4.
You are the HR Manager of an American multinational about to start its
internationalisation phase.
To what extent will the external (institutions and culture) and internal (integration
mechanisms) environments affect human resources practices in the new host
locations? Please, illustrate your
argument with specific and practical examples from a country of your choice
as your host country [ITALY OR FRANCE OR GERMANY OR SPAIN OR
CHINA].
As an HR manager of an American corporation, I am aware that transitioning to the
Chinese market will be a distinct challenge. The liberal US market and the
authoritarian Chinese market are very culturally diverse. Institutional structures and
formal/ informal cultural constraints in each nation have consorted different
workplace attitudes and behaviours. Understanding the Chinese culture and
institutions will lower the risk of poor employee productivity and poor economic
performance. The change from individualism to collectivism will cause effect HR
practices such as recruitment, company training and development, establishing
company culture, and dealing with industrial disputes.
Recruitment is a key element of HR practices. Cyber vetting is a more commonly
used tool in the Chinese recruitment process that helps analyse the eligibility of new
candidates. Institutional and cultural differences have caused different job
aspirations for the Chinese people in contrast to American workers. Compared to the
US, the Chinese have a considerably less culturally and ethnically diverse workforce,
thus culturally, the job aspirations are unified among the population. Some American
common aspirations are flexible work hours and quick career advancement, and
although younger generations are more susceptible to western trends, there are still
many differences that have been rooted in the Chinese working population. Job
security is important to Chinese workers, as ‘change’ is not as accepted as in the
US. Women are also considered more valuable to the common workforce and are
considered just as important to the workforce as men.
Integrational mechanisms should be provided by new management in China. People
in leadership are highly respected in Chinese culture. From my research, Starbucks
hired a Chinese and American experienced manager, Da Wei sun, who from his
experience working in both regions, was able to ensure a smooth corporate
transition strategy both with the Chinese workers and with the government. I would
recommend we take a similar approach when recruiting a new manager for this
venture.
Values towards career development are stable between different generations of
workers in China. Chinese are reported to be more open to self-enhancement, such
as HR training and development programs, although in currently there is limited
training for Chinese workers. Unlike Americans, Chinese workers don’t mind having
a supervisor peering over their shoulders. Our employee participation projects such
as focus groups, briefings, and problem-solving sessions do not need to be as
intense in our Chinese offices. China's paternalistic culture means that they expect
managers to initiate more career-related changes, although they do not expect more
work to be done from management, in contrast to American workers. In China,
although women are given more opportunities to develop their careers, stereotypical
roles are still given to female workers.
Some integrational mechanisms are to hire managers who pay attention to the work
rates of different employees and to reciprocate hard work with equal recognition.
Guidance of work values and gender equality should be integrated throughout the
office. More opportunities for female progression must be noted, and hr strategies
aimed at female workers might help retain talented employees, i.e., day-care, and
maternal leave. Any of our American managers who are to be relocated should begin
cross-cultural training to enhance their cultural intelligence. Their knowledge of
appropriate behaviour will help the effectiveness of business decisions and people
management. Allowing a manager to have accurate expectations, more acceptable
cultural interactions, and be more respectful towards cultural differences. We should
avoid large relocation packages, with large houses and expensive homes, isolating
them from true Chinese cultures and from true local interactions. Reward programs
for language progression in mandarin should be considered. Coaching and
mentoring along with short- and long-term international assignments may be of
benefit to lessen the ‘culture shock’ when relocation occurs. This should all help
deceive false preconceived knowledge and expectations.
Our current American company culture will have to be redesigned by our HR team in
China. Chinese collectivist culture has been passed out for generations; with a poor
modern history, the communitive approach was necessary for survival. There is also
a high-power distance in Chinese culture, with the workers respecting authorities and
they are more likely to adhere to those above, this is necessary for the survival of our
business strategy. Unlike employers’ associations in the states, as Chinese
associations are less superficial and are not a determining factor in employee
relations our interactions with them shall be kept at a minimum. From research of
Starbucks in China, I believe we should integrate an ‘employee first’ culture within
our business. This helps hinder potential unions from forming, It is similar to
Lenovo’s ‘Necklace approach’. This will increase the loyalty of our employees.
Loyalty is very valuable in Chinese culture. This loyalty will turn into a harder work
ethics and overall productivity.
Dealing with unions and industrial disputes shouldn’t be seen as such a challenge in
China. The culture for unions is to look after workers' welfare and organize
development programs and social events. Autonomous unions are unrecognized by
the Chinese government, the ACRFU is the only recognized union in china. Chinese
culture sees unions as a nuisance that only hinders the level of productivity of a
union. Collective consultation’ is the common practice we will be using to deal with
workplace disputes. The Chinese formal resolution system involves the three pillars
of mediation, arbitration, and litigation. All these frameworks have been introduced in
order to help maintain productivity in China, and for this, they should work in our
favour. Time and effort to deal with unions and general employee relations will be
nothing timewise, in comparison to our US operations.
Labour laws are not well established in China, with limited health and safety
conditions, and long working hours. I believe we should pay the market wage of our
employees, provide all necessary safety conditions and general benefits in order to
maintain our employee loyalty without unnecessary spending (by industry
standards).
Strikes have been common in the manufacturing industry, and for this, we should try
to maintain employee loyalty. It is to be noted that strikes are usually short-term, and
employees are easily replaceable for low-skilled jobs. We have to be aware that
labour laws are not particularly followed by our counterparts in China, however, it
may be necessary to try to stay within the law to hinder potentially harmful
interactions with the Chinese government. Although union matters may be
manageable, dealing with the Chinese government and officials should be of utmost
importance. The government is a huge presence in the manufacturing industry, they
may intrude into our business practices to stop large disputes if they feel it’s
necessary. Keeping a good relationship with those in charge is very important to
secure the longevity of our operations in China.
In conclusion, creating strong HR foundations in our business is necessary for a
smooth transitioning process. We must re-evaluate a lot of our core business
strategies and work values in order to compensate for Chinese culture and
institutional differences. A collectivist approach to harmonizing our mission as a
company should benefit our employees and investors to provide a great return on
investment and maintain employee relations.
References:
Belízon, M. (2022) ‘Week 6 China’ [Lecture], HRM20050: Comparative
Human Resource Mgt. University College Dublin. Week 6, Available at:
https://brightspace.ucd.ie/d2l/le/content/202834/viewContent/2201806/View
[25 November 2022].
Gold, M, & Smith, C 2022, Where's the 'Human' in Human Resource
Management? : Managing Work in the 21st Century, Bristol University Press,
Bristol. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [28 November 2022].
Guo, Y. and Cionea, I.A. (2017) “Do it this way, not that way’: An exploration
of Chinese workplace conflicts, “International Journal of Conflict Management,
28(2), pp.202-221. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1108/ijcma-10-2015-0073.
[25 November 2022].
Yi, X., Ribbens, B., Fu, L. and Cheng, W. (2015). Variation in career and
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