Comparative Human Resource

Management

Table of Contents

Introduction 2

Academic Discussion Of National Culture Theory Concerning Some Of The 2-3

Approaches To Human Resource Management Identified

The approaches to recruitment and selection, employee relations, training, 4-6

and development or performance management

References 6
Introduction:

Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational company and is one of the world's leading

consumer goods firms that holds its expertise in selling some best known for its food,
beverages, lifestyle, cleaning and personal hygiene products brands. Unilever is a company
that is listed in a dual manner consisting of its two heads the Unilever NV in Rotterdam and
Unilever PLC in London. Unilever holes more than 400 brands including the $13 billion
brands which have been achieving annual sales of up to 1 billion and more (Unilever. 2022).
It holds a business spread among 190 + countries where it is actively doing business and has
made its brands available. 3.4 billion People use Unilever products every day which has
given the company a $52 billion turnover in 2021 with almost 58% from the emerging
markets. The company works with 148, 000 employees worldwide with 92% of the leaders
from their local markets (Unilever. 2022.)
This paper tries to examine the gradual establishment of human resource management
policies, functions, and strategies that have been a huge contribution to the company's growth
all around the world. The company focuses very much on the development of a uniform
human resource strategy that serves all its operations throughout different brands and
locations.

Academic Discussion of National Culture Theory Concerning Some of the

Approaches to Human Resource Management Identified:

The increasingly competitive and uncertain global economy, has given a greater importance
to effective International human resource management practices for the success of
multinational operations has been well recognized. As Unilever has witnessed dynamic
growth in the international activity of its company in the past few decades, it has raised
concerns regarding the management of human resources in its forms that operate across
borders. Human Resource Management in the international front differs greatly from
domestic and local HRM practices because when the management has to be done on a global
level then macro-environmental factors have to be taken care of. (EROĞLU, 1991) These
factors include the culture, laws, politics, society, and economy of the different regions.

Comparative Human Resource Management 2

National Culture theory can be defined as “values believed in assumptions learnt in the early
childhood that distinguish one group of people from another” (Hofstede, 1991). Among the
various multinational companies in the world very few organisations are completely aware
about how to manage their human resources effectively in the context of a borderless
dynamic International circumstances. It has to be clearly understood that the company can't
hold a static form of Human Resource Management as it has to contextually change itself and
translate its management in different situations pertaining to what the environment is or what
the social economic conditions and cultures are present in the particular country (Chilton,
1993). One such organization is Unilever who have been able to understand how National
culture of the countries they function in, is a major concern for their International human
resource management. The theory of national culture has proven to become more and more
relevant for companies for propagating and successfully managing their human resources
while operating in different countries that hold diverse cultures and employee distinctions.
One of the most famous models of national culture is the model that was created by Gerhart
Hofstede (1980). The study conducted by Hofstede had 117,000 employees as participants.
These employees were from different countries and represented different companies.
The dimensions of national culture were,

● Power distance
● Tolerance towards uncertainty
● Individualism vs collectivism
● Masculine vs feminine values or individuality
● Long term vs short term orientation
● Indulgence versus restraint

Even though this was an important phenomenon in the guidance of how National culture can
be understood, we must also see how some of these dimensions have influenced the HRM of
Unilever.

In context of recruitment with the influence of national culture, it has been seen that the
recruiters of the company who belong from countries that hold collectively stick values are
more likely to priority is personal and relationship-oriented recruitment sources in contrast to
countries that lean towards individualistic values which then utilize information from more
quantitative sources. Unilever has recruited 92% of its leaders from their local markets who

Comparative Human Resource Management 3

know and belong to that particular region. They also have 52 by 48 general balance
management of female and male employees who have been recruited via the national culture
theory.

The approaches to recruitment and selection, Employee Relations,

Recruitment Training, Performance Management Development:

The human resource management strategies at Unilever have been tried and tested and
maintained in a uniform global. Unilever has been in business for a very long time now. It
has expanded its business to various regions such as UK China India UAE and other Arab
countries. Ford explorer expansion and growth Unilever has realized the importance of the
right recruitment and employee selection. The strategies and approaches taken up by Unilever
in this process are,

Recruitment and selection approach –

Unilever has been trying to curate a uniform recruitment and selection strategy following its
HR team as the company works in different regions. This system that the company has
developed is called the challenge management system. The system acquires its new leaders
from the already working teams (McLaren Solutions, 2009) and also has had a good history
of selecting new graduate students from different business schools all over the world
(Jackson, 2009). The processes of recruitment include,
● Application form- the applications put forward by the candidates helps the
recruitment board to assess the presence of the required skills and requirements from
the candidate and help them judge the potential of the candidate.
● Test- the aptitude and psychometric tests that every candidate has to go through
before passing the interview and critically design to evaluate the information in the
applications and measure their strength as valuable additions to the company.
● Interview- the candidates are questioned about our writing of issues ranging from
educational information, knowledge about the company, and their data.
● Selection board- The selection board at Unilever is a committee that has been formed
with the members of the top management board. Here the candidate is presented with
case studies presentations or projects, where they are judged on their performance and
other key values.

Comparative Human Resource Management 4

Strategic employee retention approach –

With the help of a strong human resource management team at Unilever, it has been able to
create a very effective review narration and benefit plan that helps in retaining key executives
of the company. The wages are revised annually and the executives are provided with annual
incentives for contributing to significant business growth in addition to their salary. It also
created long-term incentive plans and pension facilities after the retirement of top executives.
This approach has helped Unilever to have a strong loyalty from its employees and thus a
motivated employee team all around the world and in the UK.

Michigan school model approach or the Hard Approach –

This approach is incorporated by Unilever by realizing that human resources are extremely
important in achieving the organization's strategy. Unilever uses this approach during
employee selection, reward appraisal, and development of its employees. The decisions are
mostly in June with the company's motto, objective and overall mission. The company
provides compensation to employees based on their performance. The company pays close
attention to the investments in employee training for its swift development that ensure it will
be best fitted alongside the original objectives of the organization.

Harvard model of Human Resource Management approach or the Soft Approach –

Unilever utilizes this model in most of the countries that it works in including its
headquarters. The Harvard Approach is primarily based upon the rigorous corporate
strategies of this approach that are brought into action specifically in the regions of Europe
and UK. What it does is delegates the authority in responsibilities to the employees that
directly help the company in achieving its objectives. It is critical of its recruitment selection
promotion in the creation of a favourable work environment for the employee and gives
heightened importance to the effective and efficient management of teamwork data
collection, big data analytics, artificial Intelligence, and workforce leadership. The company

Comparative Human Resource Management 5

provides employees with salaries, bonuses, and other intrinsic and extrinsic rewards that keep
the employees motivated.

Conclusion –

Thus, from the above discussion, it can be concluded that some areas of Unilever require a
significant amount of change to gain more growth and meet the targets of the company. The
company should recruit more from third-world Nations for operating in their foreign regions.
The selection and recruitment policies should be made simpler to attract more potential
candidates to apply for the company from around the world. Unilever must also always focus
on recruiting more dynamic individuals for its marketing team from all around the world as it
is extremely essential for developing a new product and also establishing the current and new
brands in markets.

References:
Chilton, K. (1993). “Lincoln Electric’s Incentive System: Can It Be Transferred Overseas?”,
Compensation and Benefits Review, 25(6), 21-30.
Đorđević, B., n.d. IMPACT OF NATIONAL CULTURE ON INTERNATIONAL HUMAN
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT. [online] Available at:
<https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305677401_Impact_of_National_Culture
_on_International_Human_Resource_Management>

EROĞLU, O., 1991. INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND

NATIONAL CULTURAL CHALLENGES. [online] Available at: ]>

Hofstede, G. (1991). Culture and Organizations, Berkshire, UK: McGraw-Hill International.

Jackson, B. (2009) History of Unilever Graduate Scheme. Web.

McLaren Solutions. (2009) Talent Management Solution. Web.

Comparative Human Resource Management 6

Unilever. 2022. At a glance. [online] Available at: <https://www.unilever.com/our-
company/at-a-glance/> [Accessed 10 August 2022].
Unilever. 2022. Strategy. [online] Available at:
<https://www.unilever.com/our-company/strategy/> [Accessed 10 August 2022].

Comparative Human Resource Management 7