Samenvatting
International Human Resource
Management
Policies and Practices for
Multinational Enterprises 5th edition
by Dennis Briscoe, Randall Schuler,
and Ibraiz Tarique
Ralf Klein- januari 2021
Hogeschool Leiden
,5. International Human Resource Management and Culture
This chapter will enable the reader to:
- Define and explain the concept of culture.
- Explain the importance of culture in business.
- Describe the basic research findings of G. Hofstede and F. Trompenaars.
- Explain the importance of culture to IHRM
- Describe the importance of culture and the difficulties encountered in IHRM research.
The Nature and Importance of Culture
Every country has at least some variances from all others, for example, its history,
government, and laws. Because of all of those differences, the more countries with which an
MNE (Multi National Enterprise) interacts, the more complex and difficult conducting
business becomes. Today, it is common for MNE’s to interact with customers and firms in
dozens of other countries. So, one of the central causes of these difficulties has to do with
the critical nature of the differences between the national cultures of these various
countries.
A Definition and Description of Culture
There have been definitions of ‘’culture’’ offered over the years. For the purposes of this text
the following definition is used: culture is the characteristic way of behaving and believing
that a group of people have developed over time and share in common. In the context of this
book, the ‘’groups’’ whose cultures will be discussed are the people from a particular
country or region and the members of a particular company. Of course, the concept is also
used to describe the values and behaviors of other groups, such as members of particular
professions, certain industries, age groups, and racial groups. With this definition, then, a
group’s culture:
- Gives them a sense of who they are, of belonging, of how they should behave.
- Provides them with the capacity to adapt to circumstances (because the culture defines
what is the appropriate behavior in that circumstance) and to transmit this knowledge to
succeeding generations (in the case of countries) or to new employees (in the case of
organizations)
- Affects every aspect of the management process- how people think, solve problems, and
make decisions (for a country of firm)
Understanding Culture as Layers of Meaning
The Three Layers of Culture model presents a way to understand culture, with each layer
moving from the outside to the inside, representing less and less visible, or less explicit,
values and assumptions, but correspondingly more and more important values and beliefs
for determining attitudes and behaviors. These layers include:
1. Surface culture (outside)
2. Hidden culture (in the middle)
3. Invisible culture (inside)
, 1. Surface or explicit culture (the outside layer): things that are readily observable, such
as a dress, food and ways of eating, architecture, customs (such as how to greet
other people and the importance of relationships), body language, gestures,
etiquette, and gifting.
2. Hidden culture (the middle layer): values, religions, and philosophies about things
like child-rearing, views of what is right and wrong.
3. Invisible or implicit culture (the core): the culture’s universal truths, the bases for all
of a culture’s values and beliefs.
Development of Cross-Cultural Competence
This approach to building knowledge about another person or group’s behavior and values
and eventually adapting to or being able to integrate with that other person’s or group’s
behaviors and attitudes assumes that a people must first understand their own cultural
values and beliefs before they can develop an appreciation and respect for other people’s
cultural differences, which then precedes the eventual ability to move toward reconciliation
and integration with differing country and organizational cultures.
Three phases:
1. Awareness: Increased awareness of one’s own cultural perspective
2. Respect: Appreciate cultural differences
3. Reconciliation: Resolve differences integration adaptation
International Human Resource
Management
Policies and Practices for
Multinational Enterprises 5th edition
by Dennis Briscoe, Randall Schuler,
and Ibraiz Tarique
Ralf Klein- januari 2021
Hogeschool Leiden
,5. International Human Resource Management and Culture
This chapter will enable the reader to:
- Define and explain the concept of culture.
- Explain the importance of culture in business.
- Describe the basic research findings of G. Hofstede and F. Trompenaars.
- Explain the importance of culture to IHRM
- Describe the importance of culture and the difficulties encountered in IHRM research.
The Nature and Importance of Culture
Every country has at least some variances from all others, for example, its history,
government, and laws. Because of all of those differences, the more countries with which an
MNE (Multi National Enterprise) interacts, the more complex and difficult conducting
business becomes. Today, it is common for MNE’s to interact with customers and firms in
dozens of other countries. So, one of the central causes of these difficulties has to do with
the critical nature of the differences between the national cultures of these various
countries.
A Definition and Description of Culture
There have been definitions of ‘’culture’’ offered over the years. For the purposes of this text
the following definition is used: culture is the characteristic way of behaving and believing
that a group of people have developed over time and share in common. In the context of this
book, the ‘’groups’’ whose cultures will be discussed are the people from a particular
country or region and the members of a particular company. Of course, the concept is also
used to describe the values and behaviors of other groups, such as members of particular
professions, certain industries, age groups, and racial groups. With this definition, then, a
group’s culture:
- Gives them a sense of who they are, of belonging, of how they should behave.
- Provides them with the capacity to adapt to circumstances (because the culture defines
what is the appropriate behavior in that circumstance) and to transmit this knowledge to
succeeding generations (in the case of countries) or to new employees (in the case of
organizations)
- Affects every aspect of the management process- how people think, solve problems, and
make decisions (for a country of firm)
Understanding Culture as Layers of Meaning
The Three Layers of Culture model presents a way to understand culture, with each layer
moving from the outside to the inside, representing less and less visible, or less explicit,
values and assumptions, but correspondingly more and more important values and beliefs
for determining attitudes and behaviors. These layers include:
1. Surface culture (outside)
2. Hidden culture (in the middle)
3. Invisible culture (inside)
, 1. Surface or explicit culture (the outside layer): things that are readily observable, such
as a dress, food and ways of eating, architecture, customs (such as how to greet
other people and the importance of relationships), body language, gestures,
etiquette, and gifting.
2. Hidden culture (the middle layer): values, religions, and philosophies about things
like child-rearing, views of what is right and wrong.
3. Invisible or implicit culture (the core): the culture’s universal truths, the bases for all
of a culture’s values and beliefs.
Development of Cross-Cultural Competence
This approach to building knowledge about another person or group’s behavior and values
and eventually adapting to or being able to integrate with that other person’s or group’s
behaviors and attitudes assumes that a people must first understand their own cultural
values and beliefs before they can develop an appreciation and respect for other people’s
cultural differences, which then precedes the eventual ability to move toward reconciliation
and integration with differing country and organizational cultures.
Three phases:
1. Awareness: Increased awareness of one’s own cultural perspective
2. Respect: Appreciate cultural differences
3. Reconciliation: Resolve differences integration adaptation
