Week 6 Discussion 1 & 2 Response

Guided Response: Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ or instructor posts in a substantive manner and provide information or concepts that they may not have considered. Each response should have a minimum of 100 words. Support your position by using information from the week’s readings. You are encouraged to post your required replies earlier in the week to promote more meaningful and interactive discourse in this discussion forum.

Two Discussions are below

Lisa James

For my Global Marketing Plan, I elected to open a Walmart in New Zealand. The immediate appeal of New Zealand for me was the similarities between the country and the United States. Walmart has attempted to open locations in countries such as South Korea, Germany, and India in the past and has been met with hardship due to political and cultural differences. New Zealand seems like a wiser choice based on the similarities, as well as the need in the country for goods due to its remote location.

Geert Hofstede created a model based on his identification of five dimensions of cultural variation in values in 50 countries and three regions (Cascio & Aguinis, 2019). The dimensions are based on basic issues that countries deal with but handle in various ways. The five dimensions include power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, masculinity, and long-term versus short-term orientation (Cascio & Aguinis, 2019). New Zealand has many similarities to the US, so it is natural that they identify similarly in the five dimensions of cultural variation. The dimension that New Zealand falls best under as a low tolerance is power distances. Holmes (2018) states that "New Zealanders do not comfortably tolerate explicit demonstrations of power, and people typically seek ways of reducing status differences and of emphasising equality with their colleagues" (pg. 36). New Zealand does have native cultures, such as the Maori, however much of the country is a melting pot. This has led to the nation to be very focused on equality and not viewing others above different groups.

Understanding this dimension of cultural value, as well as where New Zealand stands on the others is important from a talent management perspective because it is important to hire employees based on job-fit. If an employee needs a structure where there are very clearly defined lines and relationships for leadership, they may not be a good fit into an organization in New Zealand where everyone is treated the same. Additionally, it is important for an outside country to understand the cultural demands of the nation they are entering in order to attract and retain top talent. Employees want to know that the company they are employed by shares the same values as them and the patrons they serve.

David Geusen

My Walmart Case Study was focused on Walmart expanding to Philippines. The Hofstede model encompasses five dimensions of cultural variations in values: power distance, masculinity, individualism, long-term vs short-term orientation, and uncertainty avoidance (Cascio & Aguinis, 2019). Based on my review of the Hofstede model, the Philippines falls under power distance. The Philippines is a hierarchical society and subordinates in the Philippines expect to be told what to do (Hofstede Insights, 2019). This means that the average employee should respond well to direct orders and the employee will respect that order. I feel that we could take this one step further and say that engagement is expected from employees.

Human capital talent management could vary from country to country based on our understanding of the culture. If talent management is unaware of a country's culture variation in values, then they could potentially create a program that is ineffective. In the Philippines, if an implemented talent management practice is focused on team building and equal engagement, then it may not be as effective as a practice that is structured and led by one person. By understanding the variations in values in a culture, the organization could have a better understanding of motivation, leadership, and organizational behavior (Cascio & Aguinis, 2019).