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 The Influence of Culture on
Human Resource Management
Processes and Practices

Edited by
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Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
Taylor & Francis Group Taylor & Francis Group
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Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data

The influence of culture on human resource management processes and practices /

[edited by] Dianna Stone and Eugene F. Stone‑Romero.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978‑0‑8058‑4599‑0 (alk. paper) ‑‑ ISBN 978‑0‑8058‑4598‑3 (alk. paper)
1. Diversity in the workplace‑‑United States. 2. Personnel management‑‑United
States. 3. Multiculturalism‑‑United States. 4. Cultural awareness‑‑United States. I.
Stone, Dianna L., 1947‑ II. Stone‑Romero, Eugene F.

HF5549.5.M5I46 2008
658.30089‑‑dc22 2007020930
 To Gene, Mavis, Joey, Patricia, Sharon,
JoAnna, J., S., Q., B., S., S., and D.

DLS

To my parents, Frank J. Stone and Josephine Romero,

whose love and sacrifices allowed me to have what
they never had, and to my wife, Dianna.

EFS-R
 Contents

Preface xi
Series Foreword xvii
Jeanette N. Cleveland and Edwin A. Fleishman

1 Culture 1
Harry C. Triandis and S. Arzu Wasti

2 A Model of the Influence of Cultural Values on Job

Application Intentions and Behaviors 25
Dianna L. Stone, Linda Isenhour, and Kimberly M. Lukaszewski

3 The Clash Between “Best Practices” for Selection and

National Culture 53
Robert L. Dipboye and Stefanie K. Johnson

4 Culture and Human Resource Management

Practices: Personnel Selection Based on
Personality Measures 85
Eugene F. Stone-Romero and Carol A. Thornson

5 Designing and Delivering Training for Multicultural

Interactions in Organizations 115
Eduardo Salas, Katherine A. Wilson, and Rebecca Lyons

6 Culture Diversity and Performance Appraisal

Systems 135
Gerald R. Ferris and Darren C. Treadway

7 Culture, Feedback, and Motivation 157

Robert D. Pritchard and Satoris S. Youngcourt
 Contents

8 Compensation and Reward Systems in a

Multicultural Context 181
Aparna Joshi and Joseph J. Martocchio

9 Cultural Variations in Employee Assistance

Programs in an Era of Globalization 207
Rabi S. Bhagat, Pamela K. Steverson, and James C. Segovis

10 Work and Family Concerns and Practices:

A Cross-National and -Cultural Comparison
of Ireland and the United States 235
Jeanette Cleveland, Alma McCarthy, and Jodi L. Himelright

11 A Sensemaking Approach to Understanding

Multicultural Teams: An Initial Framework 269
C. Shawn Burke, Heather A. Priest, Christin L. Upshaw,
Eduardo Salas and Linda Pierce

12 Culture and Human Resource Management:

Prospects for the Future 307
Eugene F. Stone-Romero and Dianna L. Stone

Author Index 313

Subject Index 331

 Preface

Organizations in the United States are becoming more diverse in terms

of a number of dimensions, the most important of which are the cul-
tural norms, values, and ideologies of their members. One reason for
the increase in diversity is that the population of the United States is
becoming more racially diverse. More specifically, recent census data
revealed that there are now over 84 million members of the four primary
minority groups (i.e., African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian
Americans, and Native Americans). In addition, the growth rates of
these groups are expected to accelerate in the 21st century (U.S. Bureau
of Census, 2000). Interestingly, between 1950 and 1998, the number
of individuals with non-European backgrounds tripled in size due to
such factors as (a) waves of immigrants from Asia, Latin America, and
the Middle East, (b) relatively high birth rates among members of vari-
ous minority groups, and (c) the relatively low average age of individu-
als in such groups (U.S. Bureau of Census, 2000). As a result of these
and other trends, many organizations in the United States employ large
numbers of minority group members. For instance, an article in Fortune
(2001) reported that minority group members make up large percent-
ages of the workforce at such firms as Advantica (49.9%), Levi Strauss
(58%), Dole Foods (55.6%), Union Bank of California (54%), Avis Rent-
a-Car (48%), and Walt Disney World Resorts (90%). Because members
of various minority groups often have cultural values and norms that
differ from those of members of the majority group, increases in racial
diversity are frequently accompanied by increases in cultural diversity.
The cultural diversity of U.S. organizations also has increased as a
result of the internationalization of the world economy. Recent esti-
mates indicate that there are over 100,000 firms with international
operations, and they have annual revenues in excess of $300 billion.
Not surprisingly, the growth in the number of firms with international
operations has been accompanied by an increase in the cultural diver-
sity of their employees.
xii Preface

The increase in cultural diversity of U.S. firms may lead to substantial

benefits, including increased creativity, improved decision making, and
broader markets for products (Adler, 1997; Cox, 1993). However, more
cultural diversity also may pose important challenges for these firms,
whether or not they have multinational operations. For instance, as cul-
tural diversity increases, firms may need to develop new strategies for
managing and motivating their employees (Cox, 1993). One important
reason for this is that, typically, human resource management (HRM)
processes and practices in the United States have been based on val-
ues, norms, and ideologies (e.g., rugged individualism, short-term profit
maximization, legalism, equity-based individual rewards) that are more
common among individuals of northern and western European descent
(e.g., white Anglo-Saxons) than members of various minority groups
(e.g., blacks, Native Americans, Asians).
In view of the aforementioned facts, we believe that it is vital that the
related fields of HRM, industrial and organizational psychology, organi-
zational behavior, and organization theory develop a better understand-
ing of the issues that arise in culturally diverse organizations. There are
several reasons for this. First, cultural diversity has largely been ignored
in the previously noted disciplines (Erez, 1994; Erez & Earley, 1993;
Triandis, Dunnette, & Hough, 1994). As a result, Triandis (1994) and
others (e.g., Earley & Erez, 1997; Erez, 1994; Erez & Earley, 1993) have
argued that many organizational theories are underdeveloped and often
fail to consider the critical role that cultural factors play in the design
of organizations and the management of employee behavior. Second,
although a substantial body of diversity research has focused on such
variables as age, sex, race, and disability, relatively little research has
considered the impact of cultural diversity on organizational processes
and practices. Third, several diversity researchers have argued that
because the HRM-related processes and practices (e.g., recruitment,
selection, training, performance appraisal) of many U.S. firms are based
primarily on values, norms, and ideologies that have northern and west-
ern European roots, they may not be as effective in organizations that
are culturally heterogeneous as they are in organizations that are cultur-
ally homogeneous (Cox, 1993).
In view of the foregoing, an increasingly large number of U.S. organi-
zations are faced with the challenge of developing HRM processes and
practices that will prove functional with job applicants and incumbents
who come from diverse cultural backgrounds. However, there is a pau-
city of theory and research to guide the development of the needed
processes and practices. In view of this, the primary purpose of this
book is to discuss the influence of cultural diversity on several HRM
processes and practices. Other than the first chapter, which deals with
the general topic of culture, the general focus of the book is on processes
and practices that occur at three general phases: the pre-hire phase (e.g.,
recruiting), the selection phase (e.g., selection), and the post-hire phase
(e.g., performance appraisal, compensation).
Preface xiii

In Chapter 1, Harry C. Triandis and S. Arzu Wasti consider the gen-

eral issue of culture from the perspective of individuals’ values (e.g.,
individualism, collectivism). Then, they illustrate how culture influ-
ences a number of organizational processes and practices, including
selection, job design, conflict resolution, and leadership. In addition,
they describe the effects of culture on individuals’ behavioral intentions
and behaviors. The chapter concludes with a call for research that will
lead to a better understanding of the role that culture plays in influenc-
ing organizations and their members.
Chapter 2, by Dianna L. Stone, Linda Isenhour, and Kimberly M.
Lukaszewski, deals with the influence of culture on the propensities of
individuals to apply for and accept jobs. It offers a model of the recruit-
ment process that is based on the well-tested and supported Theory
of Planned Behavior. Their model explicitly considers the influence of
culture on the three antecedents of job application intentions (i.e., atti-
tudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control). They also
offer a number of testable hypotheses that are based on the model.
Finally, they provide a number of recommendations for practice.
In Chapter 3, Robert Dipboye and Stephanie K. Johnson deal with
the relation between national culture and optimal selection practices.
Among the issues considered by them are the way that culture influ-
ences various attributes of selection systems (e.g., job specification),
differences between selection systems based on rational/analytic versus
social/intuitive models, and individuals’ reactions to selection systems.
To illustrate the influence of culture, they compare selection systems
found in China, Mexico, and the United States.
Chapter 4, by Eugene F. Stone-Romero and Carol A. Thornson,
considers the dysfunctional consequences of selecting individuals for
jobs on the basis of their standing on personality measures. This is an
important issue for two reasons. One is that most personality measures
are incapable of differentiating between traits and environmentally
induced states. The other is that there are well-documented differences
in personality across members of various cultures (e.g., national) and
subcultures (e.g., race-based). These differences may lead to the stigma-
tization of applicants in various minority out-groups (e.g., racial minori-
ties, women, war veterans) in the selection process. As a result, relative
to members of organizational in-groups, members of such out-groups
may suffer lower odds of being offered jobs.
The next six chapters deal with HRM issues that are applicable to
organizational members. In Chapter 5, Eduardo Salas, Katherine A.
Wilson, and Rebecca Lyons offer views on the design and delivery of
training programs concerned with improving interactions among indi-
viduals in multicultural teams. In addition, they present a number of
practice-based strategies for improving interactions among individuals
in multicultural organizations (e.g., simulations, role play exercises).
Finally, they describe strategies for maintaining workers’ multicultural
knowledge, skills, and abilities.
xiv Preface

Chapter 6, by Gerald R. Ferris and Darren C. Treadway, deals with

the influence of culture on performance appraisal systems and pro-
cesses. The authors view performance appraisal systems as mechanisms
for both ensuring accountability in organizations and influencing the
behavior of employees. They describe how culture influences several
appraisal-related variables, including the criteria used in appraisal, the
reactions of targets to appraisals, the attributions that stem from obser-
vations of behavior, and the way in which ratees respond to appraisals.
In addition, they offer a number of recommendations for research on the
influence of culture on performance appraisal systems and processes.
In Chapter 7, Robert D. Pritchard and Sartoris S. Youngcourt con-
sider the role of culture in worker motivation and responses to feedback
about performance. They specify how culture influences cognitions
about relations between (a) actions and results, (b) results and evalua-
tions, (c) evaluations and outcomes, and (d) outcomes and satisfaction.
In addition, they indicate how culture influences feedback seeking,
feedback giving, and feedback reactions. Finally, they summarize the
results of cross-cultural research on productivity measurement.
Chapter 8, by Aparna Joshi and Joseph J. Martocchio, focuses on
relations between cultural variables and the nature of compensation and
reward systems. More specifically, their chapter considers cross-cultural
differences in individuals’ affective and cognitive reactions to compen-
sation and reward systems. Using theory and research associated with
Affective Events Theory and the person–organization fit perspective,
they develop a number of propositions about such reactions. Finally,
they offer a number of suggestions for research on relations between
cultural variables and reactions to compensation and reward systems.
Chapter 9, by Rabi S. Bhagat, Pamela K. Steverson, and James C.
Segovis, is concerned with cultural variations in employee assistance
programs (EAPs). The chapter begins with a history of EAPs in the
United States. Next, the authors consider stress and coping in cross-
cultural contexts, focusing on two dimensions of culture (i.e., individu-
alism vs. collectivism, and vertical vs. horizontal). They also comment
on the effectiveness of EAPs in the current era of globalization. Finally,
they offer recommendations for cross-cultural research on EAPs.
In Chapter 10, Jeanette Cleveland, Alma McCarthy, and Jodi L.
Himelright focus on cultural dimensions that influence work–family
preferences. The chapter begins with a consideration of political and
social influences on work and the family. Then, they describe three
types of welfare state regimes. Regime type is important because it
influences attitudes toward the relative importance of work and family
within a nation. The description of regimes is followed by a review of
values that may influence work–family issues and a detailed comparison
of the United States and Ireland in terms of several factors that relate to
work–family issues.
Chapter 11, by C. Shawn Burke, Heather A. Priest, Christin L.
Upshaw, Eduardo Salas, and Linda Pierce, details a sensemaking
Preface xv

approach to understanding multicultural teams. The chapter begins

with a description of such teams. It then presents a model of the sen-
semaking process that posits that several antecedents influence team
sensemaking, which, in turn, causes adaptive team coordination and
team performance. The chapter concludes with a consideration of the
practical implications of the model and suggestions for future research.
The final chapter of the book highlights the primary themes presented
in the previous chapters and offers a summary of needed research on
cultural diversity and HRM practices. It also considers methodological
issues (e.g., research design, measurement, sampling) needed to extend
and conduct research on the topic. As a result it serves as a point of
departure for extending theory, research, and practice on the role of
cultural diversity in the design and development of human resources
practices in multicultural organizations.
The book should prove to be of value to several audiences. One is
academicians and researchers in the related fields of industrial and orga-
nizational psychology, organizational behavior, human resource man-
agement, cross-cultural psychology, and applied social psychology. A
second is HRM practitioners and researchers in industry. A third is
graduate students in the above-noted fields.
Although the authors of chapters in this book are from the United
States, the issues considered by them also should be of interest and value
to academicians, practitioners, and graduate students in numerous other
countries. The principal reason for this is that organizations in other
nations often have employees who are culturally diverse. This is especially
true of multinational organizations. We believe that cross-cultural issues
are as important in such organizations as they are in U.S. organizations.
Overall, we hope that the views offered by the authors of the chap-
ters in this book serve to motivate both (a) the further development of
models concerned with the influence of culture on HRM processes and
practices, and (b) the design and conduct of empirical research on the
same topic. An improved understanding of the role that culture plays
in such processes and practices should contribute to both the efficiency
and effectiveness of organizations and the performance and well-being
of their members.
Eugene F. Stone-Romero and Dianna L. Stone

References

Adler, N. J. (1997). International dimension of organizational behavior. Cincin-

nati, OH: South Western College Publishing.
Cox, T. H. (1993). Cultural diversity in organizations: Theory, research, and prac-
tice. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
Earley, P. C., & Erez, M. (1997). New perspectives on international industrial/
organizational psychology. San Francisco, CA: New Lexington Press.
xvi Preface

Erez, M. (1994). Toward a model of cross-cultural industrial and organiza-

tional psychology. In H. C. Triandis, M. D. Dunnette, & L. M. Hough
(Eds.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (2nd ed., pp.
559–607). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
Erez, M., & Earley, P. C. (1993). Culture, self-identity, and work. New York:
Oxford University Press.
Fortune (2001). Best companies for minorities. Retrieved September 15, 2001
from http://www.fortune.com/index.
Triandis, H. C. (1994). Culture and social behavior. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Triandis, H. C., Dunnette, M., & Hough, L. C. (1994). Handbook of industrial
and organizational psychology,Vol. 4, Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psycholo-
gists Press.
U.S. Bureau of the Census (2000). Population reports. Retrieved March 18,
2007 from http://www.census.gov/servlit/dataset/main.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. (2001). Profiles of general demographic characteris-
tics. Retrieved September 29, 2001, from http://www.census.gov/prod/
cen2000/dp12kh00.pdf.
U.S. Bureau of the Census (2000). Population reports. Retrieved March 18,
2007 from http://www.census.gov/servlit/dataset/main.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. (2001). Profiles of general demographic characteris-
tics. Retrieved September 29, 2001, from http://www.census.gov/prod/
cen2000/dp12kh00.pdf.
 Series Foreword

Series Editors

Jeanette N. Cleveland
The Pennsylvania State University

Edwin A. Fleishman
George Mason University

There is a compelling need for innovative approaches to the solution of

many pressing problems involving human relationship in today’s society.
Such approaches are more likely to be successful when they are based
on sound research and applications. This Series in Applied Psychol-
ogy offers publications that emphasize state-of-the-art research and its
applications to important issues of human behavior in a variety of social
settings. The objective is to bridge academic and applied interests.
We welcome the book The Influence of Culture on Human Resource
Management Processes and Practices, edited by Dianna L. Stone and
Eugene F. Stone-Romero, into this series. Increasingly, all aspects of
organizational functioning reflect permeable national boundaries. Yet
much of our personal and interpersonal interactions are guided by cul-
tural values, expectations, and attitudes. Some values transcend cul-
tural boundaries and are mutually reinforcing. Other cultural values
create interactions with high potential for conflict, misunderstanding,
poor performance, and ultimately, individual and organizational inef-
fectiveness or failure.
It is time to disentangle our discussions of diversity and culture. To
what extent do these constructs overlap? Are they distinct? As this
book indicates, there is much diversity within a given culture as well
as across national cultures. Much of our knowledge of human resource
management (HRM) practices in organizations is based upon research
conducted in single cultures or about diversity within a given country
xviii Series Foreword

(e.g., United States, United Kingdom, or China). There is a need for

more discussion and research about the influence of multiple cultures
on HRM practices.
Stone and Stone-Romero bring together an impressive set of experts
on culture and diversity to address specific HRM processes or practices.
The distinguished Dr. Harry Triandis and S. Arzu Wasti introduce the
book with a discussion of the dimensions of cultures and provide an
overview of cultural links with specific HRM practices, such as selec-
tion, job design, interpersonal relationships at work, conflict resolution,
training, group processes, and leadership. This chapter provides a solid
foundation and point of reference for each the chapters that follow.
These chapters address the links between culture and a specific HRM
process or practice.
In Chapters 2, 3, and 4, more general value differences across cultures
associated with individual and organizational selection are addressed.
This discussion is followed by Chapters 5 through 11, in which specific
HRM practices are discussed in relation to either organizational culture
or using a cultural lens, individual reactions to an organizational prac-
tice. The practices include training, performance appraisal, feedback
and motivation, compensation and reward systems, and team functions.
In addition, the book includes chapters on both employee assistance
programs and work–family concerns and practices within a global, cul-
tural context.
The book is appropriate for undergraduate and graduate students in
industrial and organizational psychology, human resource management,
sociology of work, and cultural diversity within organizations. It can
provide a central resource in classes on organizational psychology, stra-
tegic human resource management, and global issues in human resource
management. Professionals and practitioners who increasingly interact
with organizational issues at the global level will find this book essential
to their work.
 C H A P T ER

1
Culture
Harry C. Triandis and S. Arzu Wasti
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and
Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey

Culture is to society what memory is to individuals (C. Kluckhohn,

1954). It consists of what “has worked” in the experience of a group of
people so it was worth transmitting to peers and descendants. Another
definition of culture was provided by anthropologist Redfield (1954):
“Culture is shared understandings made manifest in act and artifact”
(p. 1). In short, it is shared behavior and shared human-made aspects of
the society. Thus, it includes “practices” (the way things are done here)
and “values” (the way things should be done). These older definitions
of culture focus on what is outside the person (e.g., do people drive to
the right or left). The more recent definitions also stress what is inside
the person (e.g., is the self independent or interdependent of in-groups).
Almost every aspect of psychological functioning is influenced, to some
extent, by culture. Thus, it is best to view culture and psychology as
making each other up (Cole, 1996; Shweder, 1990).
We can distinguish material and subjective culture. The tools, dwell-
ings, foods, clothing, pots, machines, roads, bridges, and many other
entities that are typically found in a culture are examples of material
culture. Subjective culture includes shared ideas, theories, political, reli-
gious, scientific, economic, and social standards for judging events in
the environment (Triandis, 1972). The language (e.g., the way expe-
rience is categorized and organized), beliefs, associations (e.g., what
ideas are linked to other ideas), attitudes, norms, role definitions, reli-
gion, and values of the culture are some of the elements of a cultural


 The Influence of Culture on Human Resource Processes and Practices

group’s subjective culture. Ideas about how to make an item of material

culture constitute subjective culture as well (e.g., mathematical equa-
tions needed to construct a bridge), so the two kinds of culture are
interrelated.
Subjective culture also includes shared memories, ideas about correct
and incorrect behavior, the way members of culture view themselves
(auto-stereotypes) and other cultural groups (hetero-stereotypes), and
the way members of the culture value entities in their environment.
Categorizations, associations among the categories, beliefs, expectations
(e.g., what behavior will lead to what rewards), norms, role definitions,
values, and broad value orientations (e.g., whether humans are intrinsi-
cally “good” or “bad”; F. Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck, 1961) are other ele-
ments of subjective culture.
Members of different cultures have characteristic lifestyles that cor-
respond to subjective events and shared habits for paying attention
to specific aspects of their environment (e.g., cues about hierarchy or
hostility), and they weigh these aspects differently (e.g., in hierarchi-
cal cultures people weigh cues about hierarchy much more than cues
about kindness). Such shared perceptual habits and weightings are parts
of subjective culture, too. Beliefs about whether or not one can trust
other people, about supernatural beings, about work and about being
healthy, and about what happens after death are further aspects of sub-
jective culture. For example, trust in individualist cultures depends on
whether or not the other person behaves appropriately and as expected;
in collectivist cultures it depends on whether the other person takes
into account not only his or her own interests but also the interests of
in-group members.
Cultures emerge because ecologies (climate, geographic features,
ways of making a living) are different from place to place. For instance,
if the environment has fish, people will go fishing, buy and sell fish, cook
fish, eat fish, develop a rich lexicon about fish, and so on. They will also
have ideas about how, where, when, and with whom to fish. They will
value fish, and they may link their religious ideas with fish. They will
have theories about how fish developed, ideas about how valuable fish is
at different times and places, norms about how, when, and with whom
to eat fish, and so on. Fish will be an important element of the economy
of the culture, will be on the educational curriculum, and will figure in
politics (e.g., one party might advocate restrictions on fishing, whereas
another might oppose restrictions). The gods will help or spoil fishing,
social life will require exchanges of fish, and so on.
In the following section, several cultural dimensions will be pre-
sented. Particular emphasis will be given to collectivism and individual-
ism, as these cultural syndromes have benefited from rich theoretical
description and empirical research (e.g., Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Tri-
andis, 1995). Next, the implications of these cultural dimensions on
several organizational phenomena, such as human resource practices,
group dynamics, and leadership, will be reviewed by reference to the