Curious About Global HRM Practices? Share How Recruitment and Motivation Differ in Your Country

Hi! I'm looking for some information about the differences in HRM in different countries around the world, connected with the following fields: RECRUITMENT, SELECTION, TRAINING, MOTIVATION, COMPENSATION. Could you please help me and tell how, for example, the motivation processes look like in your country? Thanks in advance for any information.

Dave

Hi Dave!

I would advise you to go through the 'Human Resource Management' 2002 Spring issue. This particular issue of the journal is about best practices in IHRM in 10 countries. Although some of the motivations are universal like money, recognition, etc., many are influenced by the cultural context of the country.

In India, a warm, affectionate, and sometimes authoritarian leader is a source of motivation. India is largely a collectivist/relationship-oriented country; managers use this sometimes honestly and sometimes tacitly to motivate people. As far as recruitment and selection in India is concerned, it differs across market segments. For example, what the IT industry does is different from what is practiced in the manufacturing industry. The same is true for training and development and other HR issues.

Anyway, what do you do? I hope you got some idea.

Ghazi Shahnawaz

Hi Dave,

Most Indian organizations have a "follow by example" philosophy. Motivated leadership is the guiding principle for younger employees. Some firms have strongly adopted the mentor and mentee concept, while others create long-term buddy programs to facilitate initiation and transition, and skip levels help maintain transparency.

Lately, many companies are also seen evaluating potential employees based on MBTI, PI, or DISC profiling to find the right fits both for the job and from a team perspective. Creating a balanced team ensures the longevity of all working relationships.

However, Dave, the Indian work scenario is fairly warm and casual, regardless of how corporate the environment may seem. Teams and lines of business work as close units.

Attrition is the harsh reality of the growing economy. A warm climate at work serves as a shield.

Regards,
Seema

Thank you very much for all the information you provided. It is extremely helpful.

Answering Ghazi's question: I am a student at the University of Economics in Katowice (southern Poland) and I'm supposed to write a thesis concerning the differences in one of the mentioned fields between two countries. After having read your posts, I decided to focus on the Indian/Polish motivation processes, which seem to be really interesting. Any other relevant info on this matter is welcomed. Thanks once again!

Dave

Hi Seema,

While going through your reply to Dave's query, you wrote about PI or DISC profiling. What are they? How do they function?

Regards,
Ghazi Shahnawaz

Hi Dave,

How will you go about your project? Will you develop some tool or questionnaire suitable for both countries? Will you come personally to India?

Regards,
Ghazi Shahnawaz

The DISC profiling or the PI are both inventories of personality and natural inclinations. They trap the person by asking numerous questions, many alike, to check consistency. Then, the auto formatting of records happens, and it requires trained personnel to read and map it. Once done, it gives a graphical cut on the individual's natural tendencies, applicability to the job, the fitment of his or her positives and negatives, and sort of helps anticipate certain behaviors.

Having had a DISC done on me, I can say it was as accurate as possible - in fact, some home truths were so astounding it took me days to accept I was indeed like that. I'd say it was as close as close gets. It will help in hiring, profiling, and also L&D.

Regards, Seema

Dear Ghazi,

This is just a short project written at the end of the semester in order to get credit from "Cross-cultural Communication in International Business." I'm supposed to impersonate the boss of an HRM team, which is going to be sent to a different country to take care of human resources. My task is to point out all the important disparities in motivation processes in the form of a memo for my employees so that work could be organized smoothly. I realize that it may sound funny, but well... it's an educating experience.

I need to admit that I'm considering writing my Master's Degree thesis (which is next year) on a subject connected with HRM, and then I might try developing some tool/questionnaire for that. Visiting India would be an amazing experience ;)

Regards,
Dave