Culture Human Resources the Most

Culture

Human Resources

The most important resource that companies can exploit in order to gain competitive advantage is represented by human resources. Although technical and financial resources are of extreme importance to companies' development it is the human resources that generate value. The importance of human resources can be observed in the vast literature and studies that have been conducted in the field. Given the implications of human resources aspects, the discipline of human resources management is trying to provide some standards that can be applied by companies in order to benefit from increased productivity and efficiency.

Human resources are managed differently in accordance with the culture of the country in which the company in case does business. There are significant cultural differences between the Western civilization and the Asian culture. The characteristics of countries in these regions are reflected in the behavior of companies, managers, and employees. For example, there are numerous differences between the U.S. And Japan regarding their approach to human resources management.

The analysis of these countries' approach is based on Geert Hofstede's cultural dimensions approach. The dimensions included in Hofstede's approach are: the power distance index (PDI), individualism (IDV), masculinity (MAS), uncertainty avoidance index (UAI), and long-term orientation (LTO).

In Japan, the PDI is 50, while in the U.S. PDI is 35, the world average being 52. IDV in Japan is 42, in the U.S. is 91, while the world average is 40. MAS in Japan is 90, in the U.S. is 62, and the world average is 58. The UAI in Japan is 88, in the U.S. is 42, and the world average is 60. The LTO in Japan is 75, in the U.S. is 25, and the world average is 43. These values are on a scale from 0 to 100 (Hofstede, 2009).

In Japan's case, the dimensions that are significantly different from the world average are MAS, UAI, and LTO, which are higher in the Japan in comparison with the world average. In the case of the U.S., the cultural dimensions that are significantly higher than the world average are represented by IDV and MAS.

This means that a high masculinity index indicates that in Japan there is a higher degree of gender differentiation of roles. In other words, in such a society the male are significantly dominant. The power structure in Japan is also dominated by the male. As a consequence, the female population in the Japanese society is determined to become more assertive and competitive, orienting towards the male role model.

Japan's high UAI level indicates a society with many rules, and that tries to control results. In addition to this, it means that Japan has little tolerance for the variety of ideas, thoughts, and beliefs. The high level of LTO in Japan indicates the perseverance of the population.

In the U.S., IDV reaches a very high level, which means that the society has a more individualistic attitude and is characterized by relatively loose human relationships. The high MAS level in the U.S. reveals the fact that there is a higher degree of gender differentiation of roles. Same as in the case of Japan, it means that the female population in the U.S. tends to be more assertive and competitive.

Although the workforce in Japan is quite different from that in the U.S., a series of transformations can be observed in the Japanese market. These changes can be observed in younger employees, which try to adapt to the modifications determined by Western companies doing business in Japan. Therefore, employees of an older age in Japan tend to respond to motivational factors like security and job stability, and are less willing to change jobs, while younger employees are stimulated by wages, by diversity, and by a series of challenges that their job provides them (Gross & Lepage, 2001).

Also, traditional human resources strategies in Japan focus on employees working as a team. But younger employees seem to prefer strategies that encourage and support individualism. Such strategies that encourage individual approaches are characteristic for the U.S. Traditional human resources strategies in Japan focus on rewarding employees that respect rule and follow norms of behaviors approved by the company. Strategies in the U.S. are based on rewarding productivity and efficiency. Modern strategies in Japan follow this example, by rewarding performance.

There are differences between the two countries regarding the recruitment and selection of personnel also. The Japanese recruitment and selection process is characterized by less transparency than the same process in the U.S. However, more and more companies in Japan are beginning to develop and implement recruitment and selection strategies based on the skills and knowledge of candidates.