Hrm Culture

Corporate culture of four countries

Culture has no one accepted definition, but may include assumptions, behaviours, norms, values, language, religion and dress. Culture is not static and changes from generation to generation. It is widely believed that cultures are interacting across borders around the world due to the process known as globalisation.

The US , the European union and Japan the so called trad’ are home to majority of MNCs and they also host a large number of them. So here we will have a look at these major economies’ and India’s hrm practices and how they have developed.

Hrm in Japan

Japan has a homogenous culture and foreign immigrants make up a very small percentage of it’s population. The society as a whole is characterized by a strong sense of group and community. The Japanese loyalty belongs to the group they are from and they are prepared to sacrifice their personal interests for that group. This is known as collectivism. The major aspect of Japanese corporate culture. Your in-group will include your family,extended family, sometimes friends, but in japan there is an additional member in the in-group: the company for which a person works.

The Japanese are hard working and, in the words of an expert in the subject(Buruma, 1985, p.139)have an infinite capacity for hardship and pain. They also have a strong sense of duty and indebtedness. There is an absence of western-style horizontal social class system in Japan, but it does not mean an absence of status differentiation and its acknowledgement.

Another characteristic of Japanese culture is the ringi method of decision making. Ringi method are very time consuming and used for more important decisions only. Quality circles are another vehicle for employee participation which is a small group activity in which ordinary blue- and white-collar workers volunteer to participate. The voluntary nature and devotion that it requires of the participants appear to be in tune with the Japanese...