Cultural Differences Between China And Europe: International Human Resource Management

International Human Resource Management

Describe about cultural differences between China and Europe?

Globalization has become a major trend of the business environment, with companies looking for opportunities to enter global markets. Globalization is a worldwide faction towards , financial, trade and economic infrastructure integration. International Business is a name given to the business conducted by the companies or corporations in the universal market. International business needs more business insight than directing a home company. Economic Globalisation is the incorporation of national economy with the international economy with the help of trade, capital flows, migration foreign direct investment, and extend of technology.

 Globalization has become essential to the companies around the globe; they also understand that one of the most important elements of globalization is the ground of Human Resource Management. Taking the very concept of globalization in mind, one may wonder how Human Resource management can be internationalized. The role of international HR professionals is to apply the basic concepts of human resource management globally. The last decade saw the initiation of internet and e-commerce, which has alleviated the flow of goods and services. This has initiated the rate at which internalization has impacted the role of Human Resource Management. It has already unlocked new opportunities for the liberation of international Human Resource services. The human resource practices and policies determine important aspects of organization’s functions and activities. It can determine the degree to which Multi National Enterprises can become geocentric, polycentric or ethnocentric. In ethnocentric Multi National Corporations, the HR policies and practices are intended and developed at their head quarters and then practiced all around the world. The HR managers and Expatriates belong to the parent country but strategic decisions, as well as that pertaining to Human Resources in geocentric or Multinational companies are actually taken regardless of geographic boundaries. These HR policies and practices are intended and developed from inputs all around the globe. Since many years, much of the literature of International Human resource management has focused on the issues related to expatriation. The expatriates are sent like corporate missionaries, by the headquarter around the world to their various branches in different countries for various other functions. They provide managerial or technical expertise and assist to control operations. They also develop the regional offices as well as their branches. The ever-changing issues of expatriates are a matter of huge concern for the Business corporations and thus the role of IHRM is important in solving such issues. The Human Resource managers also focus on solving the problems that involves the repatriates i.e. the returning expatriates The difference in the cultures of both the nations i.e. China and France varies like the sky and the earth. The cultures of east and the west have differed from centuries. So working in such a unfamiliar culture is very difficult for both the countries. When the culture differs, everything differs. It is a union of two nations and without the support of China, it is impossible for France to settle its business there. The expatriate officials have to know all the nook and corner of the Chinese culture, their attitudes and behavior. In order to acquire the Chinese market the company will have to train its employees in such a way that they acclimatize themselves in the host offices (Westermark, 2013).

Cultural Differences between China and Europe

China is one of the world’s largest and most appealing markets, and as it prolongs to become a more alluring target for foreign investment, businessperson and investors are gathering in the country to take advantage of earning money in such high potential market. The cultural differences between China and Europe are huge and it can affect the business largely (Werner, Schuler and Jackson, 2012).

The customs of china and the custom of Europe differ largely. The international human resource management team of the company should consider all the cultural barriers before employing people. The knowledge of the custom is also a very important fact for consideration for the strategic management team. The strategic management team will create strategies that would best fit into the organization (Werner, Schuler and Jackson, 2012) .

The language barrier:

The barrier of the communication is the biggest barrier that can appear in the functions of a business. The company will have to take into consideration this barrier. This barrier has impact over the working of the company in the host country especially when the company has taken into consideration for a polycentric approach. The polycentric approach has a motto to revolve around the host country. A polycentric orientation keeps in mind the functioning of the host country, their cultural attributes, traditions, laws etc (Torrington, 2011). 

The cultural barrier:

The difference in the cultures of both the nations i.e. China and France varies like the sky and the earth. The cultures of east and the west have differed from centuries. So working in such a unfamiliar culture is very difficult for both the countries. When the culture differs, everything differs. It is a union of two nations and without the support of China, it is impossible for France to settle its business there. The expatriate officials have to know all the nook and corner of the Chinese culture, their attitudes and behaviour (Stone, 2011). In order to acquire the Chinese market the company will have to train its employees in such a way that they acclimatize themselves in the host offices (Sistare, Shiplett and Buss, 2009).

The significance on Human resource management: The human resource management team will have to work towards achieving a global platform. Costabucks will have to hire employees from China. A team of human resource management will have to work on the people to be employed in China and the employees who will be expatriate. The global arena where the company will have to play is huge. The contribution of human resource management will have to be very relevant to the business strategies of the company. The human resource management strategies will have to comply with the company policies. The laws and political situation in China will affect a lot in maintaining a strategic human resource management. The main strategies that the human resource management team will play will be in the area of selection and training of the expatriates (Sehoole and Knight, 2013). The expatriates would act as a bridge between the home company and the host company-. However, the officials of the headquarters will do the selection, management and training of the employees for Chinese market. The responsibilities of the human resource management team will increase to a great deal. It will have create a team of highly professional international human resource management experts. These experts will strategically apply all the human resource policies complying to the laws and regulation of the country. The officials will have to see to it that the human resource policies best suit the company and the employees. The whole performance of the international human resource management will have to be very fine (Ryan, n.d.).

Customs

The Company should have an orientation that is Polycentric. Polycentric orientation approach has an attitude that oriented by the host country. Polycentric orientation reflects host country`s aim and objectives keeping in mind various managerial strategies and planning and international goals. In a polycentric perspective, a company’s management team believes that in Global business practices the preference of local people are found appropriate to function in the local market. In the tremendous outlook of polycentrism, an approach believes that culture of all the countries is different and hence the foreigners find it difficult to understand and it should be left on them until they earn the same level of profit. However, there is huge benefit in captivating into consideration local preferences and tastes in the host country when it comes to international business practices, a polycentric approach have its difficulties when implemented which meet the host countries criteria. The marketing of the products are organized on a nation wise basis, and marketing research is conducted separately in all the countries. Management is not able to control the corporation in the host country because local citizens have a better apprehension and consciousness of national market conditions much more than home office employees. This is precise in several characteristic of the products delivery including pricing, market research, customer relationship and services and well-being, and channels of distribution. Hence, the control in the host countries practices is lost, and the corporation is obliged to manage its functions from the outside. Local citizens occupy almost all of the key posts in their individual local subsidiaries, and they employ and develop their own people.

Exploitation of the international market:

The international market has many opportunities. If Costabucks expands its market in China with a polycentric orientation, then it is likely that the people of China embrace the product with positive attitude.

Sales maximization:

The company is likely to achieve a good share of sales because the company would have information and awareness of the local market. The trends in the local market are an important area of consideration (Price and Price, 2011).

Products as per the local needs:

China is the largest populated country of the world. They are very traditional and they have their own choices and preferences. China is the mother of Tea production in the world. People of China prefer tea to coffee. So the survival of coffee in such a market is difficult until the products are Chinese. The products have to be very precise in nature.

Support of the local government:

Since the company has complied with all the needs of the local nationals the government of China will also help the company grow in the market. The company can enjoy lots of benefits from the local government (Parnell, 2014).

Enthusiastic local employees: Chinese people like to work in a homely environment. If the company takes into consideration a local approach, then the company would see more happier faces. The employees will not have to comply with the international norms of functioning as done in the home country of the product.

Language Barrier

The concept of International Human Resource Management does not ignores the international projects. In fact, there are huge numbers of studies that analyzes the function that International human resource management plays in the multinational enterprises and how the organizations selects, develops, compensate, and invent the professional careers of the employees who expatriate. There are situations like political risk. It happens when there is high risk that a political function could change the chances of profitability of a given investment. There also exists a cultural risk ,when there is a huge cultural gap between the hub and the subsidiary.  Costabucks can select and send expatriates. These expatriates will assist the central organization to comprehend local atmosphere and to control the subsidiary functions. The job of these employees would be to  represent the concern of the home company and  to supplement channels of communication, and to work  as intermediates among the hub and the subsidiary (Mondy and Mondy, 2012).

The issues that the expatriates face in the host countries:

1. Communication:

When working in China being a foreign resident, the most common issue that an expatriate faces is that of language. The Chinese mostly speak mandarin and which is one of the toughest language any European person would find. The Chinese are very traditional in their approach and do not tend to speak in any other language other than Mandarin. They find it difficult to speak in English and also they are not much welcoming towards English language too. Recently Mark Zuckerberg spoke in Mandarin at the University of Zheng Zou and promoted the need of internet connectivity and his company Facebook. It left a huge impact on the people of China when they saw the youngest billionaire of the world speaking mandarin (Lamb et al., 2004).

2. Socializing with the employees

The importance of socializing with the co-employees is very important job for an expatriate. The expatriates will have to become very friendly with the local employees. The expatriate will have to behave very formally and try to mingle with the employees. This is the only way to find the internal stories within the company. The attitudes of the employees have to be very familiar and he shall not behave like an alien to them. Its tough to understand the work and social ethics of the people of China. They are traditional in nature and the expatriate should keep in mind that he does not hurts the sentiments of the local people.

3. The Law:

The expatriate officer must understand the legal affairs of the country. Without knowing the laws a company cannot operate in the host country. Understanding the laws and abiding by them is quint-essential job for an expatriate. The expatriates of the company have to understand that the laws of food and beverage industry vary in every country. The local marketers of China are tea growers and they will never let their market get ruin by foreign companies. The abidance of law is the foremost way to retain in such a market and occupy it.

4. The huge difference in Cultures:

The difference in the cultures of both the nations i.e. China and France varies like the sky and the earth. The cultures of east and the west have differed from centuries. So working in such a unfamiliar culture is very difficult for both the countries. When the culture differs, everything differs. It is a union of two nations and without the support of China, it is impossible for France to settle its business there. The expatriate officials have to know all the nook and corner of the Chinese culture, their attitudes and behavior. In order to acquire the Chinese market the company will have to train its employees in such a way that they acclimatize themselves in the host offices. 

The selection and training of the expatriates:

The selection of the expatriates has to be very careful because China is not like India that would welcome its foreign delegates and behave with them as possible as possible. The employees in China are rigid and very traditional and they do not tolerate the foreign behavior much. The selection of these employees would require to follow certain policies. This policies are:

1. Openness to other cultures: The selected employee will have to have an openness to learn and intermingle with the people of other cultures. The collectiveness attitude is a must. In fact the company should try to select people who already familiarity with the Chinese culture. A person with a degree in the mandarin language should be preferred.

2. Problem solving attitude: the selected expatriated employee should have an attitude to solve the problems taking very less time. These problems may arise due to political or cultural differences. The expatriate should have the ability to understand them and solve them as soon as possible.

3. Awareness of the laws of the host country: The expatriate must be aware of all the laws and norms of the host country. The laws of the country are very necessary and to carry them away appropriately is very important. Non-abidance of the law can root out Costabucks from the Chinese market.

4. Awareness the culture: The awareness of the culture in a host country that too China is very important. Since the company has decided to behave like a polycentric company, it is very essential to know the cultural climate of the Nation. China is country that is very traditional in its approach the cultural awareness is very important for the home country. The expatriate behaves like a connection between the home office and the host office. Trainings can be provided to employees who are selected for being the expatriate.

5. Selection of a host country but home country national to become an expatriate:

Cultural Barrier

It would be best if a Chinese person who lives in France is selected to become an expatriate. The employee can act as an agent in the host country and tackle the situation in the best possible manner. A Chinese employee would understand the law, the culture, the people and the consumer behavior too. Such an employee would best suit the situation.

Conclusion:

Conducting business in a country like china is a difficult task for any European country. The market of China is emerging like a booming market. Almost all the companies that manufactures has an operating unit in China. The Chinese people have a huge closeness towards their tradition and culture and there lies a huge difference between the cultures of China and other European Nations. The concept of international human resource management tries to employ the best employees from the host country. The Scope of international human resource management is very deep and is different from the traditional traditional human resource management. The international human resource management not just looks after all the basic functions of Human resource management but is also involved in the expatriation and repatriation of the employees. The sub-department of training and development has a lot of functions to perform. The expatriated employees have to be trained in many ways so that they best fit into the host office. The issues of cultural differences are also huge and in such conditions the survival of the company totally depends on the best business strategies, best employees and their allocation at the right place.

Bibliography:

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