Cultural Standards of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Empirical findings and implications for strategic human resource management.

SHRM

Strategic Human Resource Management

The Cultural Standard Method

• Narrative Intervies

• Transcription and Content Analysis

• Feedback with Cultural Experts

• Mirror Studies and Triangulation

Narrative Studies

Managers share stories/critical incidents about important intercultural business experiences and misunderstandings

Transcription and Analysis

Interviews are recorded, written down, and analysed to find common cultural patterns

Feedback with Cultural Experts

Experts from both cultures review the findings to reduce bias and confirm that differences are cultural, not personal.

Mirror and Triangulation Studies

Researchers in different cultures repeat the study and compare results to check accuracy and eliminate cultural bias.

7 Cultural Standards

• Negotiation Orientation

• Bureaucracy and Relationships

• Friendliness as weakness

• Flexible time orientation

• Decision making and responsibility

• Customer and Service orientation

• Sociability

Negotiation Orientation

Communication is emotional and direct. Don’t take debates personally

Bureaucracy and Relationships

Personal connections are important for getting things done

Friendliness as Weakness

Be friendly but keep professional boundaries and clear rules.

Flexible Time Orientation

Delays and short-notice meetings are common. Patience is needed

Decision Making and Responsibility

Employees may avoid responsibility, so roles should be clearly defined

Customer and Service Orientation

Service can be inconsistent; training and incentives help improve it.

Sociability

Hospitality and socialising are important in business relationships.

Resource Based View

A strategy that says a firm’s competitive advantage, comes from valuable internal resources, especially skilled employees that have good cultural understanding

VRIO Framework

A tool for testing whether a resource gives lasting advantage by checking if it is Valuable, Rare, Hard to imitate, and properly organised

Dynamic Capabilities

A firm’s ability to quickly adapt its HR systems and resources to changing environments

Value

Help the firm preform better

Rare

Not widely available to competitors

Hard to imitate

Difficult or costly to copy

Organised

The company has systems to effectively use them

Role of SHRM to develop dynamic capabilities in a changing marketing environment

• Strategic Training

• Motivating Behaviour

• Learning Organisation

Strategic Training

Cross-cultural training builds employees ability to ace effectively in local contexts (intercultural action competence)

Motivating Behaviour

HR systems (like rewards) shape behaviour that fits strategic goals

Learning Organisation

Firms share cultural knowledge through communication and international assignments

Relevance for Practice and Management

• Relationship-based business

• Leadership and responsibility

• HR as a strategic toll (VRIO)

• Learning organisation

• Core idea