HRM and Culture Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

HRM and Culture - Research Paper Example The issue of gender balance at the corporate level is still problematic and one that reflects the social dynamics that surround corporate or market environment. As one tends towards mature democracies, gains that have been made in this effort become more palpable. The reverse is also true with maturing democracies and developing economies such as South Korea. In South Korea, corporate gender balance has been still hard to come by, with very little progress having been made as late as 2005. In South Korea, leading organisations that excel in key sectors such as the telecommunication industry still have corporate leaders who fallaciously think that extending women employment opportunities can undercut organisational development. While this untrue standpoint may simply be dismissed as a sexist myth, the gravity of this standpoint is that it denies the corporate life, collective approach and plurality of views, and thereby subjecting an economy that practices it to underperformance. This may be seen in South Korea and the life and practices of leading organisations therein, such as SK Holdings. ... It is possible that this bias towards women in the recruitment of personnel was not so much caused by unequal gender business strategies than the society’s gender bias. Because of the society’s gender bias towards women, SK’s might have imperceptibly maintained the culture of hiring more men than women. Conversely, it is also possible that SK’s HRM practice (of not hiring women) may have been deliberate and can therefore be regarded as part of the company’s organisational or business strategy. This may be the case, since in the details preceding the case, one of the senior managers of SK Holdings had confessed of having eschewed employing women simply because he believed that women lacked tenacity. He divulged on his belief to the effect that when deadlines are tight and many people are thus required to work overtime, women may not be as reliable as men. It is therefore plausible that SK’s HRM practice of sticking to men may have been a delib erate business strategy, as an artifice to keep organisational production optimal and to meet strict deadlines. 2. How Hiring More Women and Promoting Them Could Improve the Competitive Advantage of This Company A myriad of competitive advantages characterises the hiring and promotion of women. One of the advantages that come with the recruitment and promotion of women has to do with the entrenchment of plurality of ideas in the company’s efforts. It is a fact that women and men think and see things from different perspectives and angles. This means that incorporating women into SK’s workforce is bound to help the organisation come up with more efficient and strategic policies and frameworks. This is well seen in the case of