HR Strategies for Crockett & Jones' Cross-Cultural Expansion

This report examines the cross-cultural HR considerations for Crockett & Jones, a shoe manufacturer expanding its business operations from Northampton to China. It explores the impact of cultural dimensions on business, analyzing these through Hofstede's model, and discusses HR-related issues arising from the move, including lack of references, talent gaps, and the complex legal environment in China. The report details the importance of understanding cross-cultural differences, communication styles, and organizational hierarchies. It also outlines HR considerations related to employment contracts and anti-discriminatory laws. The report provides recommendations for navigating these challenges, emphasizing the need for experienced HR professionals with knowledge of Chinese policies and the utilization of licensed HR agencies to mitigate risks. The report underscores the importance of adapting business models to the Chinese market and avoiding cultural misunderstandings to ensure successful expansion.

Developing Cross-
Cultural Capability
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAINBODY....................................................................................................................................3
Impact and influence of various cross culture dimension on the business of Crockett & Jones 3
Cross-culture Traits analysis by using Hofsted model................................................................4
HR associated issue when shifting to the China market.............................................................5
HR connected considerations that arise with such a transferral of manufacture from
Northampton to China.................................................................................................................7
Recommendation........................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11
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INTRODUCTION
The dynamic business environment has seen a major shift over the last few decades in order
to take advantage of the globalisation that has increased the rate of the business expansion via
sharing economy across the various countries. When company in this globalisation arena
operates their business in the foreign soil one of the major barrier or opportunity they see is the
cultural diversity. Companies seeking or undertake the cross-culture aspect when expanding to
the internationally in order to eliminate risk emerges from the cultural diversity (McCarthy, Chen
and McNamee, 2018). The purpose of this report is to demonstrate and present the HR
consideration and practices which has been emerged with business shift and expansion from
Northampton to China. Crockett & Jones is a shoe manufacturer company in Northampton city
and with a tremendous growth within the few years, company is planning to expand its trading
operations for business expanse and market development, company is looking forward to advent
the market opportunity in China. Therefore, the underline report focus on the cross-culture
capability for managing cross-culture by effective HR consideration in managing cross-cultural
while shifting production to China.
MAINBODY
Impact and influence of various cross culture dimension on the business of Crockett & Jones
Crockett and Jones is a shoe manufacturing company in Northampton and is expanding its
business in china but facing some cross cultural issues in their expanding business. Now Seeing
going to foreign businesses, managers should understand that the circumstances they take for
established may differ from other countries. Accepting cultural differences is very significant for
HR and management, because managers need to understand their role in order to motivate and
guide the employees. The culture of the cross acts as great as the degree of power, avoiding
uncertainty, act guidance, certainty, future direction, personal direction, institutional
mobilization, group mobilization and gender equality. Managers should also consider different
communication channels. In some countries, the direct response is considered disrespectful, and
managers must be able to learn subtle body language to determine if the recipient heard and
received the message (Van Jaarsveld, 2021). Global managers should accommodate and
appreciate these cultural differences. Different regions have different workplace etiquette
different approaches are made towards different workplace. Organizational hierarchy is also one
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thing to consider and this administrative ladder and attitude in terms of administrative roles it can
also vary greatly between cultures. While defining roles in international groups with different
backgrounds and high organizational expectations, it can be easy to see why these cultural
variances can contemporaneous a dare. Cross culture have too much affect on business if not
taken under consideration properly.
Cross-culture Traits analysis by using Hofsted model
Individualism versus collectivism: -
As far as individual culture is concerned, people more often tend to safeguard themselves
than others. This guide also examines the “extent to which persons in society are grouped
together” a different society may have more relaxed ties than it usually does to associate a person
with his or her family. They underline “i” compared to “we”. The accompanying collectivism,
defines a society in which strongly bonded relationships include extended families and others in
the group. These in the group are bound by unquestioning loyalty and support each other when a
dispute arises with one of the group members. In-group are seen more caring about their families
as well as groups around them.
Uncertain avoidance:-
Any particular culture looks to avoid uncertain or unstructured situation or situations
which seems uncomfortable, it is an uncertain aspect of the avoidance factor. Countries have
such a structure for the house of people who do not allow themselves to accept new products
easily (Acikdilli and et.al., 2020). They prefer to stay alone and gain valuable information about
the previous user experience of the product so they can make an well-versed decision. It also
describes the unpredictable social tolerance, in which people accept or avoid the event of
something unexpected, unknown, or far removed from the status quo. Society often sets a few
rules, misunderstandings are very common, and the environment operates freely.
Masculinity versus women: -
The male society is dominated by the competitive and difficult aspects of men. The
masculinity side of the side demonstrate a choice in society in manner of the achievements,
heroism and assertiveness. In this sort of society, people always strive for achieving victory and
tough male characteristic (Liebal and Haun, 2018).. In this genus of the culture, Chinese societies
continuously endeavour for reaching triumph and taste success and appreciation as a outcome of
accomplishment, despite if that means sacrificing quality of life. In this regard, masculinity is
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defined as a social preference for success, heroism, determination and tangible rewards for
success. Women in appropriate societies often show different values. In a women's society in
China, they are confident and competitive, sharing common ideas and equal care with men. In
other words, they still see the gap between the numbers of men and women. This feature is often
regarded as a thread in most men’s society
Power distance:-
This refers to the level at which decision-making power is distributed among people. In
lands where there is a marked difference in power, ordinary people are often dominated by
people who have the power to make decisions. However, in terms of the UK constitution, it is
more democratic and the employee has a more active role to play in organizational decisions. It
also explains that members of organizations and institutions who do not have the capacity to
accept and expect power are distributed unequally. The low level of reference indicates that
people are questioning authority and trying to distribute power.
Longer compared to the short term: -
Long-term countries are associated with people who tend to wait for the results of their
efforts and at the same time direct their attention to building relationships with corporate
stakeholders so that they can reap the benefits over time (Aival-Naveh, Rothschild-Yakar and
Kurman, 2019). In the case of short-term districts, Chinese people often do not seem to be
waiting for the results of their efforts and expect their needs to be met as soon as possible.
Indulgence compared to prevention: -
This refers to the level of freedom the social norms provide to a citizen in the pursuit of
their personal aspirations. Indulgence is defined as a state that allows for the free will of the basic
human and natural desires for life and for the enjoyment of life. The partner is defined as a
society that manages the satisfaction of needs and governs it through strong social norms.
HR associated issue when shifting to the China market
As the world's fastest growing economy, China remains to provide striking investments and
business openings for new businesses. Still, doing business in China also means traveling the
clock in problems arising from the unique historical, political and cultural contexts of China.
Although there are a number of concerns, such as the economic situation or rising inflation, labor
management continues to face perceived challenges when doing business in China.
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Lack of references and background checks - Getting references from former employers is
difficult and therefore not as common a practice as changing for the first time a business may
not have a previous job for that region.
• Lack of talent - The inequity between China's business opportunities and trained talent is one
of the biggest challenges facing recruitment managers.
• Legal environment- Crockett & Jones have to deal with difficult and challenging rules. For
example, repetitive foreign offices, financial institutions, and economic organizations are not
allowed to employ direct personnel who need to deal with specialized HR personnel
management structures. While some Chinese SMEs may escape with minimal violations,
foreign-owned companies as they are often held at higher levels.
 No legal / representative office (RO) - Representative Office (RO) or overseas companies that
do not have a legal entity in China are not permissible to appoint staff openly. This requires them
to choose HR outsourcing as a cost-effective solution to recruit staff through PEO also called the
talent transfer service (Abbink and Aijmer, 2020). The WFOE organization can manage future
human resources and senior staff locally and overseas. While companies with a legal entity in
China may hire employees directly, they may still have the following options to deal with
employee pay and compulsory benefits.
• External payments and benefits to a licensed HR agency - It is extremely acclaimed that
Crockett & Jones reveal all of their administrative duties including hiring, dismissal, payment
and individual tax administration, social insurance, housing fund management and personal file
management.
• Complex policies - This is a significant difference in the role of government in Chinese
business compared to western or Asian countries. In order to be successful in China, a company
must realize that it cannot take the same business model, which can work well in its own
country, and apply it to the Chinese market. Moreover, within china, policies can vary from
province to province, making the whole process more complex and more nationalistic (Zeitzen,
2020). To avoid issues with all government policy in China The Company will have to hire an
experienced HR who has a thorough knowledge of Chinese policies. Another option for
companies is to take out everything you need from a licensed licensing agency, thus avoiding
any kind of legal risk associated with it.
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• Linguistic and cultural diversity- Cultural misunderstandings resulting from poor co-operation
are one of the biggest challenges foreign companies face in China. Although there is a growing
number of Chinese people who are fluent in English, it is rare to find someone who understands
the subtleties of language and who has a strong enough understanding of Chinese and western
culture to keep up with critical business negotiations.
HR connected considerations that arise with such a transferral of manufacture from Northampton
to China
EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT LAW
ACT OF EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
Under the Employment Contract Act, a well-written contract of employment is essential to
building a relationship between employer and employer. However, temporary employment is
subject to various requirements and may be employed under an oral agreement. If the employer
fails to negotiate a written employment contract with an employee who works for more than a
year, the employer and the employee will be deemed to have entered into an open employment
contract.
The following items must be included in the Employment Contract:
• Name
• Accommodation
• A legal representative or person in charge of the employer
• ID card number or other valid ID number
• Contract period
• Job content and work environment
• Hours of work, rest and travel;
• Workplace protection, working conditions and occupational hazard measures.
• Other matters required by administrative laws and regulations.
ANTI-DISCRIMINATORY LAWS
As pet this law Law people of Republic China, when employing new employees, they
will not discriminate against female, minority workers, people with disabilities, and domestic
workers. Also, employers will not refuse to hire a candidate on the grounds that he or she is the
carrier of any infectious pathogen unless otherwise provided by laws and regulations. In
particular, the employer is prohibited from including clauses in employee contracts or internal
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laws restricting the right of female employees to marry and reproduce (Li, 2020). If a female
employee believes that her right to marry or to have children is violated, the employee may file a
lawsuit in court and claim compensation. According to the Law of the People’s Republic of
China, when hiring new employees, one will only look for qualified people without any
subsequent discrimination.
• Gender
• Racism
• Minimum / Maximum
• Disability
• village / Metropolitan
If a female employee considers that her precise to marry or to have children is violated,
the employee may file a lawsuit and seek redress for damages or other damages. Employers will
prevent and prevent sexual harassment of female employees in their workplaces (Yang and et.
Al., 2021). The employer must employ employees who are sufficiently disabled for a certain
number of employees as required by local government, and the employer will be required to
contribute to the Disabled Person Employment Security Fund (“Fund”) annually.
SOCIAL MEDIA AND DATA PRIVACY LAW
Underneath of PRC Employment Contract Act, an employer may frame its core policies
in accordance with each law. If these policies have a direct impact on workers' rights, they
should be negotiated with the workers' or all workers' union, and decided by the employer after
considering the points of the trade union (Lee, Li and Wu, 2018). Therefore, if the employer's
limit on the use of the Internet and social media during working hours is part of its internal
policies, it may be effective and enforceable.
CHINA EMPLOYMENT LAW
China employment law consist of the framework in which it safeguard the employee of
their county to protect from being discriminated and misused by the foreign company. China
employment law involve following key terms in their employment act which are as-
Employment contracts- A contract of the employment duly signed by the employee at the time of
joining. HR manager main consideration in respect for shifting their production plant at the
China consider the following key points-
• Occupational health and safety at work
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• Labor disputes and changes in the state.
• An employee should not work overtime until he or she wishes to work.
• Protection from discrimination
• Appropriate or paid remuneration rules
• Training and skills development of local staff.
• Social and employment insurance should be the act of insurance.
Government also made certain HR consideration whose enhancements are being attained
through the imposition of additional sanctions, increasing the protection of employees, especially
those from agencies, and limiting fixed-term contracts..
Recommendation
Although in the starting stage of the shifting and expansion, expatriate manager can still be
employee who would assist HR manager for supervision of the expansion to the China.
However, in the long term business Operation Company should recruited the local people of the
particular city in order to maintain good communication with the local people and have sense of
culture of the society. Therefore, HR manager is responsible to provide proper training to those
local recruits in order to make the future regional manager when company also expands in the
China market (West and et. al., 2019). Moreover, during organising the marketing campaign,
company should adopt the local culture them in their promotional mix in order to create a better
communication mix because when the company sense the core importance of the cross-culture
consideration they have developing their own strong communication mix network.
In china, major of the corporate supplier prefer face to face communication therefore HR
manager and the company should acknowledge about the this fact and the manager at the top of
the authority working in the headquarters need to visit the offices in the China in order to
organise the face to face gathering with the local supplier. Via doing this initiative company
follows the cultural trend of the China in process of keeping their employee contracture and
supplier happy and valuable.
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CONCLUSION
Therefore, from the above carried out study it has been concluded that the Cross cultural
management and capability render a good part of the both challenges and opportunity which has
been discussed earlier. In order to predict and acknowledge the culture of the host country,
following report has consider the Hosfed model of cultural dimension in order to throw light on
the home and host culture dimensions. Addition to this following rapport has discussed the key
cross culture issue which might impact organisational performance at the host country. At last,
report has discussed the key HR consideration which company should employee in their
expansion strategy to be free from any kind of legal liability.
(McCarthy, Chen and McNamee, 2018). (Van Jaarsveld, 2021)(Acikdilli and et.al., 2020).
(Liebal and Haun, 2018). (Aival-Naveh, Rothschild-Yakar and Kurman, 2019). (Abbink and
Aijmer, 2020)(Zeitzen, 2020). (Li, 2020). (Litvin, 2019). (Rojo and et. al., 2020). (Mahmood
and et. al, 2019).
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
McCarthy, M., Chen, C.C. and McNamee, R.C., 2018. Novelty and usefulness trade-off: Cultural
cognitive differences and creative idea evaluation. Journal of Cross-Cultural
Psychology, 49(2), pp.171-198.
Van Jaarsveld, J., 2021. How Nussbaum's Capabilities Approach Values the Environment:
Extrinsically But as an End?. Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, pp.1-18.
Acikdilli, G., and et.al., 2020. Export market orientation, marketing capabilities and export
performance of SMEs in an emerging market: a resource-based approach. Journal of
Marketing Theory and Practice, pp.1-16. Gupta, P. and Chauhan, S., 2020.
Liebal, K. and Haun, D.B.M., 2018. Why cross-cultural psychology is incomplete without
comparative and developmental perspectives. Journal of Cross-Cultural
Psychology, 49(5), pp.751-763.
Aival-Naveh, E., Rothschild-Yakar, L. and Kurman, J., 2019. Keeping culture in mind: A
systematic review and initial conceptualization of mentalizing from a cross-cultural
perspective. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 26(4), p.e12300.
Abbink, J. and Aijmer, G. eds., 2020. Meanings of violence: a cross-cultural perspective.
Routledge.
Zeitzen, M.K., 2020. Polygamy: A cross-cultural analysis. Routledge.
Li, M., 2020. An examination of two major constructs of cross-cultural competence: Cultural
intelligence and intercultural competence. Personality and Individual Differences, 164,
p.110105.
Litvin, S.W., 2019. Hofstede, cultural differences, and TripAdvisor hotel reviews. International
Journal of Tourism Research, 21(5), pp.712-717.
Rojo, J., and et. al., 2020. Hofstede's cultural dimensions as the explanatory framework for
performance issues during clinical placement: A mixed methods study. Nurse Education
Today, 94, p.104581.
Mahmood, A., and et. al, 2019. Specific HR practices and employee commitment: the mediating
role of job satisfaction. Employee Relations: The International Journal.
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