Cultural differences and HRM

JAPAN

Japanese culture places a high value on fixed gender roles, an importance on structure and a focus
on long-term goals.

Individualism is not encouraged as equality is seen as a way of maximising cohesion and in turn,
productivity.

Japanese firms invest an enormous amount in their employees’ training and development. New
employees train for six to twelve months in each of the firm’s major offices or divisions so that
within a few years they know every facet of the company operations.

In Japanese organisations, supervisors and employees have a largely equal relationship where
consensus on both parts is required for making decisions.

In North America a person can change from career to career, from being a chartered accountant to a
band roadie, but in Japan, similar to other Asian cultures, employees are expected to stay with one
company for their entire working careers.

CHINA

Chinese society preserves tradition, places high value on education and training, and is inclined to
overcome obstacles with time. In terms of individualism, the Chinese rank lower than any other
Asian country. Chinese management style is authoritative and directive, and managers are expected
to make decisions on behalf of the group.

Unlike Japanese organisations, instructions are always delegated from the top down.

The decision-making process within Chinese firms is based on respect, evasiveness, hierarchy and
discipline. Open conflict is avoided at all costs, even if upper management is clearly making a wrong
decision.

When it comes to signing contracts, the Chinese see this agreement as a start of a relationship rather
than an official business accord. One reason for this is the pictorial nature of the Chinese language. It
can be difficult to write very precise and accurate meanings to contracts, so the real business gets
sorted out after the contract is signed.

Also, gift-giving, dinners and doing favours are common ways of doing business in the People’s
Republic.

GERMANY

Unlike Asian countries, individualism is significantly higher in Germany. Some analysts claim that
German management often puts a high valuation on people’s time and freedom. Germans as a
people value competitiveness, assertiveness, ambition and the accumulation of wealth and material
possessions.
German companies concentrate intensely on product quality and product service. German managers
describe this as Leistungswettbewerb, i.e. competition on the basis of excellence in their products
and services.

German managers and employees are often close, because they believe that they are working
together to create a good product.

1. State two differences between Japanese and Chinese approaches to human resource
management. [2]
In terms of decision making in Japan, both supervisors and employees have an equal
importance on consensus. On the other hand, in China, managers are expected to make
decisions on behalf of the group and unlike Japanese organisations, instructions are always
delegated from the top down. The second difference between China and Japan is that
Japanese companies train their employees in every division so they are completely prepared
for any type of challenge, while Chinese companies do value training, but they expect their
workers to overcome challenges with time.
2. Explain two effects an ‘equal relationship between supervisors and employees’ in Japanese
firms might have on the efficiency of Japanese workers. [4]
An effect that an equal relationship between supervisors and employees has is that it
encourages teamwork which is a way of maximizing cohesion and productivity so there is
less risk of disagreement and conflict. Another effect that it has is that it helps develop good
relationships between coworkers and supervisors. A strong and trusting relationship will be
developed and it will also lead to productivity and good work because both workers and
supervisors will be highly motivated to do their work and cooperate with each other.
3. Analyse two effects ‘individualism’ in German organisations might have on the motivation of
workers in German organisations. [4]
Individualism can affect workers both positively and negatively. It can either give them more
motivation to work and do their job properly so they can get a raise or a better position, so
their effort would be for their own success and improvement. But otherwise, it can also
cause conflict between workers because every one of them would be putting effort only for
themselves and it could become a competition in a negative sense. It could affect teamwork
and cooperation really badly if the relationships between workers are damaged.
Individualism is good for the workers' motivation, but only if that motivation is positive for
themselves and the rest of the company.
4. Discuss the problems that a German business like Volkswagen might experience if it started
operations in Japan and China. [10]

It could have difficulties adapting to the Asian culture and mentality. Since Asian workers
practice loyalty, they would object to firing, since their mentality is to improve for the
company and work there as long as possible. To avoid conflict, the company would either
have to further train the employee, or give them recommendations and money to accept
and resign. They would have little space to improve their workforce and give younger
workers a chance. Also, if they would encourage individuality, they would come to disagree
with the work force because they are used to teamwork and they probably work best in
those conditions, so any type of individuality encouragement would lead to conflicts in the
company. It could either be between workers themselves, if they come to accept the
concept of individuality, or between supervisors and workers if the supervisors get a higher
degree of importance in decision making. The company would also have problems if they do
not train employees and give them too much freedom, because they might not work to their
full potential if they are not properly trained. Too much freedom would lead to down time of
organisations and management, less effective cooperation between workers and less
motivation because teamwork is the best motivation in their culture.