ABSTRACT
This chapter on culture provides a look at one of the most important aspects of the external context for IHRM. Many of the most important and difficult challenges to the conduct of international human resource management stem from the differences encountered in various countries’ and MNEs’ cultures. Often these differences clash when firms conduct business in multiple countries and with enterprises located in various countries. This can become a particularly salient challenge when businesspeople lack knowledge of or sensitivity to these differences, resulting in their making mistakes in both their business policies and practices and their personal interactions. Even when they know the differences, they can mistakenly assume that their own country or company way of doing things provides the best way to conduct business. Thus they can make decisions and behave in ways that alienate their foreign counterparts, the people with whom they interact from other countries or companies, such as foreign customers, suppliers, and employees, or they make mistakes that lead to business and/or personal problems. Giving preference to one’s own country and company culture can also result in the overlooking
or dismissing of better ways of doing things that can be found in other countries and their enterprises.
