Culture and HRM Philosophy

It would be nice to believe that all strategies are products of an entirely objective thought process.

People always base their decisions and actions in line with the assumptions they make and the values they hold, and that certainly applies to management strategizing.

The same applies to how managers approach their people related responsibilities.

Decisions about the people to hire and to train and the leadership style reflect the culture and HRM philosophy.

Culture

The concept of culture has been enriched by the work of sociologists, organizational psychologists, management consultants and others.

The “category of people” can be a nation, region, or ethnic group (national culture), women versus men (gender culture), old versus young (age group and generation culture), a social class, a profession or occupation (occupational culture), a type of business, a work organization or part of it (organizational culture), or even a family.

“ Culture is the commonly held and relatively stable beliefs, attitudes, and values that exist within the organization”.

How Organizational Cultures Form

The original culture is derived from the founders’ philosophy

In turn, it strongly influences the criteria used in hiring

The actions of the current top management set the general climate of what is acceptable behavior and what is not

Socializing new employees to match their values to those of the organizations

Characteristics of Organizational Culture

Observed behavioral regularities. When organizational participants interact with one another, they use common language, terminology, and rituals related to conduct

Norms. Standards of behaviors exist, including guidelines on how much work to do, which in many organizations come down to ‘do not do too much; do not do too little”

Dominant values. High product quality, low absenteeism, and high efficiency

Philosophy. Beliefs about how employees and/or customers are to be treated.

Rules. Strict guidelines related to getting along in the organization.

Organizational climate. This is an overall feeling that is conveyed by the physical layout, the way participants interact, and the way members of the organization conduct themselves with customers and other outsiders.

HRM Philosophy

HRM Philosophy is the basic assumptions that the managers make about people in the organization – Can they be trusted? Do they dislike

work? Can they be creative? Why do they act as they do?

The answers will reflect the basic HRM philosophy of the manager.

X Theory Y Theory Workers have an aversion to

work inherently

Workers may find a way to postpone the work completion in haziness

Workers may do the job half-heartedly

Fear of punishment can motivate the workers into action

The worker may know the hazards of non-performance of a work

No worker is ready to accept any responsibility

There is a need for explaining the consequences of being inactive

The average human being has the tendency to work. A job is as natural just like a play

Once the worker understands the purpose of job, he may extend his co-operation for job completion

Worker can put in his best efforts for the accomplishment of enterprise objectives early

Worker has self –direction, self –motivation, self-discipline and self-control

Workers are not interested in achievement. They prefer to maintain status quo

A worker prefers to be directed by others,

Workers hate to improve their efficiency. The reason is that they fear losing their present job

Worker is also one of the factors of production and does not deserve any special treatment

Worker lacks integrity, Worker avoids taking

decisions whenever necessary.

If right motivation scheme is prepared by the management, the worker is ready to accept extra responsibility

The existing worker has competence to work and can take right decisions

A worker expects recognition of the successful accomplishment of task

A worker may exhibit his efficiency even for non-monetary rewards such as participation in decision-making, increased responsibility etc,

The potentialities of human beings are not fully utilized by any industry.

Versions of HR Philosophy

The concept of HRM could be regarded as a philosophy governing how employees should be treated in the interests of the organization. As McGregor said in his X and Y theory, Storey (1989) made a broad distinction between two versions named “hard” and “soft”.

Hard Version

This approach emphasizes the quantitative, calculative, and business-strategic aspects of managing the HR in as “rational” a way as for any other economic factor. In this philosophy the worker is regarded as a commodity. It considers people as human capital from which a return can be obtained by investing judicially in their development.

Soft Version

This philosophy emphasizes communication, motivation and leadership. Storey (1989) described soft version as “treating employees as valued assets, a source of competitive advantage through their commitment, adaptability and high quality performance.

HRM Philosophy and Mission Statement

The HRM philosophy should be included in the Mission Statement of the business. It states clearly how the organization regards its human resources, what role they play in the overall success and how they are to be treated and managed. This statement is typically very general, thus allowing interpretation at more specific levels of action within an organization.