JAPAN - National Culture

 Job means identification

 Loyalty to the company
 Observance of social status
 Following a specific protocol
 Obedience
 Harmony
 Politeness
 Collectivism
 Presence of horizontal social groupings
Four pillars of Japanese HRM

Pillars

Pillar 1 Pillar 4
Long term Trade/labor
employment unionism (“Kigyo-
(“Sushin Koyo”) nai kumiai”)
.

Pillar 2 Pillar 3
Seniority based Company-driven
promotion and employee
compensation training
(“Nenko”) programs
Common and some of the most influential HR practices present in all
Japanese corporations

 Consensus decision-making (Ringi method)

 Quality Management System
 Employee loyalty
 Lack of Gender Equality
Functions of HRM

1. Recruitment and Selection 2. Training and development

 Recruitment at entry level (Hiring from universities)  Job rotation/multitasking
 Lateral hires, independent contractors for special tasks,
recruiting agencies, and temporary employees
 Support employees to improve technical skills
(currently) and to acquire qualifications.
 Hiring time  Creates generalists than specialists
 Mid-career hiring
3. Compensation and benefits 4. Performance management:
 Wage system based on seniority  Based on an employee's performance
 Automatic Pay rises and promotions
 Interviews with superiors once or twice a year
 But, growing numbers of companies are explicitly
weighting ability and performance over tenure and age  Management By Objectives (MBO)
in salary decision.
 Japanese vs Western HRM
HR practices Japan West
Nature of employment • Long-term (if not • Employment- at-will
lifetime) employment • Individual
• Paternal approach responsibility
• Strong long term • Short to mid term
talent pipeline talent pipeline 

Compensation Pay for age or Pay-for-performance

experience (seniority (value based)
based pay)

Training Company responsibility Personal responsibility

Union relations • Cooperative • Confrontational

• Passive  • Aggressive
 AMERICAN CULTURE

 Highly individualistic
 Open and friendly
 Ethnocentric
 Future oriented
 Readiness to change
 Language
 Technology
 Suburban living patterns
 HRM PRACTICES IN AMERICA

Recruitment system-

Neither strongly career-based nor position based the selection criteria in US is based on-
 Extensive interviews
 Prefer work-ex

Training and development-

 It is provided as per employee needs and specific post.

 Training expenditure allocated per employee is $724
 On average employees undertake 1-3 days of training per year.
 ASTD ( American Society For Training and Development)
 Employee Relations-

 Anti- Trade Unionism

 Prefer HRM Policies and Practices.

 Compensation and Promotion-

 Reward system is performance-oriented

 Reward range/status is based on how well people perform their functions.
 Qualifications are the key determinant of promotion.
 No formal restrictions to promotion between hierarchal grades.
 Balance sheet approach is used.
 SOME EMPLOYEE RELATED PRACTICES

 Prefer participative leadership style

 “Time is Money” approach.
 Emphasis on innovation
 Educated and well trained proffesionals
 “GO FOR IT” attitude
 Dislike trade unions
 Result oriented
 AMERICAN COMPANIES WITH BEST HR
PRACTICES

 FedEx Corporation
 The foundational belief is that excellent care of employees breeds excellent service.
 To track employee relations, FedEx offers an annual survey and feedback action program. Employees provide
valuable feedback and management meets to discuss results.
 The program allows problem assessment and resolution opportunities.

 Prudential
 According to key Prudential personnel and HR statistics, the company does not have high turnover, absence
rates are low, and disciplinary procedure levels are implemented.
 The company’s history is shared with its entire staff, discussing the highs and lows, challenges and successes,
with every person.
 The company keeps an open mind in HR processes and welcomes change and innovation when needed
Bain and Company
Retention is low because, according to the company’s HR department, people love what they do and the
Best Place to Work for LGBT Equality 2015 from Human Rights Campaign. The team culture allows all
members to fully:

 contribute ideas
 support each other
 provide inspiration as a community