Cultural Differences and Improving Performance
Article Type: Recommended reading From: Strategic HR Review, Volume 9, Issue 4
Bryan HopkinsGower PublishingISBN: 978-0-566-08907-7
When individual performance is poor, it is often assumed that people need training to improve the quality of what they do. The author sees this as an example of the tendency to provide a solution – training – before fully understanding the problem – why performance is poor. This book looks at how culture – behavioral patterns shared by people of the same nation– affects the quality of what we do and looks at the complexity of bringing together people of different beliefs and values to work in an organization that is likely to have its own set of beliefs and values. In the context of performance, it puts forward a problem solving process aimed at understanding an organization and its cultural richness.
The book is in two parts. The first draws on extensive literature and theory to examine cultural analysis of problems. It discusses cultural dimensions and performance management, and brings the two together to show how the cultural composition of the workforce needs to be taken into consideration when creating a strategy to solve workplace performance issues. In the second part, the author puts forward a seven-step process for solving problems – define the problem, collect data, analyze the problem, generate ideas, select solutions,implement solutions and evaluate effectiveness. The process is recognizable, but the difference is that it is applied specifically to workplace performance problems and draws in the cultural differences that need to be taken in to consideration.
The second part of the book is packed with models, examples and steps and results in a very practical approach to workplace performance in a culturally diverse environment. This book does not put forward solutions to particular cultural-related performance problems; it gives people and performance managers the tools to analyze performance and identify any problems that may exist in a way that takes cultural differences into account. It is an informative and practical read for HR professionals and line managers working in a multi-cultural organization.
Sara NolanEditor, Strategic HR Review
