. They collaborate to accomplish the goals of the organization under which they are
working. This promotes a safe work climate, which is helpful to all parties involved.
There are five different types of Cross-cultural Trainings-

1. Training for Dealing Cross-Cultural Challenges-

Cultural diversity presents both threats and opportunities. The tough scenario is dealing
with the problems but still improving work results. The preparation provided aims to
prepare participants to cope with difficulties with ease or minimal difficulty.

This style of teaching emphasizes the processes, tactics, policies, and procedures found
in various countries' workplaces. The staff is made conscious of these issues, which can
then be replicated in future jobs. It outlines the problems that have arisen as a result of
cultural diversity, recommends ways to cope with those challenges, and offers potential
solutions to those challenges in order to increase the productivity of cross-cultural
teams. This will be in a position to raise awareness, build trust, and build morale among
them, resulting in the development of a team spirit. This end goal would promote
collaboration, performance, and efficient communication.

2. Training for Diversified Workforce-

Globalisation of corporate practices has resulted in a large number of job openings all
around the world. Throughout their operations, multinational corporations have hired
skilled workers from many nations. As a result, the population has been extremely
diverse. The executive team faces a difficult challenge of dealing with such a diverse
workforce.

Management is given instruction for this purpose in order to raise awareness of cultural
elements, beliefs, and behaviour. The human resource management staff works with
women, so this training is particularly beneficial to them. The HR manager will work
with people from diverse cultural backgrounds if he has a thorough understanding of
his staff and their cultural backgrounds. This aids in the comprehension of others and
adds to the maintenance of positive working relationships. Working in a calm
environment increases both quantity and consistency of production.

3. Training on Specific Country-

This is dependent on the company's current condition. When an organization does
operations in a specific country, it is necessary to understand the country's culture.
 Training should be done solely to raise awareness of the country's history. Geographical
place, geography, history, environment, people's behaviour, usage patterns, social and
moral values, and so on should all be included in the teaching.

Managers would be more mindful of this, which would help them in dealing with
investors, employers, associates, staff, and consultants. Dealing administrators would
not face problems if they have a clear understanding of the particular country's history.
Their work performance will undoubtedly increase. If proper precautions are not taken,
a slew of problems will arise at any turn, potentially leading to the country's collapse.

This training is mostly for managers who work in or travel to that particular country.
This is tailored to companies and individuals who must travel to other countries and
work with clients or people from different cultures. This teaching goes into the specific
beliefs, ethos, principles, behaviour, corporate practices, and traditions of a specific
nation or ethnic group in great detail.

4. Training in Management Practices-

The managerial team receives training in order to handle company operations in a
variety of environments and manpower around the world. Different strategic practices,
approaches, procedures, tactics, and theory are illustrated by management teams in
various countries. There is a raise of awareness so that they can be used to manage
programs all over the world.

It allows management to comprehend business management practices through global

markets, as well as organize, advise, and supervise cross-cultural teams. This would
make it easier to complete the tasks without difficulties. The management team's
success in cross-cultural collaborations will undoubtedly increase.

5. Training for Conducting Negotiations-

The management makes a variety of decisions when doing business on the global level.
They are interested in commercial negotiations in order to finalize a contract. The
negotiating mechanism is involved in determining partners, mergers, acquisitions, joint
partnerships, dealers, vendors, and staff, for example. Negotiating with parties from
different cultures is very complex.
 This style of preparation raises knowledge of cultural backgrounds and develops
negotiating techniques for dealing with cross-cultural groups. This is a unique
preparation that aids in the development of negotiation skills in relation to a particular
community, bargaining team, clients, stakeholders, and staff.

Contracts may be easily finalized or settled by agreeing on terms and conditions specific
to the deals, thanks to proven negotiation skills. Agreements, settlements, and
transactions cannot be successfully finalized without proper negotiating abilities.
Finally, these have an effect on the company's results.

Q3. Map Hofstede’s cultural dimensions to the context of working in a cross cultural
environment in any two diverse country contexts.

The world's cultures are becoming deeply intertwined, and the corporate world is becoming
increasingly global. For administrators, this includes being able to collaborate with a wide
range of individuals from many countries and cultural traditions. However, since most people
are so absorbed in their own society, they sometimes neglect to see how it influences their
thought and action habits. The GLOBE research, Trompenaars' cultural dimensions, and Hall's
cultural dimensions are examples of efforts to merge these cultural distinctions across
boundaries. However, Geert Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions is the most widely adopted and
well-known paradigm regarding cultural distinctions.

1. Power Distance-
This factor reflects how many less dominant members of a group agree and expect
authority to be allocated unequally: views on how power can be distributed in society.
The central problem here is how a society deals with social inequality. People in
communities with a high level of Power Distance embrace a hierarchical hierarchy in
which everyone has a position and no further argument is needed. Citizens in
communities with a low Power Distance tend to equalize power sharing and demand
reasons for power inequality.

Example- According to the model, team members in a high PDI country like Malaysia
would not take any action and prefer to be led and driven through a mission. If a boss
may not take charge, the job can be dismissed as unimportant.
2. Individualism-
Individualism vs. Collectivism is a dimension that examines the relative relevance of
individual vs. group desires. Individualism, on the high end of this scale, is
characterized as a desire for a closely knit social system in which people are supposed
to look after only themselves and their immediate families. Collectivism, in the other
hand, is a desire toward a close-knit social structure under which people can trust their
families or members of a certain in-group to look after them in return for unquestioning
allegiance. If people's self-image is described in terms of "I" or "we" reflects a society's
status on this axis.

Example- Panama and Guatemala, both in Central America, have very poor IDV ratings
(11 and six, respectively). A publicity strategy emphasizing mutual benefits, for
example, will certainly be understood and well received in these nations, as long as the
people approached felt like they are part of the same group.

3. Masculinity-
The Masculinity/Femininity component refers to the ideals are prioritized in a
community. The Masculine side of this dimension reflects a societal desire for
accomplishment, heroism, assertiveness, and financial incentives for success. The
general public is more competitive. Femininity, on the other hand, represents a desire
for cooperation, modesty, consideration for the poor, and high quality of life. The
general public is more consensus-oriented. Masculinity and Femininity is often referred
to as "tough versus tender" societies in the corporate world.

Example- The highest MAS ranking is 95, although the lowest assessed rating is five
in Sweden. As a result, if you start a business in Japan, you should be aware that you
will be working in a bureaucratic, deferential, and patriarchal community. Long hours
are the rule, which may make it difficult for female team members to advance due to
family obligations.

At the same time, Japan is a society in which all children (male and female) are taught
the importance of competitiveness and teamwork from an early age. As a result, female
staff members are almost as likely as their male counterparts to exhibit these
stereotypically masculine characteristics.
 In contrast, according to Hofstede's paradigm, Sweden is a rather feminine culture.
Discussion, consensus, mediation, and bargaining are all used to manage in this setting.

4. Uncertainty Avoidance-
The degree to which members of a group are concerned with confusion and complexity
is expressed by the Uncertainty Avoidance dimension. Its influence on rulemaking is
also taken into account. The central question here is how a society deals with the fact
that the future cannot be predicted: do we attempt to monitor it or just let it happen?
Uncertainty Avoidance is strong in countries that uphold strict standards of opinion and
behaviour and are intolerant of unconventional behaviour and concepts. To keep
confusion at bay, these countries always need a slew of laws. Countries with a low
Uncertainty Avoidance Index have a more relaxed mindset, where experience takes
precedence over values, complexity is tolerated, and the need for laws to limit
uncertainty is marginal.

Example- According to Hofstede's model, Greece is at the top of the UAI scale with a
score of 100, while Singapore is at the bottom with a score of eight. As a result, you
may be eager to start a conversation at a meeting in Greece because you know that,
amid any emotional outbursts, team members have a cultural propensity to make the
safest, most conservative decisions. While the goal is to inspire them to be more
receptive to new concepts and methods, including a small, organized list of choices or
solutions can be beneficial.

5. Time Orientation-
When coping with the problems of the present and future, every culture must retain
certain links to its own history. These two existential aims are prioritized differently by
societies. Low-scoring countries, for example, tend to uphold long-standing customs
and values while approaching social transition with skepticism. They are interested in
both the past and the present, and they place a high emphasis on customs and social
responsibilities. Countries with high scores on this dimension, on the other hand, have
a more realistic approach: they are forward-oriented and promote frugality and
investment in new schooling as a means of preparing for the future.
 Example- The United States has a short-term mindset. The value of short-term gains
and fast performance reflects this (profit and loss statements are quarterly, for example).
It also manifests itself in the country's deep sense of nationalism and social values.

6. Indulgence-
The factor of Indulgence is a comparatively recent addition to the model. This
dimension is described as how much people attempt to suppress their emotions and
urges as a result of their upbringing. Indulgence refers to a lack of control, whereas
restraint refers to a lack of control. As a result, cultures may be classified as either
indulgent or restrained. Indulgence refers to a society that provides for the
comparatively unrestricted satisfaction of simple and inherent human desires such as
enjoyment of life and amusement. Restraint denotes a culture that suppresses and
governs the satisfaction of needs by strict social norms.

Example- Eastern European countries, including Russia, have a low IVR ranking,
according to the model. According to Hofstede, these countries are marked by a
conservative society with a pessimistic bent. People place a low value on leisure time
and, as the title implies, try to exercise extreme self-control.

Q1. Compare and contrast the varieties of capitalism in Germany, US and how it impacts the
macro, micro aspects of institutional context using suitable examples.

The Varieties of Capitalism (VoC) are divided into two groups: Liberal Market Economies and
Co-ordinated Market Economies. LMEs are, in essence, markets that are more involved in or
tied to deregulation and market forces. In Liberal Market Economies, political institutions are
less involved. Quality breaching is unrestricted, and the administration sector thrives in these
markets due to less restrictions. The United States of America is a textbook example of such a
system. Co-ordinated Market Economies are the other kind of economy. In each interaction,
these economies have authorised offices that authorize and formally implement all agreements,
interchanges, or queries. Financial corporations, legislation, and financial foundations are
examples of offices. The majority of European countries, such as Germany, Sweden, and the
Netherlands, serve as role models.
Coordinated Market Economies: The German Case

i. In coordinated business markets, the financial system or market for corporate

governance usually offers businesses with access to funding that is not completely
reliant on publicly accessible financial data or existing returns. Access to this kind of
'patient money' allows businesses to maintain experienced workers through economic
downturns and invest in long-term ventures that pay off in the long run. The main issue
is that, since financing is not to be based on balance-sheet criteria, investors must have
some means of measuring company results in order to guarantee the integrity of their
assets. In general, that means they must have access to what would normally be
considered ‘private’ or ‘inside’ information about the operation of the company.

ii. The firm's internal structure reinforces these network management structures in many
CMEs. Top German managers, unlike their counterparts in LMEs, seldom have the
power to act independently. Instead, they must get permission from supervisory boards,
which include staff members as well as major operators, as well as other senior
executives, major suppliers, and customers, before making major decisions. This
structural preference for consensus decision-making encourages knowledge sharing
and the development of a reputation for providing reliable data, both of which help with
network monitoring.

iii. Many companies in organized business environments use manufacturing models that
focus on a highly trained workforce that is granted significant job control and
empowered to share the knowledge it gathers in order to develop product lines and
production processes on a continuous basis (cf. Sorge and Warner 1986; Dore 1986).
Companies who use those tactics, on the other hand, are vulnerable to staff 'hold-ups'
and 'poaching' by professional personnel from other companies, whereas employees
that exchange expertise gained at work with managers are vulnerable to abuse. As a
result, CMEs need industrial relations organizations that are capable of addressing those
issues.

iv. Since organized business economies rely on employees with strong industry- or firm-
specific abilities, they rely on education and training programs that can provide them.
Workers must be confident that an apprenticeship can lead to lucrative jobs, while
 businesses investing in training must ensure that their workers can learn useful skills
and will not be poached by companies not investing in training. As Culpepper points
out in his review, the teamwork issues are serious. CMEs provide a number of solutions
to these issues.

Conclusion: This account should reveal the complementarities that exist in German political
economy. Many businesses follow manufacturing methods that rely on employees with high
standards of expertise and organizational loyalty, which they can ensure by providing them
with lengthy job tenures, industry-based incomes, and safe working conditions. However, these
activities are only possible because a corporate governance scheme that includes network
monitoring systems allows businesses to access resources on terms that are largely unaffected
by earnings volatility. High levels of industry-specific skills are provided by effective
occupational training programs, which are backed up by an industrial relations framework that
discourages poaching. As a result, joint standard-setting and inter-firm cooperation, which
facilitates knowledge transfer, are encouraged. Any of these complementarities are
summarized by the arrows in Figure Four. The economic returns to the scheme as a whole are
higher than the economic returns to its component parts alone, and all of these activities
improve the efficiency with which others work.

Liberal Market Economies: The American Case

i. Several aspects in liberal capitalist economies' financial regimes or structures for

corporate governance allow companies to pay attention to actual profits and the
valuation of their shares on stock exchanges. When the stock value of a company falls,
regulatory environments are forgiving of mergers and acquisitions, even hostile
takeovers. The conditions on which major companies can obtain financing are highly
influenced by their valuation in financial markets, where dispersed investors value the
business based on publicly available knowledge. This is true with both bond and stock
matters, as well as bank lending. Compensation systems that reward top management
for increases in net earnings or share price are also common in such economies.

ii. Firms in free market economies depend heavily on market relationships between
individual workers and employers to coordinate their relationships with the labour force
in the area of workplace relations. Top management typically has complete power of
 the company, including significant hiring and firing authority. Firms are not required
to establish staff representation bodies, such as works councils, and the trade union
movement is traditionally weaker than in CMEs, though it can have considerable
influence in some industries. Since labour unions and business groups in LMEs are less
organized and inclusive, securing economy-wide pay cooperation is more complex. As
a result, to keep incomes and inflation under check, these economies depend heavily on
macroeconomic policy and market competitiveness.

iii. Liberal business economies' schooling and training programs are largely compatible
with these increasingly volatile labour markets. Since employers are hesitant to engage
in apprenticeship programs imparting industry-specific expertise where they have no
assurances that other businesses can stop training to merely poach their workers,
vocational training is often offered by establishments that have comprehensive
schooling that focuses on general skills. Career achievement is often dependent on
general schooling for jobs with limited employment tenures and volatile labour
markets, and most college programmes from secondary to university levels, including
business and engineering, emphasize 'certification' of general skills rather than the
development of more advanced competencies.

iv. In free business economies, inter-company partnerships are typically focused on

traditional market relationships and enforceable structured contracts. They are mediated
in the United States by strict antitrust rules, which are intended to prohibit firms from
colluding to manipulate rates or economies, and contract doctrines, which rely heavily
on strict interpretation of written contracts. As a result, businesses seeking to enter into
relational relationships with other companies get no help from the American legal
system.

Conclusion: The character of norm setting in the United States emphasizes the value of
licensing. Collective standard setting is uncommon, as Tate observes in this volume, since few
industries have industry organisations capable of securing agreement on new standards.
Instead, specifications are often established by industry competitions, with the winners
licensing their technology to a large number of customers at a high profit margin. The
prevalence of this practice explains why venture capital companies exist in those economies,
where a single achievement in standard-setting will compensate for a slew of missed
investments.

Section-B

Q5.
1.Elaborate the challenges faced by the student in living in China.
In his "New world," the student faced many obstacles. The student, who was from Zurich, was
unprepared for the cultural shock he would face in China. He was sent to China without
adequate preparation or information, and thus had no idea what to expect once he arrived. The
student's first two weeks in China were a breeze as he immersed himself in the world. The real
problems started when he arrived in Hangzhou.

He was given a dorm room and was forced to share it with someone he didn't meet. This abrupt
invasion of his privacy was just the first of several difficulties he'd face. Another problem was
the dormitory's failing state. All was old and broken, and mildew hung from the walls in his
home.

Another difficulty was maintaining good hygiene. With 200 international students, there were
just two bathrooms, both in poor condition. The student had a large divide to bridge between
the western and Asian ways of life.

2.Explain the reasons for the students harrowing experience in China.

Culture shock is a personal experience for each individual. Everyone's cultural shock reaction
will be different in terms of intensity and operation. Also within the same individual, culture
shock may be different. It occurs in a rare setting in an unfamiliar environment. New situations
will compel one to look at himself and his new surroundings from a different perspective.
Culture shock is not a disease, but it can cause physical discomfort and accompanying
symptoms. Cultural shock, on the other hand, is a learning experience.

Cultural shock is one of the reasons why students in China had such a traumatic experience. A
culture shock is a phenomenon that occurs as people travel to a new country with a culture that
is very different from their own, and since several changes must be made in a short period of
time, it induces psychological and physical disorientation. As can be seen from the
aforementioned case report, the author was exhausted and tired of sleeping in. This can be
attributed to the cultural shock experienced as a result of relocating to a nation such as China,
where the culture is vastly different from that of Switzerland.

A culture shock can also leave a person with negative feelings toward the host and a strong
desire to return home. This can be seen in the case study, where the author questions whether
learning Chinese is a smart thing and does not have the same feelings for Chinese people as he
did previously.

3.Illustrate the phases through which the student went through in the country context.

1. Honeymoon stage

• Big enthusiasm for the new environment

• Discover new possibilities
• „Trust-make“ with the unknown
• Master the practical obstacles
• A positive perception dominates
• The feeling of the acceptance prevails
• The social environment shows understanding and tolerance

2. Disintegration stage

• Doubts actually arise

• Uncertainty, disappointment, alienation dominates
• Often a feeling of the inadequacy
• Strong sense of guilt when misunderstandings arise
• External view: Affiliation to the group
• Interior view: Acceptance is missing
• Less tolerance of the social environment

3. Reintegration Stage

• Annoyance in relation to the social environment

• Tendencies to stereotyping and generalisation
• Refusal of the guest culture
• Ignore the differences and similarities between the guest culture and the own culture
• Take a “defending position”
 4. Autonomy stage

• More objective sight on the situation

• A new perception of the strange culture and the own « I » arises
• A new feeling: Now I understand it!
• Self-assertion turns back
• New found liberty can be enjoyed

5. Interdependence stage

• It can come to a new identity: from a bi-cultural to a multi-cultural person

• Differences remain visible, but they do no coin life anymore
• Development of new confidence
• Creativity and humour return
• Appropriate interpretation of the conditions of the strange culture becomes possible

4.Relate the described situation to one of the cultural dimensions identified by Hofstede.
How can you explain it?
Uncertainty Avoidance-
The degree to which members of a group are concerned with confusion and complexity is
expressed by the Uncertainty Avoidance dimension. Its influence on rulemaking is also taken
into account. The central question here is how a society deals with the fact that the future cannot
be predicted: do we attempt to monitor it or just let it happen?

In the case we can see the challenges the student faced, and how he was not mentally prepared
for the possible uncertainties. As we can see in the start only the university of the student in
Switzerland sent their students to China without any proper planning or any form of cross-
cultural training to the students. This shows how the university avoided the uncertainty of
students failing to fit in the country or able to communicate in the country, also even the
procedures that happened were sudden and no proper planning was done. When we see the
student, he went to travel the country China instead of going to the university and establishing
contacts or at least getting an introduction to the norms there or the campus or the stay that was
allotted to him. If he would have done that, he would have got ample time in the start to get a
new apartment and would not have wasted his initial 2 to 3 months there. Thus we can say that
the Uncertainty Avoidance Index is identified and the level of it seen is very low.