Comparing HR Systems: China vs USA - Essay Sample

Introduction

The paper will also help you to understand the economic, management, and human resource systems. The following issues will also be addressed: the comparison and contrast of the human resource systems in China and the USA, the national features that distinguish the two nations from each other, and the importance of comparing the human resource policies in the two countries. Seven aspects will be considered in this paper, which is historical, legal, economic, demographic, cultural, political, and management. It is critical to note that these dimensions are among the primary causes of the differences that outstand in the human resource policies among countries. Gaps in employment policies will also be captured in this paper.

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Differences in National Context and How They Influence HR Policy and Practice

Depending on various aspects, the human resource policies and practices may vary from one nation to another and even within the same countries in different organizations. Some of the significant factors that influence these differences include historical, political, cultural, legal, economic, demographic, as well as management dimensions (Albrecht et al 2015, p. 16). Each of the mentioned countries has distinct aspects, and for these reasons, they may have different human resource policies and practices. Below are the dimensions discussed in detail and how they influence the differences in China and the USA.

The Cultural Dimension

China is distinct from the United States of America in terms of cultural beliefs and customs. In designing the human resource policies and practices guidelines, an organization must consider the culture of the people in the nation that they operate. It means that the organizations must come up with policies that are culturally acceptable by the people of that country and specific regions to avoid undermining the culture of the people. In China, the culture is derived from past events following the respect accorded to traditional thinkers such as Confucius (Huang, 2011, p. 164). The USA, on the other hand, was a strong Christian nation. With these distinct customs, the companies and other organizations in these two countries are likely to have different human resource policies where each of the states will design the systems in favor and respect the culture of their people. It is abusive to the people to go against the cultural beliefs of the people, especially by the foreigners and for these reasons, identifying and conforming with the expectations of the people in these nations to ensure peaceful coexistence. Culturally, the United States of America system is based cross-cultural approach which they obtained from the customs on punctuality (Huang, 2011, p. 164). The human resource in most American organizations enjoys the punctuality of their workers, which is inborn. China has a rich philosophical background, which requires the workers in various organizations to be moralists (Huang, 2011, p. 164).

Historical Dimension

The historical aspect of a nation is a critical pillar on which the human resource policies and practices are built. China and the United States have long-standing differences from their histories. America was a staunch follower of capitalist ideology, which stated that each person should be able to work and accumulate their wealth individually and not communally (Huang, 2011, p. 164). On the other hand, China was a staunch communist, which provided that the people had to work and collect the wealth that belongs to the entire community (Huang, 2011, p. 164). They continued subscribing to this ideology for long, and up to date, they still practice it. Due to this history and the difference it brings between the two countries, they have various human resource policies that can have resulted from the influence of the ideologies, capitalism, and communism. Workers in the organizations in the US believe in working individually to and bare individual responsibilities, which means that some of the human resource policies are based on individuality. In China, the employees in various organizations do no personal bear responsibilities but communal responsibilities given the Chinese's communist history (Huang, 2011, p. 165).

Political Dimension

Political ideologies are critical in determining human resource policies in different countries. Governmental policies of various nations may affect the human resource policies significantly, and this is a crucial dimension that one has to consider when they want to set up new branches in different countries. The American political temperatures are usually low as well as those in China, and therefore, the human resource policies might not suffer critical effects. However, the government which falls under the political dimension might impact the formulation and practice of human resource policies (Huang, 2011, p. 166), For instance, human resource policies must address the issues of labor organizations to ensure that the workers are not mistreated. In the United States, labor unions are empowered and embraced, which is not significantly the case in China. Therefore, the human resource policies of America must ensure that the workers are protected by various unions, while in China, it is not always the case.

Economic Dimension

The economic dimension is critical and has a significant influence on human resource policies in different countries. Taking the case of the USA and China, where these countries have strong economies, they also have value for the employees in various corporates and industries as they are vital in building the economy (Huang, 2011, p. 167). Training of the workers after multiple companies hire them is critical as it ensures that the employees are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to be able to discharge their respective duties in their new capacities. Training of these employees is the responsibility of the human resource department. The human resource comes up with policies to enhance that the practice is done as per requirements by the company. Quality and skilled workers improve the performance and success of the company, which later helps in developing the economy. In the US, training of the new employees is intensive as compare to China, where they train the new employees for a few days to weeks (Huang, 2011, p. 167).

Legal Dimension

The legal dimension is about the laws that govern the practice of human resource management as well as the wellbeing of the employees in terms of their rights, safety, and payment. A difference exists between China and America in that the human resource policies of America require the human resource department to have a plan laid out on how to compensate their workers. In the USA, compensation is done according to the balance sheet model, and this is in the human resource policy and practice guidelines (Huang, 2011, p. 169). In China, the human resource departments have a policy of ensuring that the employees get better securities to work.

Additionally, the laws used in the United States of America have provided for individual taxes that are not in China and vice versa. The difference between these two nations is that they do not have similar policies on compensation, where the USA uses balance sheet compensation. China ensures that their workers have security to work.

Demographic Dimension

The demographic aspect of human resource is critical as it substantially impact the quality and quantity of the labor supply as well as how it is managed. To start with, China has been able to get vast reserves of labor to achieve high levels of economic development as laborforce is a crucial determinant of the success of the industries, which in turn enhances the growth of the economy. With its growing number of sectors and company, there has been a shortage of labor, and this is a challenge which might lead the human resource to craft measures to deal with the problem and this gives rise to policies to enhance employment of more laborers (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and Wright 2015) For instance, if the system had formerly provided for more slots of employment of the Chinese, the departments might review the policy and include a plan that allows foreigners to be employed since the Chinese population is unable to provide sufficient labor force to the growing industries and companies. The discrepancy that is brought by lack of enough laborers and the ever-increasing companies and products can be solved through the formulation of policies, and this is an example of how demography influences human resource policies (Noe et al. 2015, p.118). In the US, there are many companies, and the economy is enormous. However, the population can produce sufficient laborers for the job market, and hence, the policies that the human resource department in US companies may come up with strategies that provide more employment slots for the nationals as compared to the foreigners.

Management Dimension

Management is the last dimension that is instrumental in providing a framework for the start of the human resource in the two nations. Management is an integral tool in any company as it is a determinant in the success of the company. Management aspect must be made compelling by laying down structures that support it appropriately to discharge its managerial responsibilities (Crossland, and Hambrick, 2011, p. 798). Weak management amounts to failing companies, and therefore, companies must ensure that the administration is keen to assist in the development of the entire company. China is among the nations in the world that apply the paternalistic model of management, which is primarily practiced throughout the country.

On the other hand, the management of the US is different, as it is more supervisory. The management models of these two nations make them distinct even in terms of their human resource policies. With the paternalistic model of management in China, hiring new employees is not entirely based on interview findings, experiences, and academics (Crossland, and Hambrick, 2011, p. 798). Still, instead, the choice of a new employee is based on a test score that one is given when they are looking for jobs. It is, therefore, a policy that has been influenced by the management system that is applied in the country. In America, a new employee is hired according to the interview findings, skills, previous experience, and academic performance. The...