Assignment No.

Programme Name: MBA Semester: IV Credit: 4

Course Title: Cross Cultural HRM Course Code: 20ODMBT786
Submitted Date: 27 June, 2022 Last date of Submission: 30th June, 2022
Max. Marks: 30 Weightage: 15 Marks

Instructions:
 Sec-A is compulsory which consists of Ten Short Answer Questions (1 mark per question). Answer length
should be approximately 100 words.
 Attempt any Five questions from Sec-B out of Seven questions (4 marks per question). Answer length
should be approximately 800 words.

Section –A(10 Marks)

Q1. Define the Culture?

Ans: Culture is the beliefs, behaviors, practices, norms, values, history, characteristics, knowledge, and artifacts
of a social group. Culture includes language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music, and arts. These elements
combine to create the culture of the social group and impact how members of the group think, act, and acquire
possessions as a shared way of living. A great culture exemplifies positive traits that lead to improved
performance, while a dysfunctional company culture brings out qualities that can hinder even the most
successful organizations. It affects all aspects of business, from punctuality and tone to contract terms and
employee benefits. When workplace culture aligns with your employees, they’re more likely to feel more
comfortable, supported, and valued. Companies that prioritize culture can also weather difficult times and
changes in the business environment and come out stronger.

Q2. Explain the role of Education in the culture?

Ans: The most important role of education in cultural development is cultural preservation. In order to preserve
a culture, certain cultural norms, traditions and beliefs should be passed along to the new generations. Students
in schools get to learn their communities’ values and ethics, which is necessary for them as members of society.
If a country’s population is well-educated, there are more people who are competent enough to create cultural
artefacts that will be able to convey the country’s beliefs and ideas, which will lead to a generation that
understands and values its culture. Shaping a culture is a process that takes at least a few centuries and to
develop as a society its important to learn from its ancestors.

Q3. Discuss material culture with example?

Ans: Material culture is the totality of physical objects and belongings of members of a group of people.
Material culture includes objects made by the group and objects obtained by the group in other ways, such as
trading, stealing, or extracting something from the natural environment to serve as an object for human use.
Examples of material culture include money, tools, weapons, utensils, machines, clothing, ornaments, art,
buildings, and monuments. In other words, objects that one might see in a market, a museum, a home, or a
business, as well as the structure or building itself, are part of material culture.

Q4. What is long term Orientation? Explain with its application.

Ans: Long Term Orientation stands for the fostering of virtues oriented towards future rewards, in particular
perseverance and thrift. It’s opposite pole, Short Term Orientation, stands for fostering of virtues related to past
and present, in particular, respect for tradition, preservation of “face” and fulfilling social obligations. Long-term
orientation focuses on the future. Long-term oriented individuals may put off short-term affairs in preparation
for the future. Long-term oriented cultures place emphasis and value on persistence, perseverance, and
adaptability. Six aspects of trade in which long term orientation plays an important role:

 partner selection – traders are interested in creating long lasting relationship and they would not deal
with a stranger in order to make one time deal
 trade strategy selection – people do not trade products that they are not sure about their quality, they
follow a thrifty strategy to keep their relations and avoid the risk of losing the partner
 negotiation behavior – traders are very patience, they do not overreact and overcharge
 truthful or untruthful delivery – people always deliver high-quality commodities and they do not take
advantage of possibility to send lower quality to make an extra profit
 trust or distrust – traders do not easily trust new partners and the time is needed to develop the
relations
 maintenance of beliefs about partners – they keep their opinions about collaborators and it is difficult
to change it
Q5. Explain the Face-to-Face Negotiation step?
Ans: Negotiation is a process by which two or more people (or groups) resolve an issue or arrive at a better
outcome through compromise. Negotiation is a way to avoid arguing and come to an agreement with which
both parties feel satisfied.
1. Prepare: Negotiation preparation is easy to ignore, but it’s a vital first stage of the negotiating process.
To prepare, research both sides of the discussion, identify any possible trade-offs, determine your
most-desired and least-desired possible outcomes.
2. Exchange information: This is the part of the negotiation when both parties exchange their initial
positions. Each side should be allowed to share their underlying interests and concerns uninterrupted,
including what they aim to receive at the end of the negotiation and why they feel the way they do.
3. Clarify: During the clarification step, both sides continue the discussion that they began when
exchanging information by justifying and bolstering their claims. If one side disagrees with something
the other side is saying, they should discuss that disagreement in calm terms to reach a point of
understanding.
4. Bargain and problem-solve: This step is the meat of the process of negotiation, during which both sides
begin a give-and-take. After the initial first offer, each negotiating party should propose different
counter-offers for the problem, all the while making and managing their concessions.
5. Conclude and implement: Once an acceptable solution has been agreed upon, both sides should thank
each other for the discussion, no matter the outcome of the negotiation; successful negotiations are all
about creating and maintaining good long-term relationships. Then they should outline the
expectations of each party and ensure that the compromise will be implemented effectively. This step
often includes a written contract and a follow-up to confirm the implementation is going smoothly.

Q6. Write a note on Cultural Significance?

Ans: Cultural significance is a concept which helps in estimating the value of places. The places that are likely to
be of significance are those which help an understanding of the past or enrich the present, and which will be of
value to future generations.
In a broad sense, cultural resources include archaeological and historic properties, museums, archaeological
parks, shipwrecks, cultural landscapes, sites of religious and cultural significance, traditional ways of life and
languages, and associated artifacts and documents. Modern society values cultural resources for their
associative, aesthetic, informational and economic significance. Such resources are nonrenewable and
threatened by economic development, population expansion, and natural forces

Q7. Discuss different Responses to Diversity?

Ans: Cultural differences can interfere with the successful completion of organizational goals in today’s
multicultural global business community. To avoid cultural misunderstandings, managers should be culturally
sensitive and promote creativity and motivation through flexible leadership.
 When employees from two or more cultures interact with each other on a regular basis, it results into
multiculturalism. The employees needs to adjust their leadership styles, communication patterns and
various other practices to fit in.
 Business operation has wider scope and responsibilities than domestic corporations and the social
system is different from the previous organization. So, the employees tend to be narrow- minded and
they failed to realize the differences between their own culture and other cultures and remain to
behave with their own.
 Many workers become individualistic rather than collective. So, the idea of teamwork seems difficult to
attain because the employee do not aspire to be a team builder but the attitude is more inclined on self-
interest and self- gratification. Hence, they are guided by the saying that “self-first before others”.
 Valuing personal relationships— the ability to recognize the importance of interpersonal relationships,
which are often much more important than achieving one-time goals or winning arguments.

Q8. State the importance of HR Strategy?

Ans: HR strategy is the most important aspect of all. The strategy will determine how the HR process will run
and how to make sure that it works and assist the organization to achieve their goal. When the strategy has
been set up, it will be the basic foundation on how HR department make plan and do their job in all level.
Setting strategy is only the first step; turning it into a strategic HR plan that you successfully execute is far more
challenging. The process fails for a number of reasons, including lack of visibility into business goals and
inadequately defined measures for success. Human resources strategy should always respond to business
strategy; it also should align both upward (with business priorities) and downward (with functional priorities)
 Understand how well your functional capabilities and the HR operating model are performing in their
current state
 Identify next steps and resources required for short-, mid-and long-term plans
 Ensure continuous alignment of strategy and resources to capture market opportunities and respond to
volatility as needed
Q9. What is the meaning of ‘Trace the Lifeline’?
Ans: Trace the lifeline based on the company's business strategy, identify the activities that are essential to
achieving success around the world and specify the positions that hold responsibility for performing them. The
company’s business Statergy identifies the activities that are essential to achieving success around the world
and specify the positions holds responsibilities for performing themthese positions represents the lifeline of the
company. It typically defines the technical, financial and soft skills needed for success in each lifeline role.
The roles involved in running and emerging market operation for example: expand as the company builds its
investment and sale base. At I.B.M. Skills team update their role descriptions every six months to keep up with
the pace with the markets and to inform the senior managers which skills are hot and which company has good
in supply.

Q10. Define Leadership Capital and state its significance?

Ans: Leadership capital is the extent to which political office-holders can effectively attain and wield authority.
Drawing on the concept of political capital, we define leadership capital as aggregate authority composed of
three dimensions: Skills-personal abilities of communication and vision, popularit y.
1. Strategic vision Effective leadership provides a clear vision that helps to focus the company's resources and
achieve its superiority over competitiveness.
2. The ability to influence the essence of leadership is the ability to influence and motivate employees to work
for the company's goals.
 3. Moral role models’ Ethical leadership is a guarantee against the consequences of the most negative behavior
that harms the reputation of companies, their relationships with employees, and stakeholders outside the
company.
4. External relations the success of leadership makes them trusted by financial institutions, government and the
local community, all of which work to support the company's policies and plans with 123 minimal tensions and
external problems. 5. Business results Leadership is well aware that the last real success is to stay in the market
firstly, and then grow and expand secondly. This requires that this be reflected in the company's accounts and
balance sheet at the end of the year.
6. Developing leadership for the future Effective leadership is well aware that success can be limited not only to
the leader's stay in the company, but also to the ability to achieve continuity of success.

Section –B(20 Marks)

Q3. Explain the Negotiation Process?

Ans: Negotiation is a form of decision-making where two or more parties approach a problem or
situation wanting to achieve their own objectives - which may or may not turn out to be the same. In the
employee relations arena, negotiation usually takes place within the collective bargaining environment.
Participants enter the process with widely different views: some - typically on the employee side - will
view it as being fundamental to industrial democracy, fairness and good business conduct; others see it
as a barrier to efficiency - a view more prevalent on the management side. The latter view sees
negotiation as compromise and second-best to winning: possibly worse than giving in!

The Five Stages of Negotiation

1. Prepare, Probe, and Propose: When starting any new project, including negotiation efforts, it is important
to lay the foundation first. The preparation stage is composed of a variety of steps that are all geared
toward helping you set the groundwork for your negotiation. In this stage, of course, preparation is key.
Conflict can arise at any time, which means there is no allotted timeframe for you to prepare your
negotiation techniques. Therefore, it is critical to start this first stage as soon as possible.

2. Define Ground Rules and Exchange Information: In stage one, you haven’t even officially met with the
other side yet. You’ve done your research to build your case and have learned all you can about your
opposition. In stage two, you will begin to communicate with your opposition, but there is still work to be
done before any official negotiating can begin. In stage 2, your primary focus is to establish the terms of the
negotiation as well as exchange information to improve the chances of a successful negotiation.
At this stage, you’ll also focus on exploring the other side. This provides you an opportunity to test the
assumptions you developed during your initial research. This is also the best opportunity to try and build a
positive relationship heading into the negotiation. Even if you are coming to the negotiating table with
vastly different views, a sense of common ground and understanding is beneficial. With effort, you can
develop a better understanding of what the other side wants to accomplish and what potential solutions
may mesh well with your own goals.

3. Clarification: Before diving into the true negotiations, it is important to be sure that both parties are on the
same page regarding the negotiation process. In stage two, you took the time to understand the other side.
You listened to their issue as well as what they hope to gain from the negotiating process. You also
explained your stance, and what you hope to gain. Together, you should have established some ground
rules to ensure that all relevant viewpoints and time are respected.
In stage three, you’re essentially finalizing this process. Take the time to reflect on what you’ve learned and
note any gaps or confusions that may be present. Stage three allows you the opportunity to seek any
necessary clarifications from your opposition involving the issue itself, other parties with stake in the
negotiations, the evidence provided, or even what may constitute a mutually agreeable outcome.
4. Bargaining and Problem Solving
Stage four is where true negotiation begins. In the bargaining stage, it is important to be aware of not only the
verbal cues of your negotiation partner, but the non-verbal cues as well, including body language. This process
can be delicate, and in difficult negotiations, you must sometimes move back a step to problem solve until all
parties are comfortable. During the bargaining stage, each side will lay out their concerns as well as their
perceived solutions. This process is all about the give and take, so it is beneficial to remember that the ultimate
goal is to seek a mutual agreement.
5. Conclude and Implement
Bargaining can take time, but eventually the negotiations must come to an end. A solution must be reached, and
it will ideally benefit both parties in some way. At this stage, it is important to make sure that all essential
elements to officially establish the agreement are in place. Thus, clarity is key to ensuring that everyone is on
the same page before implementation begins. This stage can involve signing contracts or legally enforcing any
other terms laid out during the negotiation process. Follow-up is crucial, ensuring that implementation brings
with it the desired effects for both parties.
Q4. State and explain Workforce Diversity?
Ans: Workforce diversity means similarities and differences among employees in terms of age, cultural
background, physical abilities and disabilities, race, religion, gender, and sexual orientation. No two humans are
alike. People are different in not only gender, culture, race, social and psychological characteristics but also in
their perspectives and prejudices. Society had discriminated on these aspects for centuries. Diversity makes the
work force heterogeneous. In order to survive in this type of cut throat competitive world the organizations
have to hire an effective an efficient workforce that can handle such competitive environment. Employing
diversified workforce is a very essence for every organization. In the current scenario the organizations that
employ quality and competitive workforce regardless of their age, attitude, language, gender, religion, caste can
only compete at the marketplace. Human resource is an important asset for any organization. Capital and
physical resources, by themselves, cannot improve efficiency or contribute to an increased rate of return on
investment

 Age, Gender & Caste and Religion: Due to the increased rate of globalization, privatization and
liberalization we can view the change at our workplace also, gone were the days where the people of
same age, same professional qualification, same experience and same religion come together to work in
an organization. Now day’s females are also working in the equal ratio with males. Therefore, the
researcher is focusing over these critical aspects of diversified workforce that affects the working of
employees
 Geographical regions: Employees coming from various geographical regions with their different mindset
create contradiction among employees. Gender discrimination is also a major problem at Indian
workplace.
 Language: the aspect that affects the work climate is language. People may speak different languages at
work place because of different geographical region to which they belong. Due to which the people may
find some problem.
 Different perception and attitude: Each individual are different from each other because of their
different religion, educational background to which they belong, age and the perception.
 Professional qualification: When different types of people in terms of thinking, perception, generation
come together to work at the same place then definitely a situation may come where all these different
types of people may not agree at the same point. At that point, of time it is going to affect the
interpersonal relationship among people. The researcher has taken some aspects, which are a part of
diversity among workforce they are age, gender, caste, experience, professional qualification and the
employees coming from various geographical region.

Cordial interpersonal relationship among the employees is one of the major ingredients for smooth functioning
of an organization. Organization is a network of people who work together to achieve some common objective
and if this network has some loopholes, then it would be very difficult for any organization to achieve those
objectives effectively. On the basis of above statement, researcher has prepared the following model.

Advantages of diversified workforce:

An organization's success and competitiveness depend upon its ability to embrace diversity and realize the
benefits. When organizations actively assess their handling of workplace diversity issues, develop and
implement diversity plans, multiple benefits are reported such as:

 Diversity stimulates innovation and productivity and creates a world class culture that can outperform
the competition.
 A multicultural organization is better suited to serve a diverse external clientele in a more increasingly
global market. Such organizations have a better understanding of the requirements of the legal,
political, social, economic and cultural environments of foreign nations
 In research-oriented and hi-tech industries, the broad base of talents generated by a gender-and ethnic
diverse organization becomes a priceless advantage. “Creativity thrives on diversity”
 Multicultural organizations are found to be better at problem solving, possess better ability to extract
expanded meanings, and are more likely to display multiple perspectives and interpretations in dealing
with complex issues.
 Organizations employing a diverse workforce can supply a greater variety of solutions to problems in
service, sourcing, and allocation of resources.
 Employees from diverse backgrounds bring individual talents and experiences in suggesting ideas that
are flexible in adapting to fluctuating markets and customer demands.
 A diverse collection of skills and experiences (e.g. languages, cultural understanding) allows a company
to provide service to customers on a global basis.

Q5. Highlight the difference between Minimizing and Managing the Culture Difference Approach?
Ans: Cultural differences are the various beliefs, behaviors, languages, practices and expressions considered
unique to members of a specific ethnicity, race or national origin. Some examples of cultural differences as they
pertain to the workplace include employees who are younger or older than their co-workers, employees who
hold higher degrees than others in the workplace and individuals who grew up in either metropolitan areas or
small towns. It is said that employees often have more similarities than they do differences, but those
differences can sometimes outweigh the similarities.

Management of cultural differences is to create an environment that allows employees from different cultures
to use their potentials to the full, and to direct and manage these differences in line with the organizational
goals. Once we recognize cultural differences, you can take steps to be proactive about managing their impact
to create a culturally affirming workplace where people of different backgrounds can work together successfully:
 
 Learn about your employees: While maintaining respectful boundaries, learn about the unique
experiences that each of your employees brings to the workplace. Understanding the background of
everyone on your team allows you to research their cultural norms and prepare to accommodate them.
 Host diversity training: Requiring employees to attend diversity training can create a more
understanding environment and equip employees with the strategies they need to work with people
who have different cultural norms.
 Acknowledge holidays and celebrations: Avoid assuming that all employees celebrate the same
religious and national holidays. Celebrate cultural holidays equitably to make sure your team knows that
you respect their beliefs equally.
  Ensure clear and polite communication Clear and polite communication reduces the chances of
surprises, crises, and confrontation. Both employers and employees should take diversity and cultural
difference into account while drafting communication material. This can include:
 using simple words
 using visual methods to communicate results
 avoiding slang words and phrases

 Employ diversity training: Another way to overcome cultural barriers is to ensure there is an inclusion
of people of different cultural backgrounds in the workplace. Diversity training can potentially foster
inclusive work culture, encourage teamwork and leadership, create new opportunities, and thereby
create a positive work culture. This training will help employees understand and embrace the cultural
differences of their co-workers, and co-workers to embrace each other.

Q6. Discuss the relation between HR strategy and Employee Performance. How this relation is used to define
the Global Success?
Ans: HR strategies are best designed and implemented once the HR understands the core Business Model,
vision and mission statement and align the same in their HR planning and execution. The best HR strategies
always stay focused on getting the best employee performance resulting in overall company performance.
HR strategies are best designed and implemented once the HR understands the core Business Model, vision and
mission statement and align the same in their HR planning and execution. The best HR strategies always stay
focused on getting the best employee performance resulting in overall company performance.

1. Encourage dialogue to build understanding. Gartner analysis shows that employees’ understanding of
decisions and their implications is more critical for the success of a change initiative than employees
“liking” the change. Progressive managers provide for two-way conversation with their employees to
ensure communication strategies improve engagement rather than harm. Interacting with managers
and peers provides employees with the information and perspective they need, which allows them to
express and process negative emotions and improve their feelings of control.

2. Use objectives to create clarity. A strong connection between individual performance and the
achievement of business goals can boost employees’ confidence in the importance of their job, even in
a challenging business environment. Similarly, having clear objectives and receiving regular updates on
possible changes helps to ensure that employees maintain focus, energy and a sense of purpose.
Managers can reassert the connection between employees’ work and organizational success by
providing a clear view of the current organizational goals and translating the organization’s vision into
their employees’ context. When employees are confident about the importance of their job to the
success of the organization, they feel less anxious about their job security.

3. Strengthen organizational values to minimize the risk of misconduct. An unpleasant employee

experience can negatively impact psychological safety by up to 35%. What’s worse, during periods of
uncertainty, employee misconduct rises by as much as 33%, according to Gartner research. Aside from
modeling the right behaviors, encourage whistleblowers to point out unethical practices, remind
employees of the channels for reporting misconduct and highlight the consequences of noncompliance.

4. Drive engagement via innovation. While today’s unpredictable environment will cause managers and
employees to naturally become more risk-averse, fostering creativity and taking risks is critical for
employee engagement and organizational performance. The disengaging impact of restrictions on
innovation and risk-taking are particularly severe for high-potential employees, who tend to have a
greater appetite for these types of opportunities. Emphasize the need and ability of employees to
 advance initiatives and find process improvements even when the organization has constraints on new
investments.

Financial measures include economic factors and non-financial measures include success indicators such as
market share, quality, satisfaction and market effectiveness. On the other hand employees’ contributions to
their jobs are very important for the development and success of the organizations. With the talented and
skilled employees’ firms can gain competitive advantage over their rivals

Q7. Explain Mobility Pyramid?

Ans: The five-level mobility pyramid in Exhibit III. To encourage managerial mobility, each personal profile in
your database should have a field where managers and functional experts assess where and for what purposes
they would move. When jobs or projects open, the company can quickly determine who is able and willing to
take them. Managers can move up and down a mobility pyramid at various stages of their career, often
depending on their family and other commitments. for example, may be able and eager to sign up for the glopat
role but want to drop to a lower level of the pyramid if they wish to start or restart a family life. Or seasoned
senior managers may feel ready to rise above the regional level only when their children enter college. I.B.M.
uses its global H.R. database increasingly for international projects. In preparing a proposal for a German car
manufacturer, for instance, it pulled together a team of experts with automotive experience in the client's major
and new markets.

 Global mobility service delivery an effective global mobility program should be able to support
businesses and assignees with high-quality service that is cost-effective and consistent.

 Identify your leadership capital Build a database of your company's mix of managerial skills by
persuading people to describe the information in their c.v.'s, their management talents and their
potential on standard personal-profile templates. Jump-start the process by having your senior
managers and those in the lifeline posts complete the forms first. Add others worldwide with the
potential to move up. Include functional specialists who show general management potential. Require
over time that every executive join the global H.R. system. 

 Assess your bench strength and skills gap Ask each executive to compare his or her skills and
characteristics with the ideal requirements defined for the executive's current post and preferred next
post. Invite each to propose ways to close any personal skills gaps -- for example, through in-house
training, mentoring, outside courses or participation in cross-border task forces

 Integrating global mobility service delivery with a company’s broader HR processes and infrastructure –
particularly in areas such as basic HR support and talent management – can reduce costs and produce
greater business value. Given the scale and increasingly central role of global mobility as well as global
HR and talent, the time has come to integrate global mobility with global HR and to leverage a global HR
services platform where practical. Meanwhile, the global mobility function can use its specialized
knowledge to provide business leaders and managers with focused advice on mobility strategies and key
assignments.

 Mobility and workforce strategy Effective global mobility requires a formal strategy that focuses on a
company’s long-term business needs and global talent priorities rather than simply reacting to individual
opportunities as they arise. Global employee rewards