Significance of Local Culture and HRM Practice

This report discusses the significance of local culture and HRM practices in the hiring and firing of employees in Aldi Group. It highlights the importance of cultural fit in employee retention and productivity. The report also explores the impact of cultural differences on HRM practices and the differences in employment laws in different countries.

Human resource management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................................3
A : HRM strategies ....................................................................................................................3
B: Impact of regional and national culture on the practises of HRM .........................................4
C : Organisation's model of employment....................................................................................5
D. Storey’s 27 points of difference between HRM and Personnel Management........................6
E. Significance of local culture and HRM practice ....................................................................7
F. Differences in the Employment laws ......................................................................................7
G. Effective HRM practices used by firms .................................................................................1
H. Recommendations for improving performance using HRM ..................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................2
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
Human resources management is concern with the procedure of recruitment and selection
in the organisation, their main work is to attract the right people towards the right procedure.
Apart from this HRM is liable for the training and development of the employees whether they
are new or existing (Lopez and et.al, 2020). This report focuses on the company called Aldi
Group. Aldi Group is a retailer of supermarket chain and having stores in more then 20
countries. This report states various HR strategies for the company also it shows the impact of
national and regional culture on the practises of HRM. This report describes various various
models of employment. Along with this, Storey's 27 points of difference between HRM and
personnel management is mentioned in this report. Employment laws and different HR
practises is being mentioned in this report.
A : HRM strategies
Human resources strategies are defined as the plan which is being made by HR of Aldi
Group so that the employees can work as per the strategies and helps the company to attain
their determined goals. So HR is the one who bridges the gap between employees and higher
management and communicate the expectations of the management to the employees.
Planning
This is the first and foremost thing which the HR of Aldi Group has to do, in the
procedure of planning HR guides the employee about their work and how they will compelete
their individual task so the company may attain its goal at the earliest. So this is the veery
important strategy of HRM to let the employees know what plans and policies have been made
by the HRM and they just have to follow them to attain the end goal.
Performance management
This is the very common HRM strategies of Aldi Group, that they believe in hardwork
and also they appreciate the hard-work of the employees by providing them various pomotional
offers , incentive and perks. The main motive behind implementing this strategy in the
organisation is to boost up the morale and confidence of the employees so that they take their
work seriously and put all the focus on their work (Sokolov and et.al, 2018). Another motive of
this strategy is when the company provide performance appraisal to the employees so they also

feel privileged and try to work hard. Thus the performance management is one of the important
strategy which helps the company to know who is working hard and who is not in the
organisation.
Employee training and development
By imposing this strategy at the workplace the HR of Aldi Group, increases the skills
and knowledge of the employees, even training brings the work more faster. When employees
get the proper guidance and training they can complete their work more faster and the chances
of errors will get decrease. HR has to make sure that after getting tanning employees must
enhance their skills and go beyond in their career path.
Employee law
This is the another policy of HRM is that they maintain the employee laws and
regulations in the organisation and provide all the necessary things to the employees such as
good working condition etc. Due to employee laws and rules they also feel protected and safe in
the organisation (Aust and et.al, 2018).
B: Impact of regional and national culture on the practises of HRM
HRM of Aldi Group has to face some difference in the practise and their
strategies. As Aldi Group operates in many other countries so the HR has to set some different
practises in the national and local level. As in the national level the candidates who applied in
Aldi Group to begin their career, they usually have good education background , good skiills
and also they remain focused towards their goal. Thus the HR of Aldi Group, has to focus more
on their training and development because they can easily grab the new things quickely. Apart
from this, they give many innovative ideas to the company, on the flip side on the reginol level
the employees are not so skilled and highly qualified so it becomes difficult for the HRM to give
them training on new things which they have not heard about. Even they cant grab the things
quickly.
So these things have been found that the culture impacts the HRM practises. Apart friom
this due to culture the behaviour of the employee also get changes. On the national level the
employees behave politely with other and try to cooperates with their colleagues but the scenario
get changes on the regional level, they hardly behave well with other employees even though
they do not remain serious about their work. So the HR has to put more wattage on the
performance management to bring motivation in such employees and make them aware about

their work that when they perform well they get many opportunities of growth and their
remuneration can also increases.
Thus the regional culture remains dominating as compared the national culture thus the
working environment of both the culture is fully different and HR has to give more motivation
and encouragement of the employees who are working in local culture as compare to such
employees who are working at the national level (Hameed and et.al, 2020).
C : Organisation's model of employment
The main motive behind implementing organisation's model in the company is to
provide various employment opportunities and training to the employees and people of the
organisation and try to minimise the hurdles of disability in performing the work etc. thus the
company follows employment model.
Another reason behind using the employment model is to et the employees familiar with
their job design and job role and also describe the reporting structure of the company.
The functional organisational model
As per this model all the workforce of the company have to report their work to different
managers so that they can correct the mistakes of the employee if they did any . This model is
being implemented in the organisation to assist the employees to grab the right information so
that they can perform their work accordingly.
The line and staff model
This model focuses on the work of entire employees including managers. According to
this model the higher authority of the company will keep the eye on the work done by the
employees and put more focus on the training and development of the employees so that after
recovering proper training they can do more productive work with full efficiency. Higher
management of the company also share their personal experience with subordinates to boost
their confidence.
Project based model
This model is very much dynamic as compared to other models. This kind of model is
being implemented in such companies who are highly project oriented . In such companies all
the employees get divided in different teams and they assign different work and project which
they have to complete while working in a team. By making teams company can accomplish their
targets easily and the situation of conflict also reduces in the organisation.

So these are the major model which is being implemented in Aldi Group so the
company can train their employees properly and get productive work from them. These models
are very essential in the organisation as they create value for them (Veth and et.al, 2019). As
Aldi Group is one of the reputed company and this company wants to expand their business in
other counties as well but this can only possible when its employees perform well. For that
company is focusing on the development of the employees on regional and national level so
that they can enhance their skills.
D. Storey’s 27 points of difference between HRM and Personnel Management
There are various differences between Personnel Management and HRM which are
evaluated by Professor John Storey in 1992 in his book Developments in the Human Resource
Management. These differences are portrayed in 27 major areas of people management. These
areas are contract, rules, conflicts, key relations, initiatives, decision speed and many more. By
analysing the differences on the basis of these areas, it can be interpreted that Aldi group
practices HRM and not the personnel management. This can be said that because the key
managers in the company are not the personnel managers but the line and general managers. The
payment is also decided on the basis of the performance of the employees and not on the fixed
grades. The HRM in the Aldi group do not prefer the division of labour instead they encourage
the employees to be in team so that the teamwork can lead to much better results. The HRM also
prefers to enhance the skills and abilities of the employees by providing them trainings and
involving them in the training and development programs (Brewster, 2017). In the cases of
conflicts, the HRM in the company strives hard to manage the climate and culture of the
companies. In the companies who adapts the personnel management, the flow of communication
is restricted but in ALDI group, the flow of communication is increased which means there is an
effective communication between the managers and the employees. There is direct
communication instead of indirect which can be implemented only in the system where HRM is
present. In the leadership styles, the transformational leadership is implemented instead of
transactional leadership in Aldi group which means HRM is followed in the company. If
personnel management is followed, then the transactional leadership us followed by the
companies. The HRM in the company takes decision very quickly which helps the company to
take challenges and prepares the employees to perform the tasks accordingly (Dresang, 2017).

This is how, it can be said that in the ALDI group, HRM policies are followed instead of
personnel management which can be evaluated by Storey’s 27 points of difference.
E. Significance of local culture and HRM practice
Local culture and HRM practices play a very important role in hiring and firing of the
employees in Aldi Group. After defining the culture in the organisation, it can be stated that
which qualities must be possessed by the individuals to work in the company. This is must for
the employee to be adapted in the culture of the organisation because if not they can become
disengaged and alienated. Improper hiring is the biggest mistake which can be done by even the
larger companies. If the right candidate is hired according to the culture of the organisation, then
there are more chances to retain them in the longer run. The employees will feel more satisfied
and also produce greater quality work (Brady and Biegert, 2017). The employees who are not
culturally fit, then the company does not think twice before firing the employee because if the
employee if not adaptable to the culture of the organisation like Aldi, then the employees do not
possess sense of belongingness towards the organisation which impacts the productivity and
profitability negatively. The HRM practices such as selective hiring helps in gaining qualified
and talented employees which helps in increasing the productivity and helps to gain the
competitive advantage among the competitors. The HR of the company strives hard for the
smooth going of all the processes and also implements the best possible practices for the non-
discrimination among the employees but sometimes firing of the employees become unavoidable
(Ayentimi, Burgess and Brown, 2018). The HR in the company implements the practice in which
they ensure that the employees adhere to the laws and policies of the HRM as well as the
company and if they are not able to do the same then explains them regarding the violation of the
particular law and policy. This can also be possible when the HR does not consider the employee
capable of working in the company on the basis of genuine aspects. This is how, the HRM
practices and the culture of the company are the most significant while firing and hiring of the
employees.
F. Differences in the Employment laws
International HRM plays the most significant role as it manages the employees who
belong to different geographical countries and locations. It employs, trains, develops and

compensates the employees in the global and international organisations. There are various
employment laws which are followed by international HRM in Aldi Group. There is a need of
international HRM because the company performs its operations in various countries including
the Asian countries. There are different laws in the country where the headquarter is present and
in the other countries. These laws must be followed by the employer for the equal and fair
treatment and the wellbeing of the employees. The minimum wage act is followed in all the
countries but the minimum wage decided for the companies in different countries is different. In
Germany, it is EUR 9.19 an hour (Michael, 2019). If the company does not give minimum wage
then the employees can claim against the company and the employers. There are various laws in
Germany including the bonuses which must be given to the employees such as profit sharing
commission, supplemental pay, staff bonuses and incentives. The illness and sick pays are also
given to the employees when they are unable to do the work because of contractual duties. These
payments are different in all the countries where the company performs the operations. Also Aldi
offers leaves for holidays and vacations which help in satisfying them as well as helps in
retaining the employees. The maternity and the paternal leaves are also given to the employees,
which are mandatory. In different countries, the work days and hours are also different. For
example, in Germany, the working days are 5 whereas in Asian countries, it is 6. The working
hours in Germany are 35 hours a week and in Asian countries, it is 40 hours per week (Graf,
2021). There is also Social Security system in Germany which also includes the health insurance.
This is also a law in the company that there needs to be a written notice of termination if the
employer decides to fire the employee in any case which makes the other notices void.

G. Effective HRM practices used by firms
According to Bos-Nehles, Renkema and Janssen, (2017) contemporary firms must
emphasis on making their HR policies employee oriented instead of only emphasising on
organisational profits. Contrary to the conventional practices now a day’s companies are giving
priority to the better and diverse work culture. For instance, the leading retailers like Zara, Ikea
and M&S are operating globally and thus their work standards are not restricted to one particular
culture. Employees of these organisation gets cross culture training along with the knowledge of
various employability skills like ICT and problem solving. These organisations have reward
systems to appreciate the employees who are very productive. It encourages other employees to
enhance their skills and productivity. In the same context Chiang, Lemański and Birtch, (2017)
stated that modern firms are making their HR systems digitalised and thus digital payroll systems
are used by them. The firms like M&S and Zara all have their HR operations like recruitment
and training initiatives available on online platforms. Thus the individuals across the globe can
get an opportunity to work with the international brand. Using this practice of online recruitment,
the firms are also able to utilise the international and diverse knowledge for improving its
productivity. Each organisation has its own training program so that they can have best diverse
work force which is capable to bring creativity and efficiency in the work.
H. Recommendations for improving performance using HRM
For improving the quality of services it is recommended that organisation must adopt
advanced and interactive approaches for recruitment and selection. The recruitment process can
be improved greatly by incorporating information and technology. The social media and
networking profiles can be used for better screening of talented candidates. The HRM practices
are becoming more interactive and transparent due to use of technology. The HR department of
organisation must use advanced payroll and employee management system so that resources can
be managed with more accuracy and efficiency (Azungah, Hutchings and Michailova, 2020). It
is also recommended that with increased diversity in consumer profile organisation must also
incorporate diverse work force into action. Thus there is need of providing cross cultural
induction and training programs so that individual employees can learn the importance and
approaches of working within diverse teams. With selection of highly skilled employees and
regular training programs organisation will be able to deliver good quality services and to make a

unique identity among competitors. Thus for gaining competitive benefits it is necessary that
these recommendations must be bring into practices.
One of the reasons for poor employee retention and unsatisfactory outcomes is that work
culture of organisation lacks flexibility and innovation. Thus it is suggested that human resource
department must have frequent interaction with the staff members so that their needs can be
understood and a better working culture can be developed (Farndale and et.al., 2017). For this
purpose, the HRM policies of the company must also incorporate strategies like flexible
working, effective leave management, attractive compensations and training initiatives which not
only helps in organisational growth but are also helpful in individual professional development.
CONCLUSION
The report shed light on the Aldi Group of Companies which is headquartered in
Germany and performs its operations in various other countries. It focussed about the ways in
which value is created by the firm by making use of HR strategies along with highlighting the
concept of strategic HRM. It also described the impact which the national and regional culture
has on the HRM practice in Germany and Asian countries. The organisational model of
employment is also used and the organisational levers were also highlighted which helped in
creating the value in firm. The difference between the HRM and the personnel management was
also focussed which helped in analysing that HRM is adapted in Aldi instead of the personnel
management. This was followed by mentioning the significance of the HRM practices in hiring
and firing of the employees. The various employment laws and the difference between them
were also examined in Germany and in the other countries where the company performs its
operations. The use of the HR practices was highlighted in different companies and firms like
Aldi in the country. Various recommendations and suggestions were also provided for ensuring
the high organisational performance and profitability. This will help the companies like Aldi and
the other related companies.

REFERENCES
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