7SBP1303 International and Comparative HRM Assignment Sample
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IntroductionThe performance appraisal systems are different in different nations, and the system often varies in the perimeter of measuring the effectiveness of the employee performance, shaped by cultural biases. The themes that will be discussed in the essay are related to the key differences that have been identified between the two nations of Japan and Germany, and the identification of the differences will immensely help the whole process of finding the suitability of the tech company for expansion. Moreover, cultural theories such as Hofstede’s cultural theory will be applied to gain a brief insight and compact the discussion to evaluate a broader view. The tech company will need various kinds of recommendations that will be based on the cultural evaluation purport gained from the discussion, and hence this section will attempt to dissect the direct impact of culture on employee performance appraisal, considering the Feedback Intervention Theory. A2: a) Critical examination of overseas expansion of leading tech company and impact of cultural factors and differences on performance appraisal effectivenessComparison between cultural factors of Japan and GermanyThe natives of Japan are humbler towards organizational and social contributions and consider political integrity to a wide extent. The Japanese case may be discussed at first, where the nation of Japan focuses on the rate of effectiveness with which the employee output is considered, where the sense of being unique and innovative has been greater in Japanese culture (Rear, 2020). On a different note, the Japanese culture is such that the different aspects of the work performance are considered before the appraisal is done, where the particular employee’s age, the level of skill and the productivity per hour is considered. Although, the performance appraisal system in the Japanese culture is more directed toward the United States of America (USA) cultural side, which makes the appraisal based on job productivity, an element that has been present and modified in Japan for a longer-term (Froese et al., 2020). Although, the problem with the performance appraisals stems from the Japanese culture is not as transparent as has been in Germany, and the managerial positions are being considered as not to bargain with the quality of the jobs done. Hence, following the productivity efficiency ratio to appraise an employee is quite popular in Japan, where the performance appraisal has been substituting the traditional ways of promotional performance (Iwashita, 2019).
The culture of Germany is such that the performance appraisal is taken to a more acute extent when there are differences between Japanese and German cultural factors to influence the employee performance appraisal system. Furthermore, Japanese culture is more accustomed to excessive working without considering much of the time allotted and has the elements of evaluating the investment of time and efficiency (Ono, 2018). The fact is that German culture takes the desire to have larger investments of time and labour to a considerable extent, where the position of senior and age matters little to German companies. In Germany, the performance appraisal is much more related to the intaking of different collateral risks that may let the jobs of the employees be at a more fluid state, and the usual are inclined towards work environment domination (Heywood et al., 2017). The cultural significance of Germany is that the German people are more organized compared to Japan’s way of perceiving the working pattern, and there is a mature sense of time in German culture. The great thing that may be presented in a discussion about Germany is the working nature of not overlapping in the place of work outside offices, where the employee psychological balance stays healthy in Germany (Kotera et al., 2021). Germany considered how the cultural impact boosted the overall productivity of the employees, and thus the German culture considers incentives more than making the work-centric approach a central theme (Kampkötter, 2017). Cultural differences between Japan and GermanyIn Germany, the power distance is much lower, which reveals that the German culture is not much of a rich expensive lifestyle and rather more of a free lifestyle, having a lower agreement in authoritative leadership. The reverse is true for Japan, where Japanese culture is much more directed by personalized corporate power and ranks much higher in the power distance than Germany (Refer to Appendix 1). The uncertainty avoidance in Germany is not much attracted towards ambiguity or a high chance of lower probability, where the culture of Germany signifies that being of a moderately lower rank, the dependency on more skilled employees is common in Germany. In Japan, the case is quite similar to that of Germany, where Japanese culture is built on making precision blueprints before processing. Japan ranks lower in individualism and has the light of ensuing recognition as the society that is taken to create and develop work as a more unified nation. Germany is reversed here and operating in distinct ways. Germany is mostly a society having a strong attraction for the analysis that the events are shaped according to the futuristic events, ranking higher in long-term orientation, much similar to Japan in terms of belief in better futuristic planning. Japan is much more centred on making the best standalone companies and having an intense rivalry with the other organizations, whereas, Germany is lower ranking than Japan in masculinity and is still focused on drivers of competitive market penetration. German culture is obedient to the social norms and has a quite grave seriousness in following the rules of civility, which matches with the prohibition kind of society of Japan in the context of indulgence. Cultural factors impact employee performance appraisal effectiveness in JapanThe performance of management of the employees is different in different countries irrespective of the company’s home country so it helps the HRM to manage the employees without hurting any employees’ sentiments. Performance management in Japan is highly good as the employees are highly rewarded for their effectiveness in the workplace and it also both employers and employees do enjoy good positions. The performance of the employees enhances with the help of motivation theory with the help of which the employees of Japan are motivated to work well for achieving the goals of the company. The culture of japan is congruence in nature and for that reason, it plays a crucial role in creating a positive impact on employee performance appraisal. Moreover, due to congruence and employee performance appraisal, the employee turnover rate in MNCs of Japan is extremely low. The management of MNCs in Japan always focuses on the good performance of employees as there is a huge importance of employee performance in employee performance appraisal. One of the main reasons for performance appraisal is to increase the satisfaction of employees and in Japan, the MNC always focuses on the way to increase the job satisfaction level of employees. Analysing the MNC culture, it has been mentioned that most MNCs in Japan have effective decision-making power which plays an essential role in moving the managerial skills of managers in an organisation (Hbr.org. 2022). On the other hand, the MNCs culture of Japan always follows an honest and transparent approach which is reflected in the employee performance apparitions. Furthermore, if honesty and transparency are not maintained in the workplace then the employee performance appraisal process may not be effective which may create a negative impact on the performance of every employee in the organisation. Most companies in Japan follow a performance-based appraisal system which always indicates that the annual performance of employees matters a lot in employee appraisal. Additionally, the MNCs of Japan always prefer to maintain a healthy and productive work culture in the workplace, as a result, the employee appraisals system is extremely important in fulfilling the organisational goals of those companies. Cultural factors impact employee performance appraisal effectiveness in GermanyThe effectiveness of the performance appraisal helps the employees to understand the kind of performance employees have done and the way the feedback and rewards and benefits have helped enhance the performance of the employees quite well. The employees in Germany are direct and highly individualistic in their performance approach and therefore, the employees, especially the leaders of the company, are always inclined to a more communicative approach as it helps in the growth and development of the organisations. Communication is the most important corporate strategy that helps both internal as well as external stakeholders in better management with the help of improved activities within the organisation effectively (Köhler and Zerfass, 2019). The operational conditioning theory is highly applicable to Germany as the performance appraisals are job-based and the performance appraisals help the individuals to take more and more risks willingly (Iza.org. 2022). Although the performances of old employees and high and low responsibilities employees too are not much assessed in Germany and so operational conditioning theory helps in managing the employees through rewards and punishment which helps in the better working conditions of the organisation. The employees have to be motivated to work well and through the help of an operational conditioning process that helps the employees to work more effectively within the organisation by giving positive as well as negative reinforcements depending on the work performance of the employees. The organisation has to make sure that the innovation and the productivity of the organisation stay intact so that it helps in the optimisation of the costs of the organisation by implementing trust and loyalty among the employees (Mitreva et al., 2020). The workplace in Germany has to maintain less discrimination between the old employees and women which may help in enhancing the trust and loyalty of the employees towards the organisation that helps the organisation to retain employees quite well. The German people are more inclined to make effective planning so that it helps in the execution of the goals as made by the organisation for the employees for the effective working of the employees in the competitive sphere. Cultural management has helped the people of Germany to make better performance management by adapting effective measures according to the situations. Thus, the employees of Germany have to be managed well so that it helps in better functioning of the company and making effective management of the company helpfully. Conclusion and recommendationsConclusionIn recent times, it may be said that when considering the expansion in a foreign land, the series of different outcomes that are derived from the expansion state is usually influenced by the governing culture of that particular nation. In this section, a comparative discussion has been formed to clearly evaluate the actual factors and reasons for the cultural differences between Japan and Germany and thus link the decision with the work performance appraisal system present in both nations. It may be concluded, that the performance appraisal system in both Japan and Germany is influenced considerably by the cultural influx, and has been taken into the modern discussion context. Recommendations
The workplace culture in Japan is much more oriented towards the work being essentially not compromised in the quality, whereas in Germany, there are strict boundaries which are maintained by the nation in terms of working. The following recommendations for the tech company to expand and hence know the ways of setting the performance appraisal system in Japan and Germany are discussed as follows: 1. The performance appraisal system needs to be considered after a brief understanding of the inclination toward skill and expertise in Japan and Germany, where both the nations have made the performance appraisal system based on the efficiency and work knowledge of HRM 2. The HRM strategies need to be refined in terms of the performance appraisal in Japan, it may be noted that the culture of Japan is more of a collaborative working style and in Germany, it is more self-centric, thus work environment needs to be modified in each nation 3. The performance appraisal methods for the global leading tech company in Germany and Japan needs to focus on the retirement time investments and the appraisal need to be considered in such a way by the HRM that there are lower future risks
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SECTION 2: WEEKLY ATTENDANCE LOG
| You must answer for all teaching [1]weeks: | |||
| Teaching week | W/C | Topic | Please identify a minimum of one interesting point you learned each week. You must also specify how this knowledge might contribute to your future career
Please include a minimum of 50 words per weekly log |
| 1 | 7th Feb | Introduction to the module and ICHRM | From week 1 an individual has been introduced to the module and come to know about International and Comparative Human Resource Management (ICHRM) which refers to the process of comparing HRM of different countries. The knowledge of ICHRM helps to understand an individual the difference between HRM techniques in different countries and applies the knowledge in future careers. The analysis of different HRM systems of the USA, France, Germany, China and many more nations helps to understand the latest innovations and improvements at the international level related to HRM. An individual has also come to know about international HRM and in the age of globalization to reach the international market the internationalisation of HRM is needed to take competitive advantage. |
| 2 | 14th Feb | Comparative HRM | From week 2 an individual has learned about comparative HRM and often people neglect the detailed connection between economic success, social cohesion, policies related to HRM, and institutional frameworks in managing the business of different countries. After Brexit and pandemic Covid-19 the changing situation of the comparative HRM becomes more relevant as it provides the notion of recruitment, training, and motivation process of HRM in a highly competitive market. In addition to that, comparative HRM is severely different from HRM practices in MNE and as a result, the implications of these two topics are different from each other in a great way which is important to know (Sanders and De, 2021).
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| 3 | 21st Feb | National culture and IHRM | In week 3 an individual has assessed the national culture and its relation with IHRM and national culture refers to the collective mental programming of a particular community or society or nation. In a particular country, national culture provides immense influence on HRM as different characteristics of national culture change the nature of HRM and it helps an individual to discriminate against the HRM of different countries based on fundamental differences. National culture differs in a wide range and cultural values and norms impact the HRM practices in a great manner in Multinational Corporations (MNC) the people experience different HRM practices based on their national culture (Reiche et al., 2018). In the age of globalisation, culture is extremely important for a business and the culture of a certain country is not static to adjust to dynamic culture an individual has to learn about different nations and their HRM practices.
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| 4 | 28th Feb | Equal opportunities | In week 4 an individual has come to know about equal opportunity which refers to equity in the workplace irrespective of age, gender, sexual orientation, caste, nation, ethnicity and many more. An individual understands that maintaining a good work culture is part of the responsibility of HRM that helps to achieve the desired productivity and motivate the employees to work in good work culture. In this case, emotional intelligence is highly important to manage equality in a diversified workplace and an individual may implement Goleman’s theory to increase self-regulation to adjust to a cross-cultural workplace in future. Employee engagement is crucial for an organisation and desired emotional intelligence of managers helps to motivate and guide the employees to increase productivity (Milhem et al., 2019). |
| 5 | 7th March | International staffing | Week five has been accompanied by the international staffing where Multi-National enterprises (MNE) are focused on recruiting employees to support the global operation of the multi-domestic or transnational theory remain relevant in the global market scenario to effectively align the employees for better engagement with the consumer for profitability aspects. The staffing around the globe is quite a responsible effort to support the business operation and customer engagement for the value proposition of the brand (Zheng and Smith, 2019). The learning threw light on the multi-domestic approach and employee alignment are necessary for the business establishment to reflect the business responsiveness quite positively for high return on investment depending upon employee skill, abilities and performance ratio for international staffing. |
| 6 | 14th March | Pay and rewards | The studies of pay and reward have elaborated the working atmosphere of internal organizations where employee effort is recognized and felicitated for motivating the individual effort in the business operation. The presence of pay and reward also influences the healthy competition among the employees to outperform each other and achieve the reward and recognition. It allows the organization to enhance the organizational productivity as well as an individual attitude toward business effectiveness for a positive outcome to become successful in market commitment and business mission. The system of pay and reward is following the behaviour reinforcement theory, equity theory and agency theory are putting forward the business vision through a flexible and adequate system of pay and reward for job satisfaction (Taba, 2018). |
| 7 | 21st March | Performance management and appraisal | Week 7 has illuminated the concepts of performance management and appraisal which is an important aspect of business management where employee performances are assessed, monitored and examined to analyse individual efforts in business productivity. The line manager or supervisor generally carries out the task of performance management of the employees who will be subjected to appraisal for outstanding performances. It also accommodates the extra benefits to the employee through which employees get motivated for more effort and productivity for getting success in the business endeavour. The study has the potential to gain intrinsic knowledge about managing the internal organisation through recognizing the employee efforts and motivating individuals for business continuance with the effective market response to overthrow the market rivals in increasing market share (Boella and Goss, 2019.). |
| 8 | 28th March | Assignment 1 briefing | |
| 9 | 4th April | Group task | The group task is the practice of teamwork which has been elaborated throughout week nine in which a group of people are collaborated in accordance to reflect the business process as per the market need. The team building and development are done by the leadership where leadership skill, ability, behavioural traits and interoperability comes beneficial for minimizing the complexities in group tasks. The group of people are aligned as in affinity of skills and abilities, and project for coordinating the task through taking considerations from each other which might take cognizance of a personal account and may innovate the future-ready solutions on the organizational environment for public necessity and use. It may take a long conversation, interaction, debate and exchange of ideas for coming to innovations and initiatives which will enhance the personal experience of individuals and confidently help in future employee management as well as an advantage in the personal portfolio in job prospectus. |
Assessor notes
- The attendance log must be completed for each week
SECTION 3: INDIVIDUAL REFLECTION
| Please use this textbox to write up your reflection: |
| Introduction
In this option, I am using Gibbs’s reflective model as this model helps me to understand the cross-cultural working environment effectively. Additionally, one of the main approaches to using Gibbs’s reflective model is that it helps a lot in reflecting the thought, descriptions, and feelings of a person regarding a topic or situation (Markkanen et al., 2020). Description I need to mention that on the 1st day of cross-cultural working I learned about the importance of cross-cultural training in modern multinational companies. I have also learned that without proper Cross-Cultural Communication Training an individual may not be able to be successful as an employee in an MNC company. Moreover, I was participating as a student in the training and my role was to learn proper knowledge of the different cultures of multiple nations. I have observed that there are huge cultural differences in every country of the world and as an employee in an MNC company it is essential to receive effective cross-cultural training to be a successful employee. Feelings I feel that effective cross-cultural communication is immensely essential as it helps a lot in improving my foreign language speaking skills. Apart from that, I have learned about the etiquettes of different cultures which may play an essential role during a cross-cultural meeting. One of the biggest advantages of CCT is that it helps an individual by providing the best way to adjust to a new foreign country by reducing the cultural shock (Naeem et al., 2020). Furthermore, at the beginning of the module, I felt that it would be difficult for me to acquire proper knowledge about different cultures, however, the teachers helped me a lot to improve my cross-cultural communication through this training. Evaluation I need to mention that in this training I have both good and bad experiences such as in the first day of training I got extremely nervous, for that reason I was not able to concentrate properly in the training. The next day, the module teacher helped a lot in boosting my confidence level which created a beneficial impact in improving my knowledge about different cultures of the world. A CCT training includes many aspects such as the training of cultural intelligence, cultural awareness, cultural safety and many more and apart from the diversity training is also provided in this training (Shepherd et al., 2019). In my opinion, the training is extremely useful for me as it has improved my cross-cultural communication and awareness skills which strengtheneth my employability effectively. Analysis I need to state that this effective training will help me to handle a multi-cultural team in future even if I am not able to get this training then it may harm my cross-cultural communication skills. I have observed that ineffective cross-cultural communication skills are mainly responsible for cultural conflicts in a company, however, this training helps me by demonstrating the way to manage multicultural team members by using cross-cultural communication strategies. The main approach of effective cross-cultural communications is that it helps an individual to maintain etiquette and improve active listening skills which are the main elements to manage a multicultural team effectively (Chrysos.org.uk. 2022). I also realized that effective cross-cultural communication plays a key role in improving the relationship between employees in a multicultural scenario. Conclusions From the above discussions, I need to conclude that I have learned multiple cross-cultural communication strategies which are immensely essential in resolving the tension in multicultural groups. On the other hand, I have realized that this training program improved my foreign language speaking capabilities which will definitely help me in the future. Moreover, if the training program will provide me with more knowledge about the way to mitigate cultural conflicts then it will be more helpful for me in improving my value as a successful employee in the workplace. Additionally, If I am able to learn more about cultural awareness, openness and humour then my cross-cultural experiments will be more enhanced. Action plan During working in a cross-cultural team, I will motivate every team member with the help of effective cross-cultural communication skills. I believe that cross-cultural communication silks play a crucial role in improving the effectiveness of teamwork in a multicultural context. Communication may be considered as one of the main aspects of the cross-cultural dimension which is tremendously required in managing conflicts among cross-cultural team members (Rajenthiran et al., 2021). I need to improve problem solving skills and leadership skills to manage a multicultural team in the future as these skills directly improve my cross-cultural communication skills as well. |
SECTION 4: REFERENCE LIST
| Please write up all your references into a list using the textbox below: |
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Boella, M.J. and Goss-Turner, S., 2019. Performance management and appraisal. In Human Resource Management in the Hospitality Industry (pp. 163-182). Routledge. Chrysos.org.uk. 2022. Top Ten Tips for… Effective Cross-Cultural Communication. [online] Available at: <https://www.chrysos.org.uk/blog/top-ten-tips-for-effective-cross-cultural-communi> [Accessed 25 April 2022]. Froese, F.J., Shen, J., Sekiguchi, T. and Davies, S., 2020. Liability of Asianness? Global talent management challenges of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean multinationals. Human Resource Management Review, 30(4), p.100776. Hbr.org. 2022. What We Can Learn from Japanese Management. [online] Available at: <https://hbr.org/1971/03/what-we-can-learn-from-japanese-management> [Accessed 23 April 2022]. Heywood, J.S., Jirjahn, U. and Struewing, C., 2017. Locus of control and performance appraisal. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 142, pp.205-225. Iwashita, H., 2019. Constellations of Logics in Performance Appraisal: Comparative Ethnographic Cases of a Japanese Multinational Corporation. The Journal of Business Diversity, 19(4), pp.10-29. Iza.org. 2022. Individual and Job-Based Determinants of Performance Appraisal: Evidence from Germany. [online] Available at: <https://www.iza.org/publications/dp/3017/individual-and-job-based-determinants-of-performance-appraisal-evidence-from-germany> [Accessed 23 April 2022]. Kampkötter, P., 2017. Performance appraisals and job satisfaction. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 28(5), pp.750-774. Köhler, K. and Zerfass, A., 2019. Communicating the corporate strategy: An international benchmark study in the UK, the USA, and Germany. Journal of Communication Management. Kotera, Y., Mayer, C.H. and Vanderheiden, E., 2021. Cross-Cultural Comparison of Mental Health Between German and South African Employees: Shame, Self-Compassion, Work Engagement, and Work Motivation. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, p.2226. Markkanen, P., Välimäki, M., Anttila, M. and Kuuskorpi, M., 2020. A reflective cycle: Understanding challenging situations in a school setting. Educational Research, 62(1), pp.46-62. Milhem, M., Muda, H. and Ahmed, K., 2019. The effect of perceived transformational leadership style on employee engagement: The mediating effect of leader’s emotional intelligence. Foundations of Management, 11(1), pp.33-42. Mitreva, E., Gorkov, P., Gjorshevski, H. and Tushi, B., 2020. Application of the Total Quality Management (TQM) Philosophy in a Macedonian Air Conditioning Company. Quality-Access to Success, 175(21), pp.45-51. Naeem, K., Jawad, A., Rehman, S.U. and Zulqarnain, M., 2020. Role of cross cultural training on expatriates overall adjustment in China and Malaysia. European Online Journal of Natural and Social Sciences, 9(4), pp.pp-828. Ono, H., 2018. Why do the Japanese work long hours. Sociological perspectives on long working hours in Japan. Japan Labor, (2018), p.2. Rajenthiran, N., Siriwardhana, S.D., Samaraweera, A., Dissanayake, D.M.P.P. and Kumarasiri, D.M.G.B.T., 2021. Managing Intragroup Conflicts in Cross-Cultural Teamwork in Construction Projects in Sri Lanka. Rear, D., 2020, March. Persisting values in the Japanese workplace: managerial attitudes towards work skills. In Japan Forum (pp. 1-21). Routledge. Reiche, B. S., Lee, Y. T., & Quintanilla, J. (2018). Cultural perspectives on comparative HRM. In Handbook of research on comparative human resource management. Edward Elgar Publishing. Sanders, K. and De Cieri, H., 2021. Similarities and differences in international and comparative human resource management: A review of 60 years of research. Human Resource Management, 60(1), pp.55-88. Shepherd, S.M., Willis-Esqueda, C., Newton, D., Sivasubramaniam, D. and Paradies, Y., 2019. The challenge of cultural competence in the workplace: perspectives of healthcare providers. BMC Health Services Research, 19(1), pp.1-11. Taba, M.I., 2018. Mediating effect of work performance and organizational commitment in the relationship between reward system and employees’ work satisfaction. Journal of Management Development. Zheng, Y. and Smith, C., 2019. Tiered expatriation: A social relations approach to staffing multinationals. Human Resource Management, 58(5), pp.489-502.
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