BECOMING LOCALLY RESPONSIVE

Becoming Locally Responsive

Laurent´s Research:

Differences in Managerial Beliefs: People working

CONCLUSIONS

1. Management requires knowledge and comprehension about different cultures .

Sometimes countries stereotype some cultures and the individuals that live there.

Culture is often used as an alibi for failing to introduce changes.

2. Foreign companies have to face dual institutional preassures: from parent organizations and from local enviroments.

The local and foreign managers should have the necessary skills to face these preassures.

Firms are more aware of management practices of firms from other countries.

3. When there is uncertainty, people seek the view of experienced peers and others facing the same challenges.

Network ties multiply the repertoire of potential responses in adapting to an uncertain enviroment, making linked organizations more astute collectively than they are individually.

DISCUSSION...

1. What of the 3 theoretical perspectives is the most important for you?

2. Is it better that companies have the same management pratices, or different management practices?

Cultural Features and the Need for Local HRM Resposiveness

Culturalists suggest that the development of HRM theory is based on a set of assumtions that are deeply embedded in one culture.

Home Country Culture and People Management Abroad

HRM--> contemporary manifestation of the American Dream

Research about Work-Related Values

National culture is presented as a key factor that influences how firms manage people. The cultural features of the corporation's home country may also imprint how it manages people abroad.

GLOBE: Multinational team of researchers. 9 cultural dimensions along which various societies con be ranked.

Geert Hofstede: German social psychologist known for his pioneering research on across-cultural groups and organizations.

Supported...

Later...

Long-term/Short-term

same company

different nation

different company

one nation

Universalist--> experienced person teaches to manage cultural differences. Example:

US--> solution to the problem

Particularist--> intensive experience in a culture. Example:

Chinese, Koreans and Japanese--> depends on the contexts and relationships

Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner: 7 cultural "tensions" to be aware of since the managment practices can cross borders...

Europe--> situational adaptation

The Limits of a Cultural

Perspective on HRM

The cultural Hipothesis builds on these following assumptions:

Between-country differences in values are larger than within-country differences in values held by individuals.

overlap by individuals even in distant countries

A misfit between National culture and Management practice will reduce effectiveness.

Risk of implementing alien HR

Successful

Companies attract, select, and retain employees in random fashion.

Know yourself and Others: The Cultural Perspective

How the local culture influences the activities of foreign firms in the country.

Redding and Whitley: 6 Successful configurations of Capitalism:

Sections:

Isomorphic: similar organizational practices

Processes:

• Regulatory

Anglo-Saxon individualism--> returns to shareholders; no security

Communitarian European--> social; security

European Industrial district--> Family owners and associated

Japanese--> lack of strong owners; lifetime employment

Korean Chaebol-->supporting national strategies development

Chinese Capitalism--> needs and wealth of family business

QUESTIONS?

• Cognitive

• Normative

UNDERSTANDING

DIVERSITY

3 Theoretical Perspectives

Responding to Local Context: Labor Relations

Know Where you are: The Institutional Perspective

Local institutional context can influence a company's international operations.

Accetable

Know Youreself and Others: The Cultural Perspective

Know Where you are: The Institutional Perspective

Know Whom you Talk to: The Network Perspective

Work Councils: Europe:

• Communication channels
• Sounding body for employees
• To discuss decisions that influence employees

Working Practices in different coutries

Questionable

Labor Unions: countries differ in:

• Trade union membership
• Collective bargaining coverage
• Structure of the unions
• Involvement in collective consultation and communication at the corporate level

Illegal

Roots of Responsiveness

Implementing Localization

Understanding Diversity

The Limits of Responsiveness

Projecting One's Own Institutional Context Abroad

Some companies try to transfer their diversity management programs to their subsidiaries.

Sometimes their find local adaptations in the way diversity programs are implemented abroad.

Know Whom you Talk to: The Network Perspective

Multinationals also have to face preassures to conform best practices, to innovations and changes adopted by other firms.

Foreign

Interorganizational networks

Sometimes, companies separate networks

Locals

Learning from Friends When Abroad

Managers abroad build networks with other multinational because their are not sure of what HR practices will fit in the local context.

Imitate changes previously adopted by network peers.

Regionally Consultants recommendations

Global Trends and Fashions

Firms can look outside their neworks for some ideas:

Fashion setters--> best practices and benchmark information across borders.

Internet--> accelerates the convergence of multinationals

Similar preassures and issues

International networks may rapidly spread new concepts, but successful adoption means that they have to be worked coherently into the fabric of the firm.

By: Suman Rojo Antón

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