Global Cultural Diversity & Some HR Challenges. Bidhan Chandra, Ph.D. Member, Diversity Committee, CRHRA Albany, NY February 8, 2006

Transcription

1 Global Cultural Diversity & Some HR Challenges Bidhan Chandra, Ph.D. Member, Diversity Committee, CRHRA Albany, NY February 8, 2006

2 Presentation Outline 1. Global challenges for HR 2. Understanding cultural difference 3. American business interest in India 4. India s cultural diversity 5. Impact of global diversity on HR issues for India 6. Some recommendations 2

3 Working Globally The single greatest cause of difficulties in global business transactions is not a lack of technical expertise, hard work or good intentions it is a lack of "people skills" for relating successfully across style differences attributed to factors such as national culture, organizational culture, job function, and personality. Ernest Gundling Working GlobeSmart 3

4 Global Cultural Diversity Language Barriers Religion Issues Gender Issues Around the World with Global Challenges Time Zones Differences Effective Global- Local balance Communication Issues Motivating & retention Issues Compensation Issues Resolving conflict Training & Development 4

5 Understanding Culture Culture hides more than what it reveals, and strangely enough what it hides, it hides most effectively from its own participants. Edward T. Hall Culture is the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the member of one human group from another. Geert Hofstede 5

6 Remember. Culture is Software of the Mind. - Hofstede Culture is Our Behavioral Operating System. - Chandra 6

7 Culture is our Behavioral Operating System Just like a computer system works on the basis of an operating system, the work-related behaviors of Indians and Americans are controlled by the B.O.S. or the Behavioral Operating System being prevalent and used in the respective culture. There are distinct differences in the Indian BOS (india.exe) and the American BOS (usa.exe), because the codes of their behavior have been programmed differently.?? india.exe usa.exe 7

8 Culture as an Iceberg Country X Country Y Visible Invisible Behaviors Customs Assumptions Common Sense Behaviors Customs Assumptions Common Sense Values Values Beliefs Beliefs Source: Meridian Resources,

9 Cross-cultural Core Values Independent Egalitarian Direct Comm. Focus on tasks Monochronic Interdependent Hierarchy/Status Indirect Comm. Focus on Relationships Polychronic Middle Point Source: Meridian Resources, 2004 What is your style? 9

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11 Virtual Tour of Bangalore Where Most Global Companies Have a Presence Today (Video) 11

12 India s Cultural Diversity 1. Language 2. Religion 3. Educational System 12

13 (Source: 13

14 Language Diversity Two major language families: Indo-Aryan & Dravidian 324 languages 22 Official languages English is an associate official language. 14

15 Impact of Languages in the Workplace English as a second or third language Multilingual or American? Indian English or American English? Common data dictionary? Variety of speech patterns Different sentence structures Wide array of accents Inner-circle conversations in regional languages Translation re-translation English => Regional Language => English 15

16 INDIA S RELIGIOUS DIVESITY % % 2.30 % 1.90 % 0.40% 0.80% 16

17 IMPACT OF RELIGION ON THE WORKPLACE 1. Differences in employees values, beliefs, and social customs: Hierarchy, Indirectness, Relationships, Time orientation 2. Tolerance for religious symbols in the work place 3. Indian holiday calendar: many holidays 4. Greater sense of extended-family obligations 5. Different dietary preferences 6. Delicate balance between religious harmony and conflict 17

18 Indian Educational System 1. Based on the British system 2. Teacher-centric 3. Narrower specialization in college education; absence of broad liberal education 4. Less emphasis on soft skill development 5. Emphasis on end-of-term examinations 6. Very high competition level 7. Most students living inside a pressure cooker 18

19 Indian Culture can Impact these HR Functions in a Multinational Company 1. Recruitment & selection process 2. Compensation practices 3. Motivating & retention 4. Knowledge transfer/training 5. Gender Relations 6. Equal opportunity 7. Global virtual team work 19

20 HR Issue: Recruitment & Selection 1. High growth rate in some industries: recruit by thousands 2. Low selection ratio 3. Supply & demand gap: Shortage of right people in the middle management level 4. Recruiting women and couples 5. Technical skill vs. soft skills 6. Less opportunity to grow in some businesses => higher turn over rates 7. Bringing parents/spouses/family to job interviews 8. Influence of family/friends for job choice 20

21 HR Issue: Compensation 1. California gold rush to India 2. Salary levels rising rapidly 3. Indians prefer more fringe benefits 4. Intense negotiation for salary packages 5. Comparison with peers 6. Competition with other recruiters 21

22 Case # 1: High attrition rate among foreign scientists 1. high-tech R&D lab in North Carolina 2. employs more than 100 highly qualified scientists and technicians 3. mostly foreign-born immigrants: China, India, the Philippines and Russia 4. successful lab, but concern about recent increase in turn over among employees of Chinese and Indian origin, even though top class working conditions and pay packages 5. investigation by external consultant 6. Consultants have confidential meetings with stakeholders 7. finding: feeling of being left out in the career development and promotion process and a sense that only Americans got the promotions 8. unbelievable to the management 9. Why didn t they ever communicate this issue with us 22

23 Lessons Learned The supervisor-subordinate relations and expectations are influenced by the respective cultures. Cultural difference can create mismatch of mutual expectations, resulting in dissatisfaction and possibly turnover among key employees. Personal and professional coaching of foreign employees is a must for their assimilation into the mainstream American corporate culture. 23

24 HR Issue: Motivation & Retention 1. Additional education & training 2. Foreign trips to learn and work in the U.S. 3. Upgrading job titles 4. Faster career growth cycle 5. Liberal maternity leave 6. Influencing the parents 7. Anything to raise power and status 24

25 HR Issue: Knowledge Transfer 1. Demand for knowledge transfer is growing rapidly. 2. Very large number of educational/training initiatives in the country. 3. Some Indian cultural values serve as bottlenecks for highly successful knowledge transfer projects. 4. The Indian educational system does not foster American-style creativity. 5. The knowledge base for a large number of professionals is mostly limited to one specific domain. 25

26 Training & Development in India 1. American Fortune 500 company s Engineering Center in Pune, India 2. ambitious plans to move more development work from the U.S. and Germany 3. Indian headcount to increase to approximately 300 in 3-4 years 4. two top-notch American trainers go to India to impart knowledge transfer 5. the two-week long training program seemed to go quite well, good evaluations 6. the trainers return to the U.S. the day after the last day of training 7. two weeks later, the American V.P. of H.R. receives an from the Indian HR 8. several Indian trainees do not achieve the training objectives 9. polite request for sending the trainers one more time, this time for a week. 26

27 Lessons Learned The teacher (trainer)-learner relationship is influenced by the respective cultures. The cultural difference can create mismatch of mutual expectations, resulting in poor knowledge transfer and poor performance on the job. The linear American learning format needs to be changed to accommodate for learning style differences. 27

28 HR Issue # Gender Relations 1. Different male-female dynamics in the Indian society 2. Ratio of female/male is shrinking. 3. Growing number of women in the workforce 4. Lower turn over rate among women 5. More stressful work environment for women 6. Indian Factories Act 1947 rule for post 7 PM work 7. Team work challenges 8. Liberal maternity leave 9. No sexual harassment prevention law: only Supreme Court guidelines exist. 28

29 HR Issue: Equal Opportunity for the Disabled Javed Abidi 1. A separate category for the disabled persons in the 2001 Census of India million disabled persons in the country 3. Social strings or stigma attached to the disabled persons 4. Javed Abidi has been doing a great deal of grassroots work in this field through public interest litigation. 5. Despite the Disability Act 1995, legislative rights and full economic opportunities still not a reality 6. The basic infrastructure is not disable friendly. 29

30 HR Issue: Equal Opportunity for the Downtrodden 1. There is a large number of people in the Indian society who were denied educational and job opportunities to do well in life. 2. The Indian Constitution maintains Scheduled Caste/ Schedule Tribe (SC/ST) categories. 3. Government quota system for seats in universities/colleges and for jobs in the government and public sector organizations 4. Indian government is now trying to push for legislation for a quota system for jobs in the private sector. 30

31 HR Issue: Global Team Work Managing time zone differences for global virtual teams Managing cultural differences among team members Effective cross-cultural communication Effective cross-cultural conflict resolution 31

32 Recommendations and Q&A 1. Learning about global cultural diversity and its impact on the workforce is important for superior performance of any organization in today s global economy. Culturally-appropriate design and delivery of training programs are critical factors for workforce development. 2. Offshore captive development or outsourcing practices of Western companies pose special cross-cultural challenges for members of global virtual teams. Corporate HR must be involved in understanding these challenges and in designing appropriate cross-cultural intervention programs. 32

33 For further information Dr. Bidhan Chandra Center for Distance Learning SUNY Empire State College 111 West Avenue Saratoga Springs, NY Phone: ext,