The Workplace Environment And The Employer-Employee Relations - Case Study Example

The Workplace Environment And The Employer-Employee Relations Introduction As socio-economic changes have taken place at the workplace, corporate communication has gained importance. The management feels over-communication is better than missing opportunities for the lack of it (Belmiro, Gardiner, Simmons, Santos & Rentes, 2000). To enhance the business performance, more and informal communication helps to overcome resistance. It also enables a proper feedback system. Under the circumstances, the management at the corporate level has to formulate strategies, keeping in mind the cultural dimensions of the society. In fact, a firm can sustain competition even in the global market place only when it adheres to the typical cultural traits of the Brazilian society that has its roots in the colonial times. Cultural dimensions Culture, according to Hofstede, is the “the collective program of the mind that distinguishes the members of groups or categories of people” (cited by Silveira & Crubelatte, 2007). National cultures have been characterized into five dimensions - power distance, collectivism v. individualism, femininity v. masculinity, aversion to uncertainty, and a short or long term orientation. Brazil has a culture with the tendency to establish relationships of dependency in relation to power bases. This implies that there is high-power distance in the society with predominant attitudes of uncertainty avoidance. They avoid taking risks and have a long-term orientation. Brazil is a collectivist society and also has characteristics that are typical of femininity. These cultural dimensions have strong implications for local managers as well as managers from multinational when dealing with the people and the businesses of Brazil. Brazilian style of management The Brazilian style of managing is unique and original. It is made up of four sub- systems – institutional (formal), personal (informal), leaders and the led (Silveira & Crubelatte, 2007). These sub-systems overpay and then the common cultural traits emerge. There is concentration of power at the overlap between the leader and the institutional sub-system. The people like to avoid conflicts. The critical pints of Brazilian culture include formalism, flexibility, paternalism and loyalty to people. The public organizations in Brazil have their own typical culture which may be difficult to change. These traits include bureaucracy, authoritarianism, paternalism, aversion to entrepreneurs, “taking advantage” and reformism. These become obstacle to change; they are obstacle to learning and obstacle to competition. High Power Distance Brazil scores very high on power distance which suggests deference to hierarchy and selective use of language (O’Keefe & O’Keefe, 2004). The opinions and desires of the senior people carry weight and free-wheeling, participative and open-discussion do not take place between the managers and their seniors. Even when deals have to be signed, the executives identify people in prominent positions and they are appraised before moving far into the relationship. The senior people in the private sector and the high ranking people in government positions are addressed with dignity. They maintain the hierarchy at all levels and communicate their respect for seniority with deftness. Because of the high power distance, decision making is reserved for the senior people. An outsider just cannot enter and want to start business relations. They prefer to take time to build relationship and then enter into any deal with a stranger. The high-power distance manifests itself in loyalty to those in authority (Tanure & Duarte, 2005). This also expresses that the group member values the needs of the leader. Collectivism Brazil scores very low on the individualism/collectivism dimension of Hofstedes’ cultural dimensions. This denotes a culture where people prefer to remain within the group and look after each other. In collectivist culture there is a tendency to protect the members of the family in return for the loyalty (Beekun, Stedham & Yamamura, 2001). This characteristic manifests even at the workplace and includes loyalty or affiliation with the employer. The collectivist culture, the emphasis on the self is viewed as a negative attribute and it is rejected. Value standards also differ between the ingroups and the outgroups. Brazilians do not focus on personal goals and they do not see themselves as individually empowered. Even when there are workplace performance issues, these are dealt with indirectly by family or social group members, instead of being dealt with directly at the workplace. This is the reason there is more emphasis on developing personal relationships with potential business partners. Personal relationships enable using social means to manage conflict. In business discussions, in the initial stages, family issues and personal relationships are discussed. Brazil being a collectivist society, the bonds among people are strong and they believe in developing personal relationships (Tanure & Duarte, 2005). Brazilians are known for their friendliness in maintaining relations, their hospitable nature and their ability to have a personal dimension in their professional relations. Thus relationships are more important than individual in the Brazil society. They do not like formal relations and formal situations. They try to create a climate of intimacy even with foreigners which shows their culture to avoid uncertainties. They mix and act with strangers only when they become familiar. The collectivists make a sharper differentiation between the in-groups and the out-groups. While the workers in Brazil may tend to open up and share knowledge with their in-group, they would tend to be distrustful of the out-group (Ardichvili, Maurer, Li, Wentling, & Stuedemann 2006). This distinction between the in-group and out-group becomes a barrier to transfer knowledge from the company employees to the dealership employees. Femininity Brazil scores high on the femininity score and hence it is very difficult to lay off workers or close down business (O’Keefe & O’Keefe, 2004). The purpose of business is long-term profitability and to create jobs, family members are given preference. They work to live and they prefer flexible working hours with a two-hour lunch break. Uncertainty Avoidance Brazil, traditionally, has a low level of tolerance for uncertainty, according to Hofstede (Itim, 1967). To minimize or reduce this level of uncertainty, the people need strict rules, laws, policies and regulations. As a result of high level of Uncertainty Avoidance characteristic, the Brazilian society does not readily accept change and is also very risk aversive. Because of the tendency for uncertainty avoidance, they are not keen to explore opportunities or alternatives when venturing into new business (O’Keefe & O’Keefe, 2004). They avoid premature actions and they prefer to build relationship and trust before making final decisions. They prefer to manage uncertainty by taking time to develop personal relationships. They do not like to adhere to agreed mode of execution of tasks and if they fall into trouble they would pull strings to get out of the situation. When the Brazilian manager behaves thus, he thinks he his resourceful thus avoiding or minimizing unfamiliar tasks or uncertainties. Because of the paternalism prevalent ion the society, they always have the fear of making mistakes, again the culture to avoid uncertainty (Tanure & Duarte, 2005). They always have the desire to do well and be recognized by those in power. Ethical stand and culture Beekun, Stedham and Yamamura (2001) found that the ethics in business is influenced by the national cultures. Ethics represent the society’s culture which includes the traditions, values and norms. Ethics require behaviour that meets higher standards than what is required by law. Ethical decisions are influenced by own perception of the situation and also how other perceive our actions. A comparative study of the ethical stand that Brazilians and the Americans would take under the same circumstances is based on their respective cultures. Being collectivist in culture, the Brazilians are less likely to see some action as unethical. They are willing to forgo the emphasis on a common standard for all. They look for the greatest benefit for the society as a whole and hence they value a specific action or decision based on its consequences. Culture and communication These cultural traits influence the communication and the management styles in the Brazilian companies. With globalization, homogenous customers have emerged and MNCs such as Benetton and Coca-Cola can enjoy unitary global brand stewardship, but the aspirations and the buying patterns of the people is still dependent on the national culture. At Volvo’s Brazilian plant, the managers had to meet the challenges and this required changing the behaviour of the workers. They had to make the workers willing to take up the new methods of working so they offered competence-based pay scales (Strategic Direction, 2005). This encouraged the workers to acquire new skills. At the same time they also encouraged the workers to apply the knowledge and not merely posses it. The managers had also to introduce self-managing teams because the education level was varied at the unit. One team had leaders that took up responsibility by rotation but the other team where the education level was low, a supervisor was appointed. This is because of the uncertainty avoidance culture where the team members just want instructions on how to carry out the work. The senior managers speak excellent English and moreover, in the major cities of Brazil, the managers are familiar with the international business norms. However, English is not the universally spoken language in Brazil, and it is important to know Brazilian Portuguese when dealing with the local people (World Business Culture, n.d.). Use of Spanish is not considered good and is seen as culturally insensitive. Communication in Brazil is mostly oral rather than through written communication. Even if they send a written communication, they follow it up with a phone call or a personal visit. Verbal communication in Brazil can be taken to be overtly emotional by other cultures like the individualistic cultures such as the Americans, where great significance is placed on professional reserves. The Brazilians express their feelings with conviction and this implies their deep belief on the issue. Brazilians also use exaggerated body language and this plays a significant role in normal communications. Brazilians tend to be very tactile and they like to work from close quarters. This is a trait of uncertainty avoidance, because they build close relationships to avoid uncertainties. They maintain strong levels of eye contact, again demonstrating a friendly and close relationship. The body language has great importance in Brazil as was carried out by the chief at Mitsubishi in Brazil. The managers use the body language to get the message across. They even gesture with their hands and lean towards the person they are talking to (Treece, 2004). To convey acceptance and encouragement, the managers would keep their hand on the shoulders of the subordinate which acts as a reassurance to the worker. This is because of the high-power distance where the workers are used to receiving instructions and also because they prefer to avoid uncertainties. Employer-employee relationship The boss and subordinate relationship in Brazil is also unique. The subordinate offers respect to the boss directly proportionate to the personality of the boss. Both the boss and the subordinate work together to foster a relationship of trust, respect and dignity (World Business Culture, n.d.1). The subordinate is expected to carry out the instructions of the boss without any questions or doubts. If there are questions or the situations warrant discussions, the subordinate is expected to clarify it privately. The instructions that are handed over to the subordinate have to be clear and concise. If the has not been completed as per instructions, the boss is supposed to first carry out self-introspection if the instructions give out were clear and right. The subordinates on their part, stick to the instructions and do no more. Doing more than the instructions amounts to disobeying the boss. This demonstrates the uncertainty avoidance culture in the workplace. They do not like to take risks for what has not been instructed. Workplace humour is a pervasive medium and outcome of group culture, meaning and identity (Rodrigues &Collinson, 1995). With changes in the Brazilian society, the managers at a telecom company introduced a highly visible culture which was based on participative rather than autocratic management style. The managers created a sense of community within the workers. The managers tried to create an environment that workers were welcome to approach the management with any concerns and they were willing to communicate and listen. The line managers and the supervisors were trained to listen to their subordinates and to promote a culture of friendliness and harmony. However, this situation was short-lived because the Brazilian society has high-power distance. As such the management became autocratic and dictated terms and laid down rules which the employees resisted. Unions were strong at the company but humour became an important channel for the workers to express their dissatisfaction. The workers and the union official used cartoon metaphors to express their dissent. The managers initially tried to stop this and then ignored it. Corporate culture initiatives in Brazil can generate more significant forms of employee resistance because it comprises of a collectivist society and they want to feel part of a group or family. Giving importance to personal relationships is a part of the culture of the Brazilian society which is strongly practiced at the workplace as well. A Brazilian cosmetic manufacturer reinforced this culture among its extensive network of consultants (Tanure & Duarte, 2005). They established this as the core organizational value. They also used flexibility, which is another typical culture feature in Brazil, for its own benefit. They provided autonomy to the middle managers and the customer service assistants. Members’ work-related values and attitudes, leadership and motivation are bound by the national culture. Brazilian companies prefer to take advantage of their own cultural traits rather than import management practices from abroad. Hierarchy, the most important Brazilian culture, has its roots in colonial times. This led to authoritarian attitudes at the work place and despite other changes, this basic value of how to handle power has not changed. The manager at the cosmetic company believed in the power of relations. He knew the names of all his subordinates and also called all the directors and managers personally on their birthdays. He did not bring in formality into his relations. No parking spaces were reserved for the management and everyone ate from the same cafeteria. In their direct sales operations, they emphasized the development of strong relationships between the consultants and the ultimate consumers. The competitiveness of the firm in Brazil can come through the adoption of the typical cultural Brazilian traits. The cultural trait of flexibility reflects in informality which is expressed by several means – communication, language, way of dressing and use of time (Tanure & Duarte, 2005). Flexibility also reflects adaptability and creativity. The trait of adaptability is shown in which they adjust to changes in the government plans. The Brazilians also have the flexibility to coexist with hierarchy. Culture and knowledge sharing Knowledge sharing, communication and learning in organizations are strongly influenced by the cultural traits (Ardichvili, Maurer, Li, Wentling, & Stuedemann 2006). Those from collectivist societies process information differently from the members from the individualistic society. Brazil being a collectivist society looks for contextual cues in information and tends to disregard written information. They rely more on non-verbal actions and the environmental setting to convey meaning. This is the reason that they prefer face-to face communication over other forms of indirect communication. Low context cultures like the USA are unable to derive meaning from the environment because they are unable to perceive information from the environment. In such culture, emphasis is laid on emails and written communication, which is not preferred in Brazil. In high power distance culture, information flow is restricted by hierarchy which might mean that the employees at the lower level are deprived of certain types of information (Ardichvili, Maurer, Li, Wentling, & Stuedemann 2006). Such an environment creates an obstacle to knowledge sharing. In fact power and status also determine the people’s motivation to share and also the direction in which the knowledge flows. The Brazilian workers are modest and do not hesitate to ask questions. Modesty arises because of the lack of efficiency in the English language. Because they are hesitant that they may not be able to use the right words or express themselves clearly, they even hesitate to participate in online discussions, a trait of uncertainty avoidance. Implications of the Brazilian culture The implications of high power distance are that power is confined in the hands of a few and decisions are centralized (Parboteeah, 2003). The managerial jobs are for elite and the managers have to look authoritarian. There is respect for title and age and seniority is taken to be symbol of maturity. Because of high uncertainty avoidance culture, the Brazilians tend to have string norms and values to create order and predictability. They hence believe in long-term planning and contingency planning. The employees have to be provided with job security. Because of the collectivist culture, the managers favor people from the favoured groups. Promotions are invariable based on age and seniority. Organizations too are prone to take care of their employees. In Brazil, non-verbal communication is not used at all (LeBaron, 2003). It is common in Brazil to gaze directly in the eyes of the counter part – be it a subordinate or when negotiating deals. Conclusion Thus, national cultures are very important in determining the work place environment and the employer-employee relations. Even though certain changes have taken place due to globalization, the national cultures play a vital role in enabling the company to enjoy sustained competitive advantage. Being a collectivist society, they people believe in first developing persona relationships and then entering into agreements. This also demonstrates their trait to avoid uncertainties and they are averse to taking risks. The Brazilians are over-expressive in letting others know if their emotions and they believe that it gives conviction to their beliefs. They prefer face-to-face communication over written emails. Use of body language is prevalent in the society. Seniority and age is valued and the worker merely follows instructions of the boss. This somehow stifles creativity because they consider that if they do something more than what ash been asked for, they are disobeying the manager. However, in shaping an organization and in maintaining competitive advantage, in Brazil, it is important to communicate based on their cultural traits. 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