Brazil has Own Cultural Characteristics in Management - Term Paper Example

Brazilian Culture and its impact on Training Table of Contents Contents 0 Introduction 2.0 Country Background 2 Demographic 2.2 Economic 2 2.3 Social 2 2.4 Political 2 2.5 Legal 2 3.0 Country Culture 3 4.0 Responsibility as Director Training and Development 5 1.0 Introduction Carrefour, a multinational retailer and one of the largest hypermarket chains in the world, is headquartered in France. Carrefour is present in 34 countries with 10,000 stores spread across these countries. Carrefour opened its first store in Brazil in 1975 and as of 2013 Carrefour had 68,000 employees in Brazil (Press Release, 2013). Brazil is Carrefour’s second biggest market after France and their sale in 2012 was close to 12.5 billion Euros. Currently the chain operates 102 hypermarkets and 41 supermarkets in the country. The Group also acquired Atacado Cash & Carry chain which has become the market leader with 93 stores spread across the country. Carrefour seeks to expand further in the country. Training and development of human resources is a requirement that needs attention at Carrefour Brazil. Since the country has its own cultural characteristics that differ from European and French cultures, as the Director of Training and Development, the job would be challenging. Challenges can be foreseen in understanding individual training needs because of the cultural differences. 2.0 Country Background Brazil is one of the most populous countries in South America and has been under populist and military government until 1985. Brazil focuses on industrial growth and development as the country is endowed with vast natural resources. 2.1 Demographic Brazil has slow population growth rate, aging population and fast-paced demographic transition. Brazil has not taken advantage of its large working-age population to strengthen its social and economic institutions. Labor force is shrinking and by 2025 shift in favourable age structure is expected (CIA, 2013). 2.2 Economic Brazil is an economic power and regional leader, one of the first in the area to begin economic recovery. Brazil is expanding its presence in world markets and its GDP rates reached 7.5% in 2010 (CIA, 2013). Brazil is attractive for foreign investors as its interest rates are high. Appreciation of the currency has resulted in taxes on foreign exchange flows. 2.3 Social Poverty and income inequality is high which affects the education of the youth. Disparities in opportunities lead to social exclusion and this is responsible for high crime rates. Population comprises of a high percentage of immigrants Argentina and Chile but they are unskilled and illegal. Social condition is harsh in big cities where a third of the population lives in slums (BBC News, 2012). 2.4 Political Brazil is a federal republic where the powers of the government are restricted and states and provinces have self-government. The voters have the powers to choose their local representatives. 2.5 Legal A new civil law code was enacted in 2002 replacing the 1916 code. The government accepts the International Code of Justice. The administration of justice is slow and cumbersome. 3.0 Country Culture Hofstede has categorized national cultures under four dimensions and contends that national cultures have a stronger influence than organizational culture. Thus, as the Director Training and Development, it is imperative to have a thorough knowledge of the local Brazilian culture. Power Distance – Brazil scores high on PDI suggesting that the society believes in hierarchy and the use of language is selective. Inequality in this society is acceptable and so is unequal distribution of power (Itim, 1967). People in positions of power maintain a social distance and they have to be addressed with dignity (O’Keefe & O’Keefe, 2004). Because of the high power distance, distance making is the prerogative of the seniors and instructions are dictated down to the subordinates. High power distance manifests itself in loyalty to those in authority which implies that the group member value the needs for a leader (Tanure & Duarte, 2005). Employees do not focus on individual goals and nor do they feel empowered. Collectivism – Brazil has a collectivist culture which is usually found in nations with high power index. People prefer to remain within the group and look after each other. From the birth itself people are integrated into strong cohesive groups (represented by the family, aunts, grandparents etc). In the working environment also the elders of the family are expected to help the younger generation (Itim, 1967). There is a tendency to protect the members of family in return for loyalty. Emphasis on the self is a negative attitude. Value standards differ between the in groups and out groups; they are usually distrustful of the out groups (Ardichvili, Maurer, Li, Wentling, & Stuedemann, 2006). Bonds among people are strong in Brazil. Uncertainty Avoidance - Brazil scores high on uncertainty avoidance (Itim, 1967) due to which the society does not readily accept change and is risk-aversive. Because of low tolerance for uncertainty, people are not keen to explore new opportunities or alternatives in new business ventures (O’Keefe & O’Keefe, 2004). There is inclination to avoid premature actions and there is a tendency to build relationship and trust before making final decisions. Because of paternalism prevalent in the society the fear of making mistakes lurks which manifests in the culture of uncertainty avoidance (Tanure & Duarte, 2005). They demonstrate the desire to perform well and be recognized. However, according to Hofstede, societies such as Brazil with high uncertainty avoidance scores show a strong need for rules and elaborate legal systems to structure life (Itim, 1967). At the same time, the individual’s needs to obey the rules are weak. Moreover, if rules are not kept, more rules are dictated. Brazilians need to have relaxing moments in their life. Femininity - Brazil scores high on femininity scores which makes it difficult to lay off workers or close down any business (O’Keefe & O’Keefe, 2004). Family members are given preference in business and they prefer flexible working hours. Because of high uncertainty avoidance scores, Brazilians tend to have long-term orientation. Thus they believe in long-term planning and contingency planning. The employees need to feel that their jobs are secure. Because of high uncertainty avoidance culture, and high power index managers face challenges in making people change their behavior (Strategic Direction, 2005). Important information that could help the management is that English is not the major language spoken in Brazil. K of Brazilian Portuguese is essential to deal with the local people (World Business Culture, n.d.). People prefer oral communication to other forms of communication, and if written communication has been sent this is usually followed by a phone call. Body language is also used as a means of communication. The Brazilian society has a positive attitude, are optimistic and willing to release their impulses and enjoy life (Itim, 1967). Based on these findings, the next section details how responsibilities as the Director – Training and Development will be carried out. 4.0 Responsibility as Director Training and Development Training has to be an ongoing process and people should receive appropriate training at the appropriate level. Besides, training should take into account the future needs of the organization (Vermeulen & Crous, 2000). The cultural factors have to be taken care of when designing the training programs. Training in large organizations is generally outsourced but Carrefour would ensure that training is in-house. This is because the workers would tend to follow their seniors and leaders (based on characteristics of power distance and collectivism) than follow an outsider. The role of the manager has changed from that of an authoritarian to that of a mentor. Taking advantage of the collectivist nature, groups would be formed and one senior member would be appointed as the leader of the group. Seniority is a symbol of maturity and all would be keen to follow the leader in acquiring new skills. Bureaucratic structures would work in Brazil and hence training programs should be devised with such perceptions. Workers in Brazil would need to feel that they can look up to someone to develop skills and knowledge. Thus, along with training, the group leaders would be instructed to spend lighter moments chatting and relaxing with their team members, which is expected to encourage the members to be involved in the training process. Training not has to be organization-specific but also individual-specific. This implies that training needs analysis will have to be conducted before designing the training programs. Workers at Carrefour need to be trained in service delivery because of intense competition arising in the sector. As such training in service skills is essential but Brazil being a high power index society, people are used to taking and following instructions. Thus, they may not be interested in acquiring new skills. One of the ways that they can be incentivized to acquire new skills is through competence-based pay scales. Because of power distance in the society and among the workers, barriers to interactions arise which need to be broken down. This suggests that sharing of information among teams laterally is important. Information flow should trickle down to the lowest levels within the organization. Occupational mobility is low in collectivist cultures but workers would need to be given training in different departments to prepare the workforce for absenteeism that is prevalent in this sector. Because of high uncertainty avoidance culture, workers need to feel job security. Once they are provided with an ongoing training schedule, it would give them the feeling of job security. Since the Brazlian population has a large immigrant group from different nations, inter-cultural training would also be required to eliminate misunderstandings among the workers. According to Deal (2014) the individual-collectivism continuum has been identified as one of the primary dimensions that differentiate cultures from their members. It is likely when the workers are explained about the difference, they would be able to see the underlying assumptions of their own culture, which was previously below their level of consciousness. This training would be a part of the newcomer orientation so that from the beginning itself they become ready to adapt to the new environment and to the co-workers. Hiring, training and promotion including motivation strategy would have to take the in-groups into account as people in Brazil do not trust the out groups. Employees belong to the in-group and will naturally pursue the interests of the in-group (Leading Across Cultures, 2013). In case any one member of the group that is under training, falls ill, the entire group may abstain from the training session until the ailing member returns. Under the circumstances, training should be deferred because relationship prevails over task. The workers are not internet savvy and internet is less frequently used and hence technology-based training would be avoided. Classroom type training would be conducted where the workers should be made to feel at ease to clarify their queries. The training session would be an important platform for workers to interact with different cultures. Bibliography Ardichvili, A., Maurer, M.Li.W., Wentling, T. & Stuedemann, R. (2006). "Cultural influences on knowledge sharing through online communities of practice", JOURNAL OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT, 10 (1), 94-107 BBC News. (2005). "Brazil country profile", Available from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1227110.stm [Accessed April 11, 2014] CIA. (2013). "The World FactBook", Central Intelligence Agency. Available from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/br.html [Accessed April 11, 2014] Deal, C. (2014). "Application of the Concepts of Individualism and Collectivism to Intercultural Training", Available from http://dealglobalcommunication.com/article2.html [Accessed April 12, 2014] Itim. (1967). "Geert Hofstede™ Cultural Dimensions", Available from http://www.geert-hofstede.com/hofstede_brazil.shtml [Accessed April 11, 2014] Leading Across Cultures. (2013). "Why understanding culture can open up new opportunities for leaders", Available from http://outwardlooking.com/why-understanding-culture-can-open-up-new-opportunities-for-leaders/ [Accessed April 12, 2014] O’Keefe, H. & O’Keefe, W.M. (2004). "Business behaviors in Brazil and the USA Understanding the gaps", International Journal of Social Economics, 31 (5/6), 614-622 Press Release. (2013). "CARREFOUR GROUP APPOINTMENT IN BRAZI", Available from http://www.carrefour.com/sites/default/files/Carrefour%20Group%20PR%20Brazil%20251013_eng.pdf [Accessed April 11, 2014] PricewaterhouseCoopers. (2005). "Doing business and investing in Brazil", Available from http://www.pwc.com/br/pt/publicacoes/assets/doing- business-brazil05.pdf [Accessed April 11, 2014] Strategic Direction. (2005). "Volvo’s Latin American style", Strategic Direction, 21 (1), 28-29 Tanure, B. & Duarte, R.G. (2005). "Leveraging competitiveness upon national cultural traits: the management of people in Brazilian companies", Int. J. of Human Resource Management, 16 (12), 2201-2217 Vermeulen, W. & Crous, M.J. (2000). Managing Service Quality, 10 (1), 61-67 World Business Culture. (n.d.). "Brazilian Communication Styles", Available from http://www.worldbusinessculture.com/Brazilian-Business-Communication-Style.html [Accessed April 11, 2014] Read More