Analyzing Hofstede and GLOBE Dimensions in HRM: A Report

This report, prepared for an International Business Management course, examines the application of Hofstede's and GLOBE's cultural dimensions in the context of Human Resource Management (HRM). The analysis focuses on a case study involving an I-phone factory in China, contrasting working conditions and management behavior with those in American companies. The report highlights how Hofstede's dimensions, particularly power distance, are evident in the unequal employment terms and the lack of employee control, as seen in the Chinese factory. Additionally, it explores the GLOBE dimensions, noting the pressures faced by employees, long working hours, and the company's response to these issues, including concerns about transparency and management cooperation. The report references academic sources to support its analysis and provide a comprehensive understanding of the cultural impacts on management practices in an international business setting.

Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
International Business Management
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author Note:

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1. Identify examples of management behaviour in the video that illustrate Hofstede's
dimensions of culture;
Answer to Question No 1:
The video here shows the working conditions of people working in an I-phone factory
of China. There has been reports that shows that an average Chinese worker of the factory
earns just $2 per hour after providing service of 60 hours per week against the likes of
$40 per hour for an American employee working in the American company with just 40
hours per week (youtube.com 2019). Thus the Hofstede’s model can clearly come into
place as this can be termed as the perfect example for the same model. According to,
Beugelsdijk and Welzel (2018) at the very beginning it can be seen that the dimension of
power distance is in work as the employees of I-Phone in China are forced to accept
unequal terms of employment and the distribution of the power is totally unbalanced in
nature. The people of the Chinese society re also quite uncertain about their futures which
makes the situation further problematic. Lastly the employees in the Chinese company of
I-phone hardly gets the chance to exercise their control over their likings as they are
forced to live away from their homes in unhealthy and unhygienic conditions.
2. Identify examples of management behaviour in the video that illustrate GLOBE
dimensions of culture.
Answer to Question No 2:
According to, Bullough et al. (2018) the global and cultural dimensions have also
been identified from both the videos. The videos have provided the gloomy picture of the
condition that the Chinese company Foxconn provides to its employees. It is seen that
people are forced to work for more than 12 to 15 hours per day which makes them prone
to tremendous pressure and ultimately forces them to suicide. The company has been seen

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to not accept the fact and claims to look after the workers with formal reports of CSR
standards and also some formal rewards as proof of their transparency. However, the fact
that the management does not permit any media or any other reporters to enter the
compound itself raises a lot of different questions that are not answered properly. Apart
from this the management also has not been cooperative enough which shows their
stubbornness (youtube.com 2019). This proves that there are some serious issues with the
company that does not match the employee standards.

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References
Beugelsdijk, S. and Welzel, C., 2018. Dimensions and dynamics of national culture:
Synthesizing Hofstede with Inglehart. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 49(10),
pp.1469-1505.
Bullough, A., Cotton, R., Dorfman, P.W., Fitzsimmons, S. and Javidan, M., 2018, July. The
Next Phase in the GLOBE Research Program: Culture, Practices and Leadership. In Academy
of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2018, No. 1, p. 15457). Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510:
Academy of Management.
YouTube. (2019). Apple-Foxconn... iSlave?. [online] Available at:
https://youtu.be/9jOgRpO5i94 [Accessed 25 Aug. 2019].
YouTube. (2019). Foxconn: An Exclusive Inside Look. [online] Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk-xqPKOxl4&feature=player_embedded [Accessed 25
Aug. 2019].